Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	spirit_n	worship_v	worshipper_n	8,943	5	13.1108	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45474	A vindication of the ancient liturgie of the Church of England wherein the several pretended reasons for altering or abolishing the same, are answered and confuted / by Henry Hammond ... ; written by himself before his death.	Hammond, Henry, 1605-1660.	1660 (1660)	Wing H617; ESTC R21403	95,962	97

lay any heavier charge upon it Sect. 22 From all which considered and a great deal more which might be added from the usefulnesse of known Forms to those whose understandings are not quick enough to go along with unknown and if they have no other are faine ofttimes to return without performing any part of that so necessary duty of prayer in the Church from the experience of the effects of the contrary doctrine the many scandalous passages which have fallen from Ministers in their extemporary Prayers of which meer pity and humanity civility and mercy to Enemies restrains us from inserting a large Catalogue and the no manner of advantage above that which set Forms may also afford but onely of satisfaction to the itching eare exercise and pleasure to the licentio●● tongue and the vanity of the reputation of being able to perform that office so fluently which yet is no more then the Rabbins allow Achitophel that he had every day three new Forms of prayer or having a plentifull measure of the Spirit which is believed to infuse such eloquence I shall now conclude it impossible that any humane eye should discern 〈◊〉 Necessitie in respect of Ecclesiasticall policy edifying the Church why all Liturgie should be destroyed not wash't nor purg'd with Sope suc● any Reformation would be but torn and consumed with nitre for suc● is abolition why it should suffer this Ostracisme unlesse as Aristides di● for being too vertuous be thus vehemently first declaimed and then b● nish'd out of the Church Sect. 23 Secondly for outward bodily worship 't is particularly prohibited by the Directory at one time at the taking of our seats or places when we enter th● Assembly directly contrary to that of I●idor si quis veniat cùm lectio celebratur adoret tantùm Deum If any come in when the Lesson is a reading let him onely perform adoration to God hearken to what is read neve so much as recommended at any time nor one would think permitted i● any part of their publick service like the Persians in Strabo l. 15. that never offer'd any part of the flesh to the Gods in their sacrifices kept all th● to themselves 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 supposing the Gods would b● content with the souls which in the blood were powred out and sacrificed to their honour 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they said that the Gods wanted and desired the souls for a sacrifice b● not any thing else of which people Herodotus l. 1. hath observed that they had neither Templars nor Altar and laugh'd at them which built either but went to the top of some hill or other and there sacrificed prefe●ring such naturall Altars before any other The former of these is th● avowed Divinity of these men and might perhaps have been attende● with the latter too were it not that there be so many Churches alread● built conveniently to their hands in stead of which our Liturgie hat● thought fit not onely to recommend but prescribe bodily worship fi●● by directing in the Rubrick what part of service shall be performed kneeling then by reading the Venite where all encourage and call up one th● others to worship and fall down and kneel c. to worship i. e. adore whic● peculiarly notes bodily worship and so surely the falling down and kneeling before the Lord. And of this I shall say that it is 1. an act of obedience to that precept of glorifying God in our bodies as well as souls 2. A transcribing of Christs copy who kneeled and even prostrated himself in prayer of many holy men in Scripture who are affirmed to have done so and that affirmation written for our example and even of the Publican who though standing yet by standing afar off by not looking up by striking his breast did clearly joyn bodily worship to his prayer of Lord be mercifull to me a sinner used at his coming into the Temple and in that posture thrived better then the Pharisee in his loftier garbe went away more justified saith our Saviour as a vessel at the foot of a hill will say the Artists receive and contain more water then the same or the like vessell on the top of it would be able to do and he that shall do the like that shall joyn adoration of God and nothing but God to the use of that or the like servent ejaculation at his entrance into Gods house will sure have Christs approbation of the Publicans behaviour to justifie him from any charge of superstition in so doing and besides 3. the most agreeable humble gesture and so best becoming and evidencing and helping the inward performance of that most lowly dutie of Prayer and consequently that it may be charged with blasphemy as well and as properly as with superstition and probably would be so if the latter were not the more odious of the two and indeed why kneeling or bowing should be more lyable to that censure then either mentall or orall prayer there is no reason imaginable it being as possible that one may be directed to a false object and so become Idolatrous or superstitious in the true notion of those words as they denote the worship of Idols or dead men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or superstites as the other and for the improper notion of Superstition the one again as much capable of being an excesse in Religion the mind or tongue being as likely to enlarge and exceed as the body or of using a piece of false Religion as the other the bodily worship duly performed to God being the payment of a debt to God and no doubt acceptable when it is paid with a true heart and no way an argument of want but a probable evidence of the presence and cooperation of inward devotion as I remember Nazianzen saith of his Father Or. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He shewed a great deal in the outside but kept the greater treasure within in the invisible part And on the other side the stiffnesse of the knee an argument of some eminent defect if not of true piety yet of somewhat else and Christs prediction John 4. that the time should come that the worshippers should worship God in spirit and truth being not set in opposition to bodily worship but to the appropriating it to some singular places Jerusalem or that Mountain not producible as any apology or excuse for such omission To these brief intimations I shall need adde no more when the conclusion that I am to inferre is so moderate being onely this that it is not necessary to turn all bowing or kneeling or bodily worship out of the Church were there any superstition in any one or more gestures this were too great a severity to mulct the Church of all above the proportion of the most unlimited arbitrary Court whose amercements must alwayes be within the compasse of salvo contenemente which this will not be if there be no competency of bodily worship left behind

Authority From which these things will be worth observing 1. That the very body of it is a set form of Prayer and so no Superstition in set forms 2. That their publishing it by authority is the prescribing of that form and so 't is lawfull to prescribe such forms 3. That the title of Supply of Prayer proveth that some there are to whom such supplies are necessary and so a Directory not sufficient for all And 4. That its being agreeable to the Directory Or as it is word for word form'd out of it the Directory turn'd into a Prayer sheweth that out of the Directory a Prayer may easily first be made and then constantly used and so the Minister ever after continue as idle without exercising that gift as under our Liturgy is pretended and so here under pretence of supplying the ships all such idle Mariners in the ship of the Church are supplied also which it seems was foreseen at the writing that preface to the Directory where they say the Minister may if need be have from them some help and furniture 5. That the Preface to this new Work entitled A reason of this work containeth many other things which tend as much to the retracting their former work as Judas's throwing back the money did to his repentance Sect. 2 As 1. That there are thousands of Ships belonging to this Kingdom which have not Ministers with them to guide them in Prayer and therefore either use the Common prayer or no Prayer at all This shews the nature of that fact of those which without any objection mention'd against any Prayer in that book which was the onely help for the devotion of many thousands left them for some moneths to perfect irreligion and Atheisme and not praying at all And besides these ships which they here confesse how many Land-companies be there in the same condition how many thousand families which have no Minister in them of which number the House of Commons was alwayes wont to be one and the House of Lords since the Bishops were removed from thence and to deal plainly how many Ministers will there alwayes be in England and Wales for sure your care for the Vniversities is not so great as to be likely to work Miracles which will not have skill or Power or gift which you please of conceiving Prayers as they ought to do and therefore let me impart to you the thoughts of many prudent men since the news of your Directory and abolition of our Liturgie that it would prove a most expedite way to bring in Atheisme and this it seems you do already discern and confesse in the next words that the no prayer at all which succeeded the abolishing of the Liturgie is rather to make them Heathers then Christians and hath left the Lords day without any mark of pietie or devotion a sad and most considerable truth which some persons ought to lament with a wounded bleeding conscience the longest day of their life and therefore we a●e apt to beleeve your charity to be more extensive then the title of that book enlarges it and that it hath designed this supply not onely to those ships but to all other in the like want of our Liturgie Your onely blame in this particular hath been that you would not be so ingenuous as Judas and some others that have soon retracted their precipitous action and confest they did so and made restitution presently while you rather then you will to rescue men from heathenisme caused by your abolition restore the Book again and confesse you have sinned in condemning an innocent Liturgie will appoint some Assembler to compile a poor sorry pitteous form of his own of which I will appeal to your greatest flatterer if it be not so low that it cannot come into any tearms of comparison or competition with those forms already prescribed in our Book and so still you justifie your errour even while you confesse it Sect. 3 Secondly that 't is now hoped that 't will be no grief of heart to full Christians if the thirsty drink out of cisterns when themselves drink out of fountains c. which is the speciall part of that ground on which we have first formed and now labour'd to preserve our Liturgie on purpose that weak Ministers may not be forced to betray their weaknesse that they that have not the gift of Prayer as even in the Apostles time there were divers gifts and all Ministers had not promise to succeed in all but one in one another in anothers gift by the same spirit may have the help of these common gifts and standing treasures of Prayer in the Church and because there be so many of these kinds to be lookt for in a Church that those which are able to pray as they ought without a form may yet in publick submit to be thus restrain'd to the use of so excellent a form thus set before them rather then others should be thus adventur'd to their own temerity or incur the reproach of being thought not able and then this providing for the weak both Minister and People will not now I hope be charged on the Liturgie by those who hope their supply of Prayer will be no grief to others Sect. 4 Thirdly That these Prayers being enlivened and sent up by the spirit in him that prayeth may be lively Prayers and acceptable to him who is a Spirit and accepts of service in spirit and truth Where 1. it appears by that confession that as the place that speaks of worshipping in spirit and truth is not of any force against set praiers so neither is that either of the Spirits helping our infirmities belonging as it is here confest most truly to the zeal and fervor and intensenes of devot●●●●nfused by the Spirit and not to the words wherein the addresse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which if the Spirit may not infuse also in the use of our Liturgy and assist a Minister and Congregation in the Church as well and as effectually as a company of Mar●mers in a ship I shall then confesse that the Directory first and then this Supply may be allow'd to turn it out of the Church Sect. 5 Lastly That in truth though Praiers come never so new even from the Spirit in one that is a guide in Prayer if the Spirit do not quicken and enliven that Prayer in the hearer that follows him it is to him but a dead form and a very carcase of Prayer which words being really what they say a truth a perfect truth and more soberly spoken then all or any period in the Preface to the Directory I shall oppose against that whole Act of abolition as a ground of confutation of the principall part of it and shall onely adde my desire that it be considered what Prayers are most likely to be thus quickned and enlivened by the Spirit in the hearer those that he is master of and understands and knows he may joyn in or those which depend wholly