heart be hasty to utter any thing before God for God is in Heaven and thou upon Earth therefore let thy words be few And this Text in the margin quotes another to the same purpose Prov. 10.19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin but he that refraineth his lips is wise Thirdly From the custom of the Heathen as it follows Vse not vain repetitions as the Heathen do It was the manner of the Heathen saith the ordinary Gloss out of Cyprian to endeavour rather to be eloquent than devout in their prayers and to be loud and clamorous rather than fervent and zealous And example whereof we have 1 Kings 18.27 where Elijah mocks the Priests of Baal calling upon their Pagan Deities Cry aloud for he is a God either he is talking or he is pursuing or he is in a journey or peradventure he is asleep and must be awaked And accordingly they cryed aloud thinking as our Saviour here saith that they should be heard for their much speaking And therefore as it follows v. 18. Be not like unto them It is a shame for Christians in the worship of the True God to be like the Heathen in the worship of their false and feigned Deities Our duty is to endeavour more for humility purity and fervency in heart than for glib nimble and voluble tongues to pray not with multitude of words and variety of phrases but with pertinent and pithy expressions with ardency and godly zeal and the reason follows For Your heavenly Father knoweth what things you stand in need of before you ask him He is every where present and knoweth all things even the secrets of all hearts and therefore to court him with long and loud Peayers implies our ignorance or misbelief of his perfections Against such extravagancy in prayers our Lord prescribes us a Form with command saying After this manner tray ye vers 9. i.e. as from the context is manifest not after the manner of the Heathen who think to be heard for their much speaking but after this manner i. e. in few words and such as are pithy and to purpose And That t is the meaning of our Lord in this place that all our Prayers should be short and not much exceeding the length of the Pattern he hath given us is manifest 1. Not only from the Context impartially weigh'd and understood but 2. From the practice of Christ's Church which is undeniably the best and surest Interpreter of Christ's meaning in his words And all the Prayers of the Church of Christ are and ever were such in all Ages in all places amongst all persons that are called Christians their Liturgies or Publick prayers are short and pithy called therefore Collects as being so many Collections of much matter in few words 3. Such are all the Prayers of the Holy and True Spirit of God which stand upon record in Holy Writ both for use and imitation viz. the whole Book of Psalms with many more all which though some of them be long as to the whole Psalm or Hymn yet they are divided by Verses into so many shorter Prayers 4. Long Prayers are not only forbidden by our Lord as the custom of the Heathen but also frequently reproved by him as the practice of the Hypocrites Matth. 23.14 Mar. 12.40 Luke 12.47 5. By long and manifold sad experience t is well known and hath been often observed That all long conceived prayers have been guilty of manifold infirmities light vain and unseemly expressions not fitting to be offered up to the All wise All-glorious Majesty of Heaven yea many falshoods many impieties and profanations have been uttered in such kind of prayers and what have been contradictory to the Religious Duties we owe to God and men 6. If it be here said How can we be too long in our Prayers since our Lord continued all night in prayer Luke 6.12 and saith also that we ought always to pray and not to faint Luke 18.1 and his Apostle commands Continue in Prayers and watch Col. 4.2 and pray without ceasing 1 Thes 5.17 and how can these Commands be obey'd without long prayer Answ To this I answer that there is a great difference between long prayers and praying long The one is unlawful because forbidden and reprov'd by our Lord the other is a Religious Duty because both commanded and practis'd by him and therefore St. Augustin saith Oratio plus gemitibus quà m sermonibus agitur plus fletu quà m afflatu And t is thus The Spirit helpeth our Infirmities by quickning our Devotions and inflaming our Desires he maketh intercession for us i. e. as the same Father secretly inclining our hearts to intercede for our selves with groanings that cannot be uttered Rom. 8.26 From which Text it is apparent quite contrary to the Enthusiasts sense thereof that t is inward groanings not outward bellowings the internal fervent desires of the Soul not multitude of words which is the proper work of the Holy Spirit in prayer The ordinary Gloss out of St. Chrysostome asks the same Question If we must not use many words in our Prayers how shall we pray without ceasing as t is commanded And answers out of the same Father That both are to he observ'd in our Religious Devotions viz. 1. That our Prayers be short And 2ly Frequent and continued So Christ hath both commanded and also exemplified in his Personal Prayers And St. Paul also That our Prayers be short but often renewed in few words but with great devotion ending briefly and beginning afresh leaving some intervals or spaces of time for the â—re-enquickening and enkindling the fire of fervor and holy zeal in the Soul. And it s added out of Cassianus The Fathers conceived it most useful to use short but frequent Prayers To be frequent that our Souls may cleave the more steddy unto God by often addresses to his Majesty To be short that we may quench the fiery darts of the Devil who is most busie to tempt us to dulness and deadness of heart in our Prayers which he very easily effects when the Prayers we say or hear are long and continued withont any inrermission T is recorded of those Primitive Christians in Egypt who were most famous for their transcendent Devotions and great Austerities in the exercise of Religious Duties That their Prayers we many and often night and day continued and yet that they were short also not only in their solemn Assemblies and publick Offices of Devotion but also That their private Prayers were as so many Raptures and Ejaculations or Defires darted up into Heaven For as the Father saith thereupon bsit ab Oratione multa lobutio sed non desit multa precatio si fervens perseveret intentio Let not our Devotions be accompanied with much speaking but much praying so long as we can hold out in attention and fervency FINIS Dr STEVVARD's Judgment of a Private PRAYER in Publick Relating to the Orders of the CHURCH of ENGLAND With an Account of
Several Short but Seasonable DISCOURSES TOUCHING Common and Private PRAYER Relating to the Publick Offices OF THE CHURCH By R. SHERLOCK D. D. Rector of Winwick and Author of The Practical Christian I will Pray with the Spirit and Pray with the vnderstanding also 2 Cor. 14.15 LONDON Printed for R. S. and Sold by Christopher Skegnes at the Golden Ball in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1687. A CATALOGUE Of all the following DISCOVRSES I. Of the Irregularity of Private Prayer c. II. Dr. Stewards Judgment c. III. Of the Difference betwixt long Prayers prohibited and continuance of Prayers commanded IV. Meditations upon our going to the Church with some short Directions for our Demeanour in the House of God touching some too-much mistaken and neglected Acts of Divine Worship V. A Sermon preached upon the Archbishop of YORK's Provincial Visitation at Warrington The IRREGULARITY Of a Private Prayer in a Publick Congregation SIR I Have sent you herein my repeated and enlarged Thoughts upon what was once the subject of our serious discourse wherein I would not at all disparage or in the least under value the private prayers and devotions of any person whether of the Laity or Clergy whether those prayers be by himself composed or by others whether they be premeditated or sometimes ejaculatory whether fixed or occasional oral or mental for thus and all these ways every truly Religious Christian prays and undoubtedly finds the benefit and feels the comfort of such holy breathings forth of his Soul unto Heaven in his private recesses But that any Person especially such who have entred into holy Orders in this Church of England should presume to use any Prayers in Publick of his own private conception whether premeditate or extemporary before or after his Sermon other than those Prayers which are by publick Authority allowed and published to that end I humbly conceive with submission to my Superiors to be unlawful in several respects First T is a disorder and confusion in the service of God For thus the Publick and Private Worship of God are confounded whilst those private Prayers which our Lord hath confined to the private Closer do yet contrary to his express command appear in publick and usurp the place of his publick Service in the Congregation The holy duties of publick and private Prayers as they are distinct in their own nature and constant use so they are distinguished by our Lord and distinct rules prescribed for the distinct and discreet performance of either Duty First for private Prayer Mat. 6.6 When thou prayest enter into thy Closet speaking in the singular number to every particular person Secondly for publick Prayer v. 7. But when ye pray use not vain repetitions speaking in the plural number to many assembled together where to avoid the Heathenish practice of much speaking or multitudinous words in Prayer v. 8. a short and most excellent Form is given us v. 9. Thus then publick prayer being distinguished by our Lord from private we are thereby forbidden to confound them in their use and practice 1 Cor. 14.40 Let all things be done decently and in order not preposterously and disorderly one part of divine worship undermining another and the lesser and more particularuty Dusurping upon the greater and more general religious Office. Secondly 'T is not only a disorderly but also an unreasonable Service and so not likely to be acceptable to him who is both the God of Order and of Wisdom And the unreasonableness of this private prayer in publick will appear by considering That all prayers offer'd up unto God in publick must be publickly known consented unto and agreed upon which the private prayer generally is not by all them that joyn therein Upon which agreement and not ortherwise Christ hath promised his presence viz. to hear our Prayers and grant our requests Mat. 18.19 20. Again I say unto you If two of you shall agree upon Earth touching any thing they shall ask it shall be done unto them of my Father which is in Heaven for where two or three are gathered together there am I in the midst of them whereupon saith the Gloss out of Origen This is the cause we are not heard when we pray in that we agree not in all things For as in Musick there must be harmony and agreement of voices or else it delights not the hearer so in the Church an assent and agreement is necessary or else God is not pleased neither will he hear the voice of our prayers 'T is this agreement in prayer that denominates our publick worship of God Common Prayer because agreed upon by common consent which doth presuppose that t is known to all that all may joyn therein So it was ever in the Church of Christ the faithful knew what they prayed for and this not at the second hand from the mouth of the Minister but before they joyned with him So Saint Chrysostome Hom. 6. in Tim. You that are faithful know what things are to be desired in Prayer because all Prayer viz. that is in publick ought to be common T is the exhortation of Ignatius Ep. ad Magn. who lived in the times of the Apostles and saw our Lord in the flesh That we assemble together in one place and use one prayer common to all For if the prayers of a Congregation be not known common and agreedupon then First the people cannot joyn therein it being little less than the sacrifice of fools for men to ask of God they know not what but wholly depend upon the Ministers unknown expressions Secondly A Prayer that is unknown before it be offered up is to an English man though spoken in English as a Latin prayer to him who understands no Latin for they are both lame and maimed and cannot stand with common sense except they make use of that Crutch which we so much blame in the Papists viz. an implicite faith to support them and both the one and the other do equally transgress that rule of prayer prescribed by the Apostle 1 Cor. 14.15 I will pray with the spirit and will pray with the understanding also Thirdly It is against both the Judgment and practice of the Vniversal Church of Christ no footsteps thereof are to be found in Antiquity but many Canons of the Church against it whereof some are noted in the Margin a Concil Lcodic cel Anno 320. Can. 15.17 ult Concil Milevit 2d. An. 416. Can. 12. Concil Epaunens celeb An. 509. Concil Gerund celeb An. 516. C. 1. Concil Toles quart Can. 2. Concil Venet. celeb An. 452. Can. 15. Concil Bracor 1. celeb An. 562.19 20. 22. Concil Vasen celeb 442. Can. 5 6 7. Fourthly T is a transgression of the Laws and Orders of this particular Church of England and this accompanied with the breach of that solemn promise which every Minister lawfully ordained hath made no man being admitted into holy Orders untill he hath attested the lawfulness of the Book
but not justifiable Customs One thing I shall adde more and it is a short Discourse How the Pulpit-Forms of Prayer were brought into the Church of England We must know then that in the time of Popery the manner commonly was to use the Lords Prayer or else an Ave Maria before Sermon so that when Edward the Sixth came to compose his Injunctions he made choice as he had good reason of the Lords Prayer for that purpose But because it was thought fit that the King 's just Supremacy in Ecclesiastical things should be at the least weekly published to the People it was thought expedient to premise to the Pater noster a Form as his Injunction stiles it of Bidding Prayer wherein the Priest was not to speak to God but only to the People exhorting them to pray instantly for such and such persons but he prayed not to God at all untill he closed with the Lords Prayer This was likewise confirm'd in the Injunctions of Queen Elizabeth and expresly call'd the Form of Bidding Prayer And when King James of blessed memory turn'd those Injunctions into Canons his Law runs Canon 55. That Ministers should move the People to joyn with him in Prayer viz. in this Form of Bidding Prayer Ye shall pray for Christs Catholick Church c. concluding always with the Lords Prayer Now let any indifferent man judge Are Exhortations proper Forms of Prayer Nay let a discerning man consider it well and it will appear that things there prudently spoken by way of Exhortation and Narration would prove very absurd in Prayer How fond would it appear to tell the great GOD of Heaven of the Kings most Excellent Majesty our Sovereign Lord Charles by the Grace of God King of England c. or as some do oft tell GOD of such a Lord Earl of such a Place and Baron of another and of his Majesties Honourable Privy Councel and his very good Lord c. And yet when we do but exhort them to joyn their Prayers such Clauses may not be unfit I can scarce think of any other way to defend them and yet t is true that this Form is there viz. Can. 55. call'd Prayer before Sermon and so it is because we then say together with the Preacher the Lords Prayer to those very purposes he exhorts And they well know who know Divinity that all kinds of Prayer are reducible to that holy Form but it follows not that the Preacher's Exhortation is a Prayer for that he then speaks not at all to God himself but to the People Indeed upon an occasion extraordinary it is a Prayer of no ordinary composition and therefore call'd the Form of Bidding Prayer both by a reform'd King and a very glorious Queen and yet de facto misus'd by an itching Puritanical party at first no doubt by Cunning and Design and afterwards as verily think for the most part by a mistake of that bad end to which it drove or by inadvertency of the Law. But it is most apparent that such forbidden Prayers are an especial means to eat out the whole English Liturgy A DISCOURSE Of the Difference betwixt Long Prayers prohibited and Continuance in Prayers commanded When thou prayest thou shalt not be as the Hypocrites c. Matth. 6.5 OXFORD Printed by L. Lichfield Printer to the University for Richard Sherlock Bookseller In the Year 1684. A Discourse of the Difference betwixt Long Prayers prohibited and coutinuance in Prayers commanded THey who are true members of Christ's Church below are conform to the glorious Saints in Heaven above a Exod. 25.40 Acts 7.44 Heb. 6.11 they do the will of God on Earth as t is in Heaven b Matth. 6.11 and that 's undoubtedly the way to Heaven We cannot post bly lose our way thither whirst we follow their steps who are thither gone before us Thole Triumphant Saints in Heaven rest not day nor night saving Holy Holy Holy Lord God c Is 6.3 Rev. 4.8 Almighty Whereunto conforms the man after God's own heart saying O Lord God of my salvation I have cryed day and night before thee d Ps 88.1 Our Lord commends it as a duty incumbent that men ought always to pray a Luk. 18.1 and by his Apostle commands it positively Pray without ceasing b 1 Thes 5.13 Giving thanks always c Ephes 5.20 Praying alway with all Prayer and Supplication d Ephes 6.18 But these Examples and Commands are not so to be understood as if we should do nothing else but pray which was an old Heresy of the Messalians and Euchites e S. Aug. l. de haer I heod Eccl. hist l. 4. c. 10. long since condemned by the Church of Christ as being a thing impossible to pray without ceasing in the bare literal sense because this corruptible body presseth down the soul and corporal necessities do call for supply Neither yet that we should make long Prayers which is the new error and great mistake of these times the which though generally the most used and best liked as being set off with the paint of a seeming zele and pretence of the Spirit yet the unlawfulness of such long Prayers will appear if we will without prejudice and partiality consider that 1. They are forbidden by our Lord saying When ye pray use not vain repetitions Matth. 6.7 in which words our Lord means not the same prayers repeated as is falsly objected against the Prayers of the Church for thus our Lord prayed himself Matth. 26.39.44 where his Prayer was short and three times repeated And therefore undoubtedly by vain repetitions in praying is understood multitude of Words and variety of expressions to the same purpose or rather to no purpose since our Desires both may and ought to be expressed in few words and pertinent according to the pattern our Lord hath given us And that t is the meaning of our Lord when he saith After this manner pray ye that our Prayers should be generally formed to the length of his Prayer prescribed will appear 1. From the Context if seriously weighed and rightly understood wherein is manifest that the manner of praying by such a short Form is commanded in opposition to the Heathenish use of much speaking in Prayer 2. From the Parallel-Text in the Margin Eccles 5.2 Be not rash with thy Mouth and let not thy Heart be hasty to utter any thing before God for God is in Heaven and thou upon Earth and therefore let thy words be few 3. From the Prayers of Christ's Church which are in all Liturgies of the Christian World for the most part of the same length and surely the general Practice of the Church is the best Interpreter of the Scripture 4. Such are generally also all the Prayers of the Holy Spirit of God which stand upon Record in Holy Writ viz. the Book of Psalms with many more We meet with none that are of such a continued length as are in use amongst us but they are all
God to go before us for as for this man Moses we wot not what is become of him Numb 22.1 When the same people were weary of the Government of Samuel the Prophet and desired a King the Lord said unto Samuel They have not despised thee but they have despised me 1 Sam. 8.7 Whereupon St. Gregory Quam reverendi sunt Pastores optimi Sanctae Ecclesiae how reverendly to be esteemed are the Pastors of holy Church who whilst they faithfully serve the Lord in the Execution of their function they are so closely joyn'd unto him in the bond of love that the least slight disesteem or neglect that is cast upon them the Lord takes it as an injury to himself So said the Lord to his Apostles and in them to their Successors He that heareth you heareth me and he that despiseth you despiseth me and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me Luc. 10.16 And this duty that the people should take heed to their Priests is commanded under a severe penalty Deut. 17.8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in Judgment thou shalt arise and come unto the Priests the Levites and that man that will do presumptuously and will not hearken unto the Priest that standeth to Minister even that man shall dye And under the Gospel also the same command is given Heb. 13.17 Obey them that have the Rule over you and submit your selves for they watch for your Souls But notwithstanding these and many more commands in the sacred shâ—eâ—s of either Testament yet is this Christian duty slighted and generally omitted and especially by those who pretend most to the sole Authority of the holy Scriptures without any Relation to the doctrine and Authority of the Church in the Interpretation thereof There being many amongst us in every Flock who presume to direct their Shepherds guide their Guides and teach their Teachers who if they teach not preach not pray not as they would have them and consonant to their humors and opinions they will censure their doctrines contemn their directions revile their persons scandalize their profession and even snatch the holy Oracles out of their mouths and separate themselves into Conventicles where they may heap to themselves Teachers after their lusts having itching ears and they turn away their ears from the truth and are turned unto fables believing and delighting in lies and vain empty prophesyings which profit not as was foretold of such 2 Tim. 4.3 4. And having mentioned Conventicles I cannot but add a word of the danger of them not so much in order to the disturbance of the peace of the Nation leaving that to the Secular Magistrate but in order to the seduction of unwary and unstable souls into falshood and errors in Religion Verily verily I say unto you he that entereth not in by the door into the sheepfold but climbeth up some other way the same is a thief and a robber Joh. 10.1 'T is the practice of subtile thieves when they seize on the honest Traveller to drag him out of the high road-way into hedges and by-places the more securely and without interruption to robb and spoil him so the spiritual thieves false Prophets ring leaders of faction and sedition do more easily seduce and robb poor silly men and women of the inestimable treasures of truth and obedience by drawing them from the open and Publick Assemblies of Gods people in his houses of prayer into By-places and lone honses where they may more securely breath forth the spiritual Infections sow the seeds of Schism and Sedition and whisper their irreligious Treasons under the mask of Religion In such places they may to their advantage vent and put off their counterfeit ware their false glosses and misinterpretations of holy Writ and make their Apocryphal Comments upon Canonical Scripture making the Holy Word of God to speak not what the â—pirit of God intends therein but what their factious spirits and wild fancies would have it That there should be such false Prophets in desart places and private houses our Lord hath foretold commanding all his disciples not to believe or follow them Mat. 24.26 Wherefore if they should say unto you he is in the desart go not forth behold he is in the secret chamber believe it not St. Augustine observes of the man that fell among thieves and was robbed and wounded Luc. 10.30 Si non descendisset If he had not been going down from Jerusalem the place of Gods Temple to Jericho a prophane and common place he had escaped that sad disaster To teach all people to beware how they leave the place which God hath chosen to put his name there the Temple and house of God to convene in any common or prophane By places under pretence of Religion and the performance of holy duties in such places 'T was otherwise with the man after Gods own heart Psa 5.7 As for me I will come into thine house even upon the multitude of thy mercies and in thy fear will I worship towards thy holy Temple And with him resolves the whole body of Gods people Psal 132.7 We will go into his tabernacle and fall low on our knees before his footstool And not only this under the Law but under the Gospel Mark 11.17 My house not the houses of men shall be called the house of Prayer of all Nations Not of the Jews as under the Law but of the Gentiles also under the Gospel and 't is there especially in Gods own house that he has promised to meet his people to be in the midst of them to hear their prayers and bless them To teach them his waies by his faithful and true Pastors and there in a word to dispence all the blessed means of grace and salvation to them Deuteron 12.5 6.11 12 13 14. 1 Kin. 8.29 30. Mat. 18.20 Luc. 19.46 1 Cor. 11.20 7. But the grand excuse of the wandring sheep and the cry of many Orthodox also is The division of the Shepheards who being divided amongst themselves do lead their flocks into several divided wayes of divine worship And the generality of the flock being not wise enough to know what way to take or whom most securely to follow they hereupon heap to themselves Teachers after their own Lusts and with the Schismatical Corinthians 1 ep 1 cap. 12. vers Every one saith I am of Paul I am of Apollos and I of Cephas and I of Christ one man or Sect of men liking this mans way of preaching and praying another anothers way and others none at all but independently rely upon the immediate teaching of Christ by his Spirit And thus Sects and Divisions are multiplied This complaint is too true and such sad effects thereof too evident and if not stopt will prove bitterness in the end But would you know who be these divided Pastors or Preachers or Sect-masters rather the corrupt springs from whom all our polluted streams of divisions flow They are such in a word as first divide