Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n
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A44141
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A correct copy of some letters written to J.M., a nonconformist teacher concerning the gift and forms of prayer by Matthew Hole ...
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Hole, Matthew, 1639 or 40-1730.; J. M. (John Moore), 1641 or 2-1717.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing H2408; ESTC R19302
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77,888
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204
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the Praise of the whole Earth you would do well to remove into that blessed Countrey where there is no Liturgy to dull your Devotion but Free Prayer enough to serve for all Emergencies and nothing but the Voice of Joy Peace and Unity can sound in your Ears But you would have me Petition our Governours for removing the Occasions of our Divisions which you say are Declarations and Subscriptions that you may continue here with much more comfort Sir I have learnt more Manners than to direct and prescribe to my Governours who have a further prospect and deeper Insight into these matters than 't is fit for me to pretend to But it s a piece of your wonted Modesty to set up your vain Opinion above the Wisdom and Authority of your Superiours And you are resolv'd to be out of humour if they order matters otherwise than you would have them If you would but root out this piece of spiritual Pride and learn so much Humility as to suspect your own Judgment which God knows and any Wise Man may see is weak enough you would soon find there were no need or occasion for such a Petition But you have one Fetch more against enjoining of Forms that must not be past by and that is this viz. The Magistrate thinks these things to be but indifferent whereas many of us judge them to be Unlawful And therefore we are to be born with and his Judgment to be laid aside An excellent way indeed to set up your selves above your Superiours and to obey only what you please for 't is but for you to say or think any thing they Command to be Unlawful and then you have an Excuse or Dispensation from all Obedience to it Is not this an easier way than that of Corban to evacuate the Law and make void the Commandments both of God and Man But how come any among you to judge Forms of Prayer Unlawful which have ever been used in the Church from the beginning of Christianity to this Day If you have led any into this Mistake your Duty is to undeceive them and lead them out of it and not to desire that such weak or rather wilful persons should be humoured in such Fooleries As for things plainly forbidden by the Law of God I hope we may so far trust to the Care and Integrity of our Governours as not to fear the enjoining of them Or if they should you have a good Dispensation from obeying them But for Matters judged to be good and profitable to the Publick as the use of Forms against which some may have a few Scruples and Prejudices here I hope the Wisdom and Authority of Government may turn the Scale and the certain Duty of Obedience ought to weigh down an uncertain Scruple Sir I have no time or room left to consider your fine Similies of the Spectacles and Crutches at present but you shall not fail of it in my next I am SIR Your affectionate Friend and Servant M. H. April 29. 1697. LETTER XI To J. M. SIR I Observ'd in my last that tho' you can pretty well digest Forms of Prayer yet 't is the Injunction of them that sticks in your Stomach But I hope what I farther observ'd concerning the Just Authority of Superiours to command and the necessary Duty of Subjects to obey in a matter so lawful and expedient too may help to make it go down a little better However against the Imposing of them you go on to tell me that Forms of Prayer were at first brought in and intended only as Helps of Impotence and Insufficiency and to confine Men still to them is to necessitate them to a continual Impotence You own them to be excellent and useful Things in the Times of Ignorance and Darkness but now there is such a Meridiam Light that shines about us there can be no other use of them than to send us back again or keep us in the former Darkness for Christ and his Apostles say you never enjoyned these things and to Impose them now under the Gospel is no better than to force Spectacles upon good Eyes and Crutches upon able Legs Now to set these things in their true Light I shall readily grant you 1. that Forms of Prayer are Helps of Impotence and Insufficiency but they are such Helps as have been necessary ever since the days of Inspiration and will be so to the end of the World For there is a natural Impotence in all Men as to the Great Duties of Religion and more especially to this of Prayer And therefore all possible Helps are to be used to aid and assist us in the due performance of it Under the old Testament God Almighty appointed many Forms of Prayer Praises and Blessing the People and the Jewish Service consisted of these together with the Psalms of David and other Occasional Prayers composed by their Learned Doctors And these were the Helps for their Impotence under the Legal Dispensation Under the Gospel we find Forms of Prayers compos'd and prescrib'd to help the Impotence of Christians under that Dispensation St. John the Baptist the first Gospel Preacher taught his Disciples to Pray Luk. 11.1 2. which could not be Praying by the Spirit for none but the Holy Ghost could teach that but he composed and taught them a Form of Prayer After which the Disciples of Christ came to him and beg'd him to teach them to Pray as John taught his Disciples and he instantly gave them a Form of Prayer and this was done to help the Impotence and Insufficiency of both for we find the Apostles acknowledging that they knew not what to Pray for as they ought and that they were not sufficient of themselves to think a good thought And because the whole Oeconomy of the Jewish Worship was then to be abolished and a more Spiritual and Christian way of Worship to be set up in its room there was granted to them for a while an extraordinary Gift of Praying by Inspiration for the setling and propagating of it And when that was done this extraordinary Gift ceased and Publick Prayers were compos'd according to it And this hath continued in the Christian Church ever since So that as Necessity at first brought in Forms of Prayer to help Mens natural Impotence and Insufficiency for this Duty so there now is and ever will be the same necessity to continue them 2. But Secondly 'T is a Mistake Sir to affirm that they were brought in and intended only for Helps of Insufficiency for there were other wise and great Ends in it namely when Christianity multipyed to preserve Order and Unity and to prevent Schisms and Divisions in the Church And likewise that all Men may be acquainted with what they offer up unto God in Publick Worship without which they cannot agree in their Petitions nor Pray as we are bid with one Heart and one Consent But Christ and his Apostles say you never enjoyned Forms of Prayer I would not have
true Devotion But besides this there are Feverish Heats of Fancy and Enthusiasm which inflame and disorder the Spirits and in Men of hot Brains and strong Imaginations raise them to some degree of Extasie and spiritual Frenzy This is a Disease of the Mind and is very far from the Temper of True Devotion And the want of knowing and distinguishing between these hath led Men into many Mistakes about the Duty of Prayer and other parts of Religion for finding themselves somewhat warm and earnest at a Religious Exercise they presently conclude themselves fir'd with true Zeal and Piety towards God when all the while it proves no better than false Fire and a plain mistake of the heat of Fancy for the Fervors of true Devotion But how may we discern the one from the other Why chiefly by observing these three things viz. 1 What is it that creates this Warmth 2 How long does it continue 3 And what Fruits does it produce First then Let me ask you what is it that heats you in such Prayer Is it the Matter or only the newness and variety of the Phrases and Expressions in which 't is delivered If it be the soundness of the Matter that thus affects you then the same Matter delivered in a well-composed Form would have the same effect and this would shew it a sincere Fit of Devotion But if it be only a new conceived Prayer that does this Feat then 't is plain that 't is not the Matter but the mere Novelty of the words that thus tickles and warms you Such sudden Transports are occasion'd only by new and surprising words which striking briskly upon the Fancy are apt to move and enliven it But this does not go deep enough to reach or warm the Heart but are only the Fallacies and false Heats of Imagination Again Secondly let me ask you How long doth the Warmth you feel at such Prayers continue Does it abide with you and keep up a constant heat of Love and Desire towards God Is it like the Vestal Flame that never goes out Or is it only like the Fit of an Ague that comes and goes again and where the Hot Fit is soon follow'd with a Cold one If it be only so be not deceived this is not the inward Flame or Heat of a devout Heart for that is permanent and lasting but either a Feverish Fit of Hypocrisie or a Delusion of Imagination True Zeal is Uniform and Constant and though it may admit of some Intermissions yet like the Natural Heat of the Heart 't will abide as long as Life continues but if it grows cold again and wears off this pretended Warmth is no other than the transient and preternatural Heats of Fancy Thirdly and lastly Let me ask you What Fruits does this Warmth you speak of produce Does it enkindle and cherish in your Breast the Love of God and your Neighbour If so 't is a good sign of a kindly heat and spiritual Life in the Soul But if as it too often happens it enkindles the Flames of Wrath and Contention If it leads you into ways of Division and Separation by which you become Undutiful to your Superiours Proud Censorious and void of Charity to your Equals This Heat is but an Ignis fatuus that hath led you out of the way of Truth and Peace Such a Zeal is no better than Wild-fire and hath more than once set whole Kingdoms in a Combustion In a word if this be the best Fruit that grows upon this Stock 't is evident it springs from a rotten and corrupt Tree All this pretended Warmth that ariseth from the Novelty and Change of Words is only the gratification and amusement of Fancy and not the Fervours of true Devotion So that what our Saviour said of False Prophets may be said of false Lights By their fruits you shall know them The sum is This deadness and dulness Men complain of is not in the Prayers which are admirably fitted to enkindle and excite holy Desires and Affections but in their own Prejudices which lie as a Clog on the Soul and hinder both its fervency and flight unto Heaven And therefore these must be removed that they may the better lift up their Hearts unto God And if they will be perswaded to mend themselves they will see little reason to mend the Prayers but rather great Cause to bless God that the Church whereof they are Members hath provided for them such a pious and excellent Model of Devotion There is one thing more to be considered which I find frequently mentioned in your Letters where though things lie scattered up and down without Order or Method yet I shall endeavour to bring them all into their right places and so leave nothing material unanswered and that is The imposing of Publick Forms is a great Grievance and the not leaving Men to the Liberty of Free Prayer that have a Talent that way Which shall be consider'd in the next I am SIR Your affectionate Friend and Wellwisher M. H. April 26. 1697. LETTER X. To J. M. SIR I Find by your Papers that you can sometimes speak as meanly of New and Varied Expressions in Prayer as one would wish and yet at other times can cry them up as the only Lively and Spiritual way of Praying And tho' sometimes your Objections against Publick Forms are so fierce and terrible that one would think you utterly condemn them to be thrown out of the Church yet in a milder mood you can speak more favourably and allow them to be pretty harmless if not useful things These are some of your many and usual Inconsistencies But what is it that thus unsettles you and makes your Pleas as various as your Prayers Why 'T is the Injunction of Forms that sticks in your Stomach and can't down with you You would have them left Free and not impos'd upon those who you think have no need of them And here you magnify your own and some others Talent this way and complain most bitterly of Silencing so many Brave Men that could not comply with the Publick use of them You call them only helps of Impotence and Insufficiency and compare them to Spectacles for bad Eyes and Crutches for lame Legs c. Now to set these things right let us consider 1. what Authority our Superiours have to command in these matters and who gave them this Authority And 2ly Let us see what Obligations lie upon Subjects to obey and observe them And then we shall the better see what force your fine Similies and frivolous Objections have against them First then let us see what Authority our Superiours have to command in these Matters To clear this we must note that Governours being God's Ministers are set up by him and invested with his Authority which must therefore extend to all Lawful things and whatsoever is not forbidden or countermanded by God himself Now Forms of Prayer are so far from being forbidden that we find them recommended