Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	service_n	spirit_n	worship_v	1,834	5	8.9813	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A37051	The divine art of prayer containing the most proper rules to pray well. With divers meditations and prayers suitable to the necessities of Christians, useful in every family. To which are annexed seasonable prayers for souldiers, both in Their Majesties army and fleet. By Marius D'Assigny, B.D.	D'Assigny, Marius, 1643-1717.	1691 (1691)	Wing D283; ESTC R214982	108,311	272

force his Body to observe all the motions of Respect commanded in the Rubrick Let him stand up when we give glory to God and sing forth his praises Let him kneel in Prayer and outwardly observe a due reverence and he shall find that his former aversion will insensibly wear away and by degrees he will bring his Soul to a hearty and religious compliance with those godly Forms of Prayer which before he could never use with any satisfaction to his mind he shall find his unhappy humour of discontent evaporate it self and his Body draw after the Soul and its faculties to a sincere worshipping of our good God in the manner that is practised amongst us Fifthly To use the Prayers of the Church with that devotion that is needful a frequent meditation upon them is very requisite A Meditation I mean upon the necessity of those things that are there desired upon the advantage of Uniformity and Unity in God's divine Worship upon their agreeableness with holy Scripture its Doctrines and Expressions upon the express Commands of the King and the wise Councils of our Nation under four or five Kings successively who unanimously enjoin the use of these Prayers in the publick Worship of God upon the decency and reasonableness of the Ceremonies Order and manner of our Service upon the frivolousness and Folly of all Objections against it upon the obstinacy and invincible hatred of all Objections A meditation also is requisite to this purpose upon several matters suitable to these godly Forms of Prayer Such Meditations I mean as may elevate the Soul to prepare and dispose it for a Holy Communion with God and inflame our affections in order to a more zealous offering up of the publick Prayers of the Church to the Divine Majesty Besides to perswade the judgment and remove all mistakes I recommend to thee the perusal of a Rationale upon the Common-Prayer that if by any means thou mayest be perswaded to a religious and devout conformity in publick to the Order of our Church But all this while methinks I hear a sort of Zealots amongst us Extol and Cry up the Praying by the Spirit 4. Particular and that in opposition to the reading of the Forms prescribed by the Church I must speak a word to rectifie their mistakes and to prevent the mischiefs which are thereby intended For this good purpose I shall First examine what Praying by the Spirit is in the sense of St. Paul Secondly I shall prove that for the most part in all Extemporary fluencies of Prayer though they be the gifts of the Spirit such persons as use them at that very instant can scarce be said to pray in the Spirit Thirdly I shall plainly demonstrate that the easiest and surest way to Pray in the Spirit is to take the assistance of well composed Forms of Prayer and to have them either in a Book before our Eyes or well imprinted in our Memories They are in a grievous Error that imagine that St. Paul's praying in or by the Spirit opposeth the Practice of our Church of England and strengthens the irregular Devotions of the gifted Brethren For if you please to Examine the meaning of St. Paul you shall find that he never intended any such matter In the 6th Chap. to the Ephesians and 18 ver he exhorts them to pray with all Prayer and Supplication in every Season 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Spirit which he cannot understand of the Prayers proceeding from the extraordinary inspirations or abilities bestowed upon us by God the giver of every good gift because such inspirations are not common to all and every one hath not such a quick Fancy or voluble Tongue to be able to pray in this manner so that every Person is not in a capacity to fulfil this Command which as all other Commands of God is proportioned and hath a special regard to Mens faculties and abilities Therefore seeing these words are directed to every Christian they relate not to the gift but to that which is commonly styled the Spirit or rather to the Duty of Prayer which every Christian may peform by using endeavours St Paul's meaning therefore is that we should in our Prayers to God not be content with the Lip Service but inwardly heartily and affectionately to pray to him and employ all the abilities of the Soul in offering them up to God for in this part of our Devotions we must observe the same method as in the others and act with the same abilities Now St. Paul in the 5th Chap. to the Ephesiens and the 19th ver adviseth them to make Melody in their Hearts to the Lord. Here is that spiritual Service required from us a serious real and hearty Worship wherein the Soul is concerned as well as the Body Likewise our Saviour Christ in answer to the Woman of Samaria tells her that God is a Spirit and that they that will worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth That is in opposition to the Corporal appearances of the Jews at Jerusalem an inward and soul Worship without which all our most assidual attendances upon holy Duties are frivolous and vain In the same sense we are to understand St. Paul's praying and singing with the Spirit in 1 Cor. 14.14 for he expresly saith if I pray in an unknown Tongue my Spirit prayeth He caleth it his Spirit that is his Soul which must be concerned in all our Prayers to God either by composing them and offering them or else by presenting the Prayers already composed in such a manner with the understanding and affections that they may proceed from us as our own I confess St. Jude's words ver 20. seems to favour the contrary interpretation when he adviseth to pray 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Holy Ghost Which words the admirers of new Modes and extemporary Prayers understand of the gift of Prayer that we should depend upon the Spirit of God and expect from his secret inspirations the matter and manner of our Prayers without limitting our selves and this unlimited Being to any certain Form That we should make use of those expressions as proceed immediately from his divine suggestions But this can never be the meaning of this wise Apostle for though it were true what this interpretation supposeth that all the faithful have the gift of Prayer and are inspired with the Holy Ghost That in that Duty he governs their Tongues and Fancy and furnishes them with proper expressions words and matter which I confess may happen in extraordinary occasions yet in our ordinary Devotions to expect such extraordinary movings of God's Holy Spirit in our Souls not to contribute any thing of our selves but our weaknesses and unpreparedness and wholly to depend upon the Holy Ghost is a presumption and indiscretion which agrees not with God's usual methods of acting with his Creatures neither in Nature nor in Grace for his Blessings and Power appear commonly in our Religious endeavours and if he gives

their hearts and whilst they are or may be delighted with the Prayer whether their Souls are truly in a praying temper First Endeavour to be heartily reconciled with the Godly Forms of Prayer recommended in our Church employ Reason and Conscience to perswade thy self my Christian Brother to embrace what Duty commands that Duty which thou owest to Authority and thy interest obliges thee to practice Why should prejudice keep thee always blindfolded Why should Men of perverse judgments and corrupt designs impose upon thy judgment such gross mistakes Why wilt thou dote upon thine own Errors and entertain them with so much stiffness as if thy Salvation did thereupon depend those Errors I mean that cause thee to look upon our Prayers and Devotions as superstitious and make so great a breach in the Church where we live Make it thy business to understand the true ground of thine and others displeasures at our Forms of Prayer Take not things of that high concernment upon trust and captivate not thy discretion to the judgment of others never so learned but with the assistance of Reason and holy Scripture rightly interpreted labour to lift out the Truth To these and such like endeavours make use of Prayer to the God of peace that he may expel and drive away all the Mists of Error which keep thee at a distance from our manner of worshipping our great God Consider the necessity of those things that are therein desired the integrity of their first Composers the approbation of foreign Reformed Churches the Commands and Injunctions of the wise Governours of the Church and State who have no other intent in all their Laws relating to this purpose but thy Salvation and the publick Peace and Uniformity Is it possible that thou excellest them in discretion and judgment and that they are all mistaken in the good end which they purpose to themselves Without this reconcilement 't is not possible for thee to receive any benefit from our Prayers by joyning with us for thy Soul will never offer up heartily to God that for which it hath a strong aversion Secondly Overcome in thy Soul all inward displeasure which thou hast conceived against the Person of thy Minister officiating or distastes at his behaviour and actions What if he be openly scandalous or at variance with thee Let not his guiltiness cause thee to be guilty of irregularity or neglecting thy Duty to God and the interest of thy Soul Let not your mutual dissatisfaction cause you to be dissatisfied with God and his Worship Such Wicked Varlets as Hophni and Phineas are too apt to cause many to slight the Offerings of the Lord but they are not therefore excusable before God who requires an obedience to his Laws from every distinct person and allows not the vitiousness of the one to be pleaded for the disorderly behaviour of the other But certain it is that whilst thou art inwardly displeased with thy Minister thou canst never conjoyn thine heart with the Godly Prayers which proceed out of his mouth whilst thou art offended with his person his Prayers and his Words will never benefit thee much I shall not examine the many frivolous causes of distastes which the Men of our days entertain against the Clergy but this I dare affirm That it is both the Duty and Interest of a Parishioner to smother his anger and displeasure conceived against his Minister specially at the time of Divine Service when he is drawing near to God in Prayer if he will be in a possibility of praying right Look not on him at that time as thine Enemy but as thy Friend who prays for thy necessities as well as his own look not on him as one at a distance from thee but reconciled in the common Duties of Religion God forbid that the usual differences of Men about Worldly Interests should separate us in God's presence from one another and cause our variances to be eternal If therefore we are likely notwithstanding our present debates to meet unanimously to worship God's Majesty for all Eternity and sing to him angelical Halelujahs hereafter why may we not now suppress our displeasures stifle our passions and reconcile our selves in the Worship of our great Creator and common Benefactor For that intent it concerns thee not to mind so much the Person as the Petitions not so much the Minister as God for whose sake and at whose command thou art ready to forget the most sensible wrongs and check the strongest passions of hatred and displeasure Thirdly Think not that the vitious behaviour of any in the Congregation will be a prejudice to thy Prayers or hinder their accptance It is the common excuse of Men that are willing to excuse themselves from the Duties of Religion That in our publick Assemblies all sorts of persons are promiscuously admitted and that they cannot join in Prayers with the openly debauched or with persons that are known to be scandalous But this vain pretence proceeds many times from a proud conceit of our own Sanctity and favours of the Pharisees temper in the Gospel who had so much of impudence in his Prayer to God that the Publican's Humility was preferred before him God that sees all our actions and tempers knows how to put a disterence between thy relegious behaviour and the Vices of a wicked Christian 'T is not thy Neighbour's ungodliness that can prejudice thy Devotions Why shouldest thou be offended with that which God allows and the publick Unity and Peace of the Church requires We could wish that in our publick Assemblies all were Saints and Angels but seeing that is not to be expected to cull and pick out every vitious person or such as may be thought to be so by some ill-willers I am afraid scarce any would be left We must therefore bear with that which is not to be avoided and take heed that we disturb not the publick quiet more than the vitious and the profane by our indiscreet and Schismatical niceties Fourthly If thou wilt offer up the Prayers of the Church with benefit to thy Soul and with the affections of thy Heart carefully observe the motions of the Body enjoined in the Common-Prayer who knows but that this submission and this custom will have a speedy influence upon thy mind to cause thy Soul to join in the same respects to God Certain it is that the nearness of Relation between them will beget a mutual compliance between the actions of the one and the affections of the other so that the often practising of things must needs reconcile us to those performances and remove the strongest prejudices that are not grounded in reason nor strengthened by divine Revelation If therefore any weak Brother cannot at present comply with the Devotions of the Church of England if he finds an inward repugnancy for the publick Prayers which hinders him from receiving the comfort and benefit thereby intended let him follow and try my advice but a few Months Let him