Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A17309
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A tryall of priuate deuotions. Or, A diall for the houres of prayer. By H.B. rector of St. Mathevves Friday-street
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Burton, Henry, 1578-1648.
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1628
(1628)
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STC 4157; ESTC S121011
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62,963
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99
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others that were therewith acquainted before the printing of the Booke Stay a little I pray you for my memory is bad if your period be long who were those that were acquainted with the booke before the printing of it Were they Iesuites or of what profession were they But I will not presse you too farre least I loose my labour Onely goe on with your sentence who are as ready to ingage their credits and liues in defense of the faith of the present Church of England by Law established and in opposition of Popery and Romish superstition as any others doe with griefe obserue the maleuolencie of some dispositions of these times with whom a slip or misprision of a word or two as liable to a faire and charitable vnderstanding as otherwise doth not onely loose the thankes due for all the good contained in the worke but also purchase to the Author a reprochfull imputation and way-making to Popish Deuotion and apish imitation of Romish superstition Nay I pray you Mr. Printer continue out your speech to the end And howsoeuer he may be requited for his paines herein he shall neuer depart from his good intention and wishing that the reader may at all times and for all occasions be assisted with diuine grace obtained by continuall prayer And for the misdeeming Censures and detractions of any hee feareth them not but rather hopeth that his prayers to God for them wil be more beneficiall to them then any their Censures or detractions can be any way preiudiciall to him who doth in this and all things else humbly submit himselfe to the judgement of the Church of England whereof he is a member and though inferiour vnto most yet a faithfull Minister Haue you said all Mr. Printer Now surely I cannot but smile to see how pretily and smoothly you can plough with anothers he yfer what an infinite disproportion there is betweene your style and your person and yet both you and your leare-father are strongly conceited that you are able to cosen all the world by making them beleeue that you are the man that framed this Apologeticall Epistle Alas you doe but dance in a net all this while Do not you thinke I smelled your cunning conueyance till now Or doe you thinke the world is so simple as to prayse or applawd you for the Author of this your pretty witty Epistle And now by the Epistle it selfe will I conuince it to be a very packe of knauery And to put you out of conceit that you are the Author of this Epistle Mr. Printer I will goe no farther then the last words of it Dare you be so bold with the Author who is no small man and hopes yet to be greater at least for his good seruice in this booke as to say he is inferiour to most I know this neuer came out of your lips though it went through your presse Ex vngue leonem This could not come but from the modesty of the Author himselfe or from some frend to helpâ— out at a dead lift But be it his or yours or whose iâ— wil be I wil be bold to go ouer the rest where I lâ—â—t You say your Authors are as ready to ingage their credits and liues in defence of the faith of the present Church of England by law established and in opposition of Popery and Romish superstition as any others Hoe there Here Master Printer I must tell you you take a greater ingagement vpon you then your credit wil be taken for If they should openly by word as here you haue set downe in print ingage themselues in this point euen the principals if they should haue as little credit giuen them as the surety they may blame themselues Verba quid audio cum facta videam Let this booke speake for them whence a Iesuite may conclude farre stronger arguments to assure the Church of Rome of these her sonnes Then the Authors themselues with all their powerfull eloquence can â—uer perswade vs that they are the true brâ—d sonnâ—â— of the Church of England The Iesuites haue the Aâ—â—â—ors booke to shew a prooâ—e vpon Record but we haue nothing to shew but a poore Epistle and that written in the Printers name And how shall they euer ingagage their credits and liues in defence of the faith of the present Church of England by law established a clause of some waight had we any better authoritie for it then the single assertion of a Printer who haue beene both so prodigall of their Credit aduenâ—urous of their liues if the lawes established be of any force and all to win countenance and credit to the holy Catholicke Church of Rome and who will belieue that they will oppose Popery that labour to aduance it and to suppresse the truth of the Gospell by law established in the present Church of England Or how shall they oppose Romish superstition that tooth and naile would haile it in by head shoulders in a most superstitious forme of Romish deuotion But you proceed and say They doe with griefe obserue the maleuolency of some dispositions of these times with whom a slip or misprision of a word or two as liable to a faire and charitable vnderstanding as otherwise doeth not onely loose the thankes due for all the good contained in the worke but also purchase to the author a reprochfull imputation of way making to Popish Deuotion and apish imitation of Romish superstition O good God What a packe of hypocrisie and senselesse absurdities and shamelesse impudencie is here All their damnable foysting in of popery and that no lesse then infidell prayer for the dead must be excused for sooth and all the blame laid vpon the maleuolency of some dispositions of these times And who are those and why maleuolent surely those that espying the craft of Iesuited spirits in these our dayes in broching grosse and palpable Popery dare oppose themselues and cry out against such bold attempts These be the men of a maleuolent disposition in these times and all because these times doe breed such Iesuited spirits And therefore no maruaile if the author of this booke cannot but greeue that his Popish booke cannot finde a generall approbation But they are maleuolent as with whom a slip or misprision of a word or two c. But a word or two at the most misprinted or misplaced the matter of all this maleuolency Nay but a slip or misprision of a word or two Why we know that in Coyne he that is the author of a slip and would vent it for the Kings Currant Coyne is guilty of treason Now much more a slip or false doctrine foysted in for Gods Currant siluer such a slip once broched is an errour but stiffly maintained it becomes an heresie And is not this such a slip here A most wicked Popish doctrine was published by the Author or Authors in print namely Prayer for the Dead against the Faith and Doctrine of the Church of England and yet
judgement for what they say the common accusations which out of the abundance of those partiall affectious that transport them the wrong way they are pleased to bring so frequently against vs being but the bare reports of such people as either doe not or will not vnderstand vs what we are Doe we cast behind vs the blessed Sacraments of Christs Catholicke Church Who told you so I pray you at Rome No I would yée well wist it we hold seuen Sacraments the same Sacraments that the Church of Rome Christs Catholick Church holdeth as shall appeare by good proofe anon But leaue we his proofe to the fit and proper place and prosecute we the rest His third reason for his 7. Canonicals is for the ease of those whom earnest lets and impediments doe often hinder from being partakers of the publick here they may haue a dayly and deuout order of priuate prayer c. First what an incongruitie is this to prescribe thâ—se his houres to men earnestly imployed in worldly affaires Indeed the obseruation of these houres is proper if for any for such as liue a Monasticall life Abbey Lubbers as we say such as haue nothing else to attend but to be busied with their beads And againe for all sorts of persons in our Church blessed be God we haue plenty of Psalters and Testaments wherein they may as profitably I trow exercise their vacant houres as in these consarcinated and new moulded prayers And in the third place doth not this new Rubrick of our Author trench intrude vpon those formes of prayer both publicke and priuate which by our Church are generally prescribed for all persons in the daily practise of their Deuotions And are not Ministers in particuler admonished to read the Morning and Euening Prayer priuately euery day in case at least if hee bee not hindered by his studies and other imployments of his calling Againe in the same Clause he glancingly giues a sound by-blow to those that stand vp in maintaining the quarrell of Gods truth against Popish perturbers and Pelagian innouators the continuall and curious disquisition of many vnnecessary questions among vs being nothing else but onely the new seedes or the old fruits of malite and by consequence the enemy of godlinesse and the abatement of true deuotion This man would willingly fold his hands and wrap vp all his Deuotion in the mantle of ignorance the Mother of his Deuotion Like to the glowoâ—me or rotten post that shines not but in the night so shines his deuotion without light or heat Or at the best like a wandring ignis fatuus And how should the lampe of true Deuotion flame forth and burne in holy feruency of effectuall prayer if it be not fedde with the oyle of sauing knowledge being pressed forth more copiously by the ventilation of errours and dissipation of mysts which would dampe and extinguish all Nor is he content herewith but this blind Deuotion of his he dare call that true deuotion wherwith God is more delighted and a good soule more inflamed then with all the subtilties in the world when at one dash he interesseth God as an approuer of his superstitious and blind Deuotion and a disallower of his owne fundamentall diuine Truthes as busy needlesse subtilties yea as new seedes or old fruits of malice and as the enemy of Godlinesse and abatement of true Deuotion His last reason is that this his booke of Canonicall houres might stirre vp all those who are coldly affected to the like heauenly dutie of performing their daily Christian deuotions c. Thus this man hopes to conuert all England at a cast and bring them within the circle of his Canonicall houres wherein they may trauerse and turne round their Beads as a blind mill-horse in the â—ound Impius ambulaâ— in Circuitu As for his exact and compleate Calender of Saints we omitt it as too tedious and fitter for the Almanack-maker to examine Onely we cannot but touch vpon his times wherein Mariages are not solemnized as from Aduent sunday vntill 8. dayes after the Epiphanie from Septuag sunday vntill 8. dayes after Easter From Rogation Sunday vntill Trinity Sunday All which times summed vp together according to the computation of his owne Calendar take vp aboue 19. weekes from the yeare Now vnder Benedicite be it spoken where doth Gods sacred word suspend or prohibite any times from sacred solemne nuptiall rites I remember it warnes vs of the perillous times of the last dayes wherein men should giue heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of Deuils And what be those The Apostle there tels vs Forbidding of marriage and abstaining from Meates Now God blesse the Church of England from such seducing spirits and Doctrines of Deuils And is not the prohibiting of marriage for some certaine times in the yeare and those no small times neither as incroching vpon aboue a third part of the yeare as well as forbidding of marriage to certaine persons as Priests a branch at least of that very forbidding of marriage which the Apostle calleth a doctrine of Deuils And might not the same Church which prohibited aboue the third part of the yeare haue also with the allegation of a few more plausible pretences of holinesse or so brought all marriages to secke and sue for licâ—nces in the Court Buâ— blessed be God that these prohibited times are not any where set downe either in our booke of Common Prayer or any other bookes containing the Doctrines of the Church of England wherevnto Ministers subscribe least all should either haue cause absolutely necessary not to subscribe or subscribing to such a Decree they should proue a very packe of spirits of Frrour teaching or at least subscribing to Doctrines of Deuils But let vs heare the Authors reasons why in such times marriages are not vsually solemnized Some of these saith hee being times of solemne-fasting and abstinence some of holy festiuity and ioy Both fit to be spent in such sacred exercises without other vnnecessarie auocations So he Alas Neither times of fasting nor times of feasting for marriage Indeed for time of fasting and prayer something may be said Yet with qualification The Apostle saith speaking to the man and wife Defraud you not one the other except it be with consent for a time that yee may giue your selues to Fasting and Prayer and come together againe that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency A respect then might be had to fasting and prayer euen to them that are married But how Doth the Apostle inioyne them by some Apostolicke Constitution or Canon to abstaine for such or so long a time vnlesse they will purchase their liberty with a Licence No such thing He leaues that to their owne liberty and referrs it to their mutuall consent not limiting themselues to any set time least in the meane time Satan tempt them for their incontinency Much lesse doth he confine them to mutuall separation ten leauelong weekes together A shrewd 〈◊〉