Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	apostle_n	church_n	saint_n	2,415	5	5.7571	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70321	A view of the nevv directorie and a vindication of the ancient liturgie of the Church of England in answer to the reasons pretended in the ordinance and preface, for the abolishing the one, and establishing the other.	Hammond, Henry, 1605-1660.; Charles I, King of England, 1600-1649.; England and Wales. Sovereign (1625-1649 : Charles I). Proclamation commanding the use of the Booke of common prayer.	1646 (1646)	Wing H614B; ESTC R2266	98,033	122

for Kings c. 1 Tim. 2. 1 2. where though the mention of those severall sorts of Prayers signified by those foure words might be matter of apology for the making severall addresses to God for Kings in one service supposing them proportion'd to those sorts in that text yet have we distributed the frequent prayers for him into the severall services one solemne prayer for him in the ordinary daily service and only a versicle before as it were prooemiall to it another in the Letany another after the commandements of which though our book hath two formes together yet both the Rubrick and Custome gives us authority to interpret it was not meant that both should be said at once but either of the two chosen by the Minister another before the Communion where the necessity of the matter being designed for the Church militant makes it more then seasonable to descend to our particular Church and the King the supreame of it just as Herodotus relates the custome of the Persians l. 1. p. 52. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they pray for all the Persians peculiarly for the King To this practice of ours so grounded in the Apostle we shall adde 1. The reward promised by the Apostles intimation to such Prayers if not as I conceive by those words that we may live a peaceable and quiet life c. that peaceable and quiet life of all blessings the greatest seeming to be a benefit or donative promised to the faithfull discharge of that duty of praying and supplicating and interceding and giving thankes for Kings yet certainly somewhat else in that high Declaration made concerning it in the next words for this is good and acceptable before Good our Saviour whose acceptation is reward sufficient to any action and yet who never accepts but rewards also 2. The practice of the antient Christians set down by Tertull. Sacrificamus pro salute Imperatoris pura prece our prayers are sent up a pure sacrifice for the prosperity of the Emperor and that quoties conveniebant in another place at every meeting or service of the Church precantes semper pro omnibus Imperatoribus vitam prolixam Imperium securum domum tutam exercitus fortes Senatum fidelem populum probum Orbem quietum quaecunque hominis Casaris vota sunt praying alwaies for the Emperours and begging of God for them long life secure reigne the safety of his house couragious Armies a faithfull Senate a good people a quiet world all those severalls which would make up more prayers then our book hath assigned all that either as Man or King they can stand in need of and so Athenagoras and others to the same purpose especially when they have occasion to justifie the fidelity of Christians to their unchristian Emperours having no surer evidence to give of that then the frequency of their prayers for them which they which thinke necessary to abbridge or supercede must give us leave by that indication to judge of somewhat else by occasion of that to pick to observe their other demonstrations of disloyalty to those that are set over them by God And to any that are not guilty of that crime nor yet of another of thinking all length of the publike service unsupportable I shall refer it to be judged whether it be necessary that the King be prayed for in the Church no oftner then there is a Sermon there Sect 36 6. The Communion of Saints which if it were no Article in our Creed ought yet to be laid up as one of the Christians tasks or duties consists in that mutuall exchange of charity and all seasonable effects of it between all parts of the Church that triumphant in heaven Christ and the Saints there and this on earth militant which he that disclaimes by that one act of insolence casts off one of the noblest priviledges of which this earth is capable to be a fellow-citizen with the Saints and a ●llow-member with Christ himselfe The effects of this charity on their parts is in Christ intercession and in the Saints suffrages and daily prayers to God for us but on our part thankesgivings and commemorations which 't is apparent the Primitive Christians used very early solemnizing the day of Christs resurrection c. and rehearsing the names of the Saints out of their Dipticks in time of the offertory before the Sacrament besides this so solemne a Christian duty another act of charity there is which the Church owes to her living sonnes the educating them in the presence of good examples and setting a remarke of honour on all which have lived Christianly especially have died in testimony of the truth of that profession and again a great part of the New Testament being story of the lives of Christ and his Apostles and the rest but doctrine agreeable to what those lives expressed it must needs be an excellent compendium of that book and a most usefull way of infusing it into the understanding and preserving it in the memory of the people to assigne proper portions of Scripture in Lessons Epistles and Gospells to every day every Sunday every Festivall in the year which are none in our Church but for the remembrance of Christ and the scripture-Scripture-Saints to infuse by those degrees all necessary Christian knowledge and duties into us the use of which to the ignorant is so great that it may well be feared that when the Festivalls and solemnities for the birth of Christ and his other famous passages of life and death and resurrection and ascension and mission of the Holy Ghost and the Lessons Gospells and Collects and Sermons upon them be turn'd out of the Church together with the Creeds also 't will not be in the power of weekly Sermons on some head of Religion to keep up the knowledge of Christ in mens hearts a thing it seems observ'd by the Casuists who use to make the number of those things that are necessariò credenda necessary to be beleeved no more then the Festivalls of Christ make known to men and sure by antient Fathers whose Preaching was generally on the Gospells for the day as appears by their Sermons de tempore and their Postils To all these ends are all these Festivals and these Services designed by the Church and to no other that is capable of any the least brand of novell or superstitious and till all this antidote shall be demonstrated to be turn'd poyson all these wholesome designes to be perfectly noxious till ill or no examples uncharitablenesse schismaticall cutting ourselves off from being fellow-members with the Saints and even with Christ our head till ingratitude ignorance and Atheisme it selfe be canonized for Christian and Saint-like and the onely things tending to edification in a Church there will hardly appeare any so much as politick necessity to turn these out of it Sect 37 7. For the reading of the Commandements and prayer before and the responses after each of them though it be not antiently

past through the Ordinance and the Preface and in the view of the Ordinance stated and setled aright the comparison betwixt the Liturgy and the Directory and demonstrated the no-necessity but plain unreasonablenesse of the change and so by the way insisted on most of the defects of the Directory which are the speciall matter of accusation we professe to find in it I shall account it a Superfluous Importunity to proceed to a review of the whole body of it which makes up the bulk of that Book but instead of insisting on the faults and infirme parts of it such are the prohibition of adoration toward any place p. 10. that is of all adoration while we have bodies about us for that must be toward some place the interdicting of all parts of the Apochryphall Books p. 12. which yet the ancient Church avowed to be read for the directing of manners though not as rule of Faith the so frequent mention of the Covenant in the directions for Prayer once as a speciall mercy of God p. 17 which is the greatest curse could befall this Kingdome and a great occasion if not Author of all the rest which are now upon it then as a means of a strict and religious Vnion p. 21. which is rather an engagement of an irreligious Warre then as a pretious band that men must pray that it never be broken p. 21. which is in effect to pray that they may never repent but continue in Rebellion for ever Then as a mercy again p. 37. as if this Covenant were the greatest treasure we ever enjoyed Then the praying for the Armies by Land and Sea p. 38. with that addition for the defence of King and Parliament and Kingdome as resolving now to put that cheat upon God himselfe which they have used to their Fellow-Subjects that of fighting against the King for the defence of him Beloved be not deceived God is not mocked Then affirming that the Fonts were superstitiously placed in time of Popery and therefore the Child must now be baptized in some other place p. 40. while yet they shew not any ground of that accusation nor never will be able to do Then that the customes of kneeling and praying by and towards the dead is superstitious p. 73. which literally it were Superstitum cultus if it were praying to them but now is farre enough from that guilt And lastly that the Lords day is commanded in the Scripture to be kept holy p. 85. the sanctification of which we acknowledge to be grounded in the Scripture and instituted by the Apostles but not commanded in the Scripture by any revealed precept The first that we meet with to this purpose is that of Ignatius Epist ad Magnes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let us therefore Sabbatize no longer Let every Christian celebrate the Lords day which saying of an Apostolick writer being added to the mention of the Lords day in the New Testament is a great argument of the Apostolicke institution of that day which the universall practice of the Church ever since doth sufficiently confirme unto us and we are content and satisfied with that authority although it doth not offer to shew us any command in the Scripture for it And then you may please to observe that the same Ignatius within a page before that place forecited for the observing of the Lords day hath a command for Common-Prayer and I conceive for some set Forme I shall give you the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let all meet together to the same whether action or place in Prayer Let there be one Common-Prayer one mind c. and Clem. Alex. to the same purpose the Altar which we have here on Earth is the company of those that dedicate themselves to Prayers as having 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a common voice and one mind which cannot well be unlesse there be some common Forme by all agreed on Instead I say of pressing these or the like frailties upon this work which will argue the Composers of it to be men and fallible I shall rather desire to expresse and evidence my charity my endeavor to read it without any prejudice by adding my opinion that there be some things said in it by way of direction for the matter of Prayer and course of Preaching which agree with wholsome doctrine and may tend to edification and I shall not rob those of that approbation which is due to them nor conceive our Cause to need such peevish meanes to sustaine it Being not thereby obliged to quarrell at the Directory absolutely as a Booke but onely as it supplants the Liturgy which if it had a thousand more excellencies in it then it hath it would not be fit to do And being willing to give others an example of peaceablenesse and of a resolution to make no more quarrells then are necessary and therefore contributing my part of the endeavour to conclude this one assoon as is possible And the rather because it is in a matter which if without detriment to the Church and the Soules of men the Book might be universally received and so the experiment could be made would I am confident within very few years assoon as the pleasure of the change and the novelty were over prove its owne largest confutation confesse its own wants and faults and so all but mad men see the errour and require the restitution of Liturgy againe This I speak upon a serious observation and pondering of the tempers of men and the so mutable habits of their minds which as they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 easily changed from good to evill so are they which is the difference of men from laps'd Angels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 easily reduced also to their former state again when reason comes to them in the coole of the day when the heat of the kindnesse is past and a satiety hastning in its stead or if it prove not so well yet falling from one change to another and never coming to stability How possible this may prove in this particular I shall now evidence no farther then by the parallel vehement dislikes that the Presbyteriall Government hath already met with among other of our reforming Spirits very liberally exprest in many Pamphlets which we have lately received from London but in none more fully then in the Epistle to the Book entituled John Baptist first charging the Presbyterians who formerly exclaimed against Episcopacy for stinting the spirit that they began to take upon them to establish a Dagon in his throne in stinting the whole worship of the God of Heaven c. and in plain words without mincing or dissembling that they had rather the French King nay the great Turk should rule over them then these The only use which I would now make of these experiments is this to admire that blessed excellent Christian grace of obedience and contentment with our present lot whatsoever it be that brings not any necessity of sinning on us I mean