Selected quad for the lemma: england_n
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A59765
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The irregularitie of a private prayer in a publick congregation in a letter to a friend.
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Sherlock, R. (Richard), 1612-1689.
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1674
(1674)
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Wing S3241; ESTC R25624
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14,535
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24
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THE IRREGULARITIE OF A PRIVATE PRAYER IN A PUBLICK CONGREGATION In a Letter to a Friend ANNO DOMINI 1674. THE IRREGULARITIE 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 undervalue the private prayers and devotions of any person whether of the Laity or Clergie whether those prayers be by himself composed or by others whether they be premeditated or sometimes ejaculatorie whether fixed or occasionall orall or mentall for thus and all these waies every truly religious Christian prays and undoubtedly findes 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 unlawfull 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 consined to the private closet 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 distingushed by our Lord and distinct rules prescribed for the distinct and discreet performance of either Duty First For Private Prayer Matt. 6.6 When thou Prayest enter into thy closet speaking in the singular number to every particular person Secundly For Publick Prayer v. 7. but when yee Pray use not vain repetitions speaking in the plurall number to many assembled together where to avoid the Heathenish practise 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 practise 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 particular Duty usurping 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 offered 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 otherwise 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 harmonie and agreement of voices or else it delights not the hearer so in the Church an assent and agreement is necessarie or else God is not pleased neither will he hear the voice of our prayers 'T is this agreement in prayer that denomitates 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 Chrys 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 Ignnat 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 agreed 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 spoke in English as a Latine prayer to him who understands no Latine 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 understanding also Thirdly It is against both the judgment and practice of the Universal Church of Christ no footsteps thereof are to be found in Antiquitie but many Canons of the Church against it whereof some are noted in the Margin (a) Concil Leodic cel Anno. 320. Can. 15.17 nlt. Concil Milevit 2d An. 416. Can. 12. Concil Epaunens celeb An. 509. Concil Gerund celeb An. 516. c. 1. Cocil Tolet. quart Can. 2. Concil Venet. celeb An. 452. Can. 15. Concil Bracor 1. celeb An. Can. 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 occompanied with the breach of that solemn promise which every Minister lawfully Ordained hath made no man being admitted into holy Orders until he hath attested the lawfulness of the book of Common Prayer and promised that he himself will use the same and no other in publick subscribing with his own hand this attestation and promise so that the contrary practice in the use of any Private prayer by any Minister of this Church is a breach of Fidelitie to the Church and to the Reverend Bishop that Ordained him Fiftly 'T is also a Transgression of the Common Law of the Land which in the Acts of Parliament for Uniformitie in Common-prayer both old and new enjoyns peremptorily under severe penalties That no man shall use any prayer openly or in publick but such as are set forth in the said book so that both in this and in the former respects 't is an act of
Disobedience to the Higher Powers and breach of the fifth Commandement I might adde in the last place the Non-conformitie of this Practice with all other Protestant Communicants beyond the Seas their Ministers being neither fond of it themselves nor permitted such a Liberty by their Governors Object Object But to solve all these Particulars 't is said A Private Prayer before Sermon is allowed nay enjoyned by the 55 Canon of the Church which is called indeed a Form of Prayer but therein the Minister is not bound up to the use of the same words but may pray to that effect Answ Answ First But surely there is no man that understandeth sense and is not blinded with prejudice will say That the Form prescribed in the Canons is a Form of prayer but an Exhortation only to move the people to joyn in prayer for Christs Holy Catholick Church for the Kings Majestie for and 't is most properly called a bidding of prayer And 't was Mr. Cartwright that Ring-leader of the Puritan-Faction in the time of Q. Elizabeth who first turned this Bidding prayer into a long prayer of his own head and 't was the very engine hereby he and his followers undermined the Common Prayers of the Church Answ Second It is a very unseemly thing if seriously considered to tell the Great King of Heaven by way of prayer to him that the Kings Majestie is King of England Scotland c. Defendor of the Faith c. or to tell him of such or such a Lord that he is Earl of such or such a Place Lord of such one of the Privy Councel his very good Lord and Patron clauses with several particulars in that Canon are very improper to be said unto God by way of Prayer but not so by way of Exhortation unto Prayer Thirdly Because the Observance of this Canon was obnoxious to the censure and exceptions of many who desired an absolute Prayer in stead of that bidding Form it was proposed at the Convocation held An. 1640. that it might be so ordered and accordingly there was a short Prayer drawn up comprizing all the heads of the Canon The which notwithstand the confidence some had of its universal reception was rejected by the most Reverend Arch-Bishop who judged it neither safe nor fitting to alter that Ganon which was founded on the Injunctions of Queen Elizebeth and King Edward 6. at the first Reformation which sufficiently evinceth the said Canon to be no Prayer not yet lawfull to be altered and used Prayerwise Fourthly 'T is a presumptuous usurpation and Affront upon the Church of Christ for any man to thrust himself upon such a Ministeral Office as he is not by the Authority of the Church entrusted withall and whosoever acts the Presbyterian in this particular becomes Independant the one having no more just Anthority derived from the Church that ordained him to use such a private Prayer of his own in Publick than the other hath either to Preach or Pray in Publick being not admitted into holy Orders nor lawfully called thereunto Fiftly 'T is an Innovation in Religion a new up-start practise brought into the Church not above 70 years ago and may therefore be reckoned inter profonas vocum novitates which the Apostle admonished to avoid even all profane and vain bablings (a) 1 Tim. 6.20 canting language new words and new waies such as are contrary to those old paths and those good wais which the Lord commands us to enquire after and to walk therein Jer. 16.16 And such New wais are fitly called profane quasi procul a fano saith the Commentator Lyr. in Loc. because fat from the Temple or different from the words and wais of Christs Church and contrary to the Apostles depositum tene 1 Tim. 6. in the following words hold fast that which is committed to thee i. e. saith the Father quod tibi creditum non quod a te inventum what the Church whereby thou art addmitted to the Ministerial Function hath commited to thy trust and commanded thee to observe hold fast that keep close to that not following thine own fancy and invention to bring in what is New which ever undermines the Old and true way of Divine worship Seventhly If a call or command from God be herein pretended though not allowed by the Church yet in this particular they are at aloss except they pretend immediate Revelation with the Enthusiasts For there is neither command nor example in holy Writ to justifie this private Prayer in Publick we have many Sermons of the Apostles upon record but no Prayer before any of them so that this is an act of usurpation upon the Publick Divine Worship a presumption to do that which God hath no where commanded nor the Church of Christ allowed Eighthly Liberty being permitted for any person of what perswasion soever to vent his private conceptions by way of Prayer in Publick opens a gap to Heresie and Schism in the Church to Sedition and Rebeltion in the Kingdome For their private errours and designs being inserted in their Prayers do insinuate into the Affections and more mightily enssame the People than by any other way of perswasion whatsoever Old Truths being undermined by New wais of worship and vain bablings the constant Parents of errors in the Faith (a) 1. Tim. 6.20.21 Ninthly Thus Separations and Divisions both amongst Ministers and People are bred and nourished for whilst one Minister or gifted man as such are called Prays thus and thus and another in a way and with words diverss from him one sort and Sect of men likes this mans way method and language tone and gesture another sort is taken more with anothers way Hence One saith I am of Paul and another I am of Apollo and another I of Cephas (a) 1 Cor. 1.12 which is the life and being of Schism the remedie whereof is To obey that most pathetical exhortation Now I beseech you Brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that yee all speak the same thing That there be no divisions amongst you (b) 1. Cor. 1.10 To speak the same thing and to use the same words in the Publick worship of God or as the same Apostle To glorify God with one minde and one mouth is the way to avoid divisions and to take off the People from their partiality and fondness in preferring one Minister before another merely for their less or more eminencie in this unwarrantable way of Praying Tenthly By this Private Prayer the Publick Prayers of the Church are implyed to be imperfect and deficient are slighted nay contemned and undermined For they with whom this way is in repute generally slight slubbour over the Common-Prayer carelessly irreverently and indevoutly but to their own conceived Prayers give all the advantages of seeming zeal both in their tone and language elevation of eyes hands and no marvel then that the one be so much applauded by the vulgar and the other slighted especially