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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A27562 A sermon concerning the excellency and usefulness of the common prayer preached by William Beveridge ... 27th of November. 1681. Beveridge, William, 1637-1708. 1682 (1682) Wing B2100; ESTC R974 27,675 46

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Religion and so not only make us sound but build us up strong and firm in our most holy Faith So that considering the plainness and perspicuity the soundness and propriety of Speech which is used in it the least that can be said of the Common Prayer is that all things in it are so worded as is most for the edifying of all those that use it And as the words in the Common Prayer are all as edifying as words can be so in the Second place Is the Matter expressed by those words For there is nothing in it but what is necessary for our Edification and all things that are or can be for our Edification are plainly in it First I say there is nothing in our Liturgy but what is necessary for our Edification There are no such Fables in it or endless Genealogies which as the Apostle saith Minister questions rather than godly edifying which is in faith 1 Tim. 1. 4. There are none of those vain Disputations and impertinent Controversies which have of late been raised in the Church to its great disturbance rather than its edification There are no New Opinions nor Airy Speculations in it which serve only to tickle mens ears and please their fancies and so divert their thoughts from what they are about Look it all over without prejudice and partiality consider seriously every thing that is in it and you will find nothing asserted but what is consonant to Gods Word nothing prayed for but according to his promise nothing required as a duty but what is agreeable to his Commands nothing said or done but what is grave and sober solemn and substantial nothing but what becomes the Worship of our Great and Almighty Creator And therefore nothing but what we may be some way or other edified by And as there is nothing in it but what is edifying so all things that are or can be edifying are in it For nothing can be necessary to edifie and make us solid and perfect Christians but what is necessary either to be believed or done or else obtained by us But there is nothing necessary to be known or believed but we are taught it nothing necessary to be done but we are enjoyned it nothing necessary to be obtained but we pray for it in our Publick Form of Divine Service For first As to those things which are necessary to be known or believed it is acknowledged by all Protestants that they are fully contained in the Holy Scriptures which make a great if not the greatest part of our Divine Service and are constantly read over the Psalms once every Month the Old Testament once and the New thrice every Year And all the Fundamental Articles of our Christian Faith revealed in the Holy Scriptures being briefly summed up in the Apostles Creed that we may be sure to keep them always in our minds we have that Creed read and repeated always once and most commonly twice every day in the year And seeing the Godhead of our Blessed Savionr the Foundation of our whole Religion hath been and still is denied by some least we should be lead away with the Error of the Wicked every Sunday and Holyday we read the Nicene Creed wherein the God-head both of the Son and Holy Ghost is asserted and explained And that we may not entertain any Erroneous Opinions concerning the most Holy Trinity or the Incarnation of the Son of God but keep the true Catholick Faith whole and undefiled upon certain days every year we read that which is commonly called the Creed of St. Athanasius wherein those great Mysteries are unfolded in the most proper and perspicuous terms that they are capable of And as all things necessary to be believed are summarily contained in the Three Creeds so they are frequently explained in the other parts of our Liturgy In so much that it would be easie to frame a compleat Body of Divinity out of the words there used At least of all such things as are needful for any man in the world to believe or know in order to his Eternal Salvation The same may be said also of all those things which we ought to do For as we here do whatsoever is necessary to be done in order to our Worshipping of God in this place so we are here taught whatsoever is necessary to be learnt in order to our serving God in all other places So that no Man that frequents our publick Congregations where the Common Prayer is used can ever plead ignorance of any one duty whatsoever For if it be not his own fault he may there be instructed in every thing which he that made him requires of him For here as I observed before we constantly read the Holy Scriptures which as the Apostle saith Is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness that the Man of God may be perfect throughly instructed unto all good works 2 Tim. 3. 16 17. And seeing it hath pleased the most high God to comprise his whole will and by consequence our duty in the Ten Commandments hence we read them constantly every Sunday and Holy day throughout the whole year By which means every one that doth not wilfully shut his eyes may clearly see and fully understand his whole duty both to God and Man Especially considering that in the Prayers themselves also there is frequent mention made of all those Vices which ought to be avoided and of all those Good Works which ought to be performed by us So that we can never come to Church but we are still put in mind both of what we ought and what we ought not to do that we may be saved And then as there is nothing necessary to be known or done but we are taught it so neither is there any thing necessary to be obtained to make us either holy or happy but we pray for it in the Common Prayer For here we have the Lords Prayer a Prayer composed by Wisdom it self and therefore it must needs be the most perfect and divine Prayer that was ever made Neither do we use it only once but in every distinct Service of the Church in our Prayers before we read the Holy Scriptures And in our Prayers after Towards the end of the Litany and in the beginning of the Communion Service and in every Office of the Church besides And the reason is because although our Saviour hath not forbidden us to use any other Prayers yet he hath expresly commanded us to say this whensoever we pray And therefore in obedience to his Command our Church hath wisely ordered That in all and every Solemn Address that we make to the most high God we always say this Prayer least otherwise by our transgression of his Command in omitting this we make all our other Prayers to be ineffectual And besides by the constant use of this amongst our other Prayers we are always sure to use one Prayer both absolutely perfect in its self and most