The Church of Englands Antithesis to Arminianism, Part 5

The Church of Englands Antithesis to Arminianism · Part 5

p. 17THE BOOKE OF Common Prayer.

IN this Booke of Common prayer established by Act of Parliament in our Church, there are sundry passages to prooue these seuerall Anti-Arminian Positions.

First, that God from eternity hath freely of his own accord, chosen out of mankinde a certaine select number of men, which can neither bee augmented nor diminished; whom he doth effectually call, saue, and bring to glory; so that none of them can perish, or fall off from him: and that these onelyonly are the true Church.

This Conclusion wee shall see confirmed by these seuerall passages,aaAnswer after the Creed. And make thy111 chosen people ioyfull. bbCollect on Al Saints day.Almighty GOD, which hast knit together the p. 18111Elect in one Communion and fellowship in the mysticall body of thy Sonne Iesus Christ our Lord: grant vsus grace so to777 follow thy holy Saints in all vertuous and godly liuing, &c. ccThe Catechisme Answere 6.Thirdly, in God the holy Ghost, who666 sanctifieth me and all the 111Elect people of God:ddBuriall of the dead. Prayer 1. Almighty God, with whom do liue the spirits of them who depart hence in the Lord, and in whom the soules of them that bee elected, after they bee deliuered from the burthen of the flesh,777 be in ioy and felicitie, &c. Wee beseech thee of thy gracious goodnesse, shortly to777 accomplish the 111number of thine Elect, &c. eeA prayer for Sunday at the ende of the reading Psal.O Almighty and mercifull Lord, which giuest vntounto thy Elect people the holy Ghost, as a777 sure pledge of thy heauenly kingdome: grant vntounto vsus this holy spirit, that he may beare witnesse with our spirits, that wee be thy children, and heires of thy Kingdome, and that by the 444operation of this spirit, wee may kill all carnall lusts, &c. ffA godly praier to be said at all times. sin. Psal.Honour and praise bee giuen vntounto thee (O Lord God almighty) most deare Father of heauen, for all thy mercies and louing kindnesse shewed vntounto vsus; in that it hath pleased thee222 freely, and of thine owne accord to 111elect and chuse vsus to saluation before the beginning of the world, &c. ggPublicke Baptisme.Almighty God, &c. grant that all thy seruants which shall bee baptized in this Water, may receiue the fulnesse of thy grace, and euer remaine in the 111number of thy faithfull and elect children, &c. See the Collect on good Fryday, on the first Sunday after the Epiphany, and one the 2. 15. and 22. Sundaies after Trinitie, to this purpose.

Secondly, that there is no such free-will, or vniuersall and sufficient grace giuen vntounto all men,222 by which they may conuert, repent, beleeue, and be saued if they will: and that it is Gods speciall preuenting grace, which must change mens hearts, and giuegive repentance, faith, and all other graces to them.

This Orthodoxe position which ouerturnes Free-will and vniuersall grace, the very center and ground work of p. 19Arminianisme, is aboundantly prooued by these ensuing **S… enim haec a Deo poscit Ecclesia, quae a se…pso sibi …ari putat, non veras sed perfunctorias orationes habet. Quis en…m veraciter gemat desiderās accipere quod orat a Domino, sihoc a seipso se sumere existimet, nō ab illo. Aug. De Bono P…seu. cap. 23.Prayers, hhThe Absolution: and Prayers before the Letanie.Wherefore wee beseech him to grant vsus true repentance, and his holy Spirit, that those things may please him which wee doe at this present, &c, O God make cleane our hearts within vsus. O God from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all good workes doe proceed, &c. iiThe Lat…uie: and prayers after it.That it may please thee to giuegive vsus an heart to louelove and dread thee, and diligently to walke after thy Commandements. That it may please thee to giuegive vsus true repentance, and to endue vsus with the grace of thy holy Spirit, to amend our liues according to thy holy Word. Though wee be tyed and bound with the chaine of our sins, yet let the pittifulnesse of thy great mercy loose vsus, &c. kkCollect on o… the 1. & 4. Sunday in Aduent.Almighty God, giuegive vsus grace that wee may cast off the workes of darkenesse, and put on the armour of light, &c. O Lord raise vp thy power and come among vsus, and with great might succour vsus, that whereas by our sinnes and wickednesse wee be sore let and hindered, thy bountifull grace and mercy may speedily deliuer vsus, &c. See the Collects on the 1. 4. & 5. Sundayes after the Epiphany.llCollect the first day of Lent. O GOD create in vsus new and contrite hearts, &c. mmCollect the 2. Sunday in Lent.Almighty God who doest see that of our selues wee hauehave no power to helpe our selues, keepe thou vsus both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our soules, &c. nnCollect on Easter day.Almighty God, wee humbly beseech thee, that as by thy speciall grace preuenting vsus, thou doest put into our hearts good desires: so by thy continuall helpe wee may bring the same to good effect. ooCollect on the 1… …9. 17. & 19. Sunday after Trinitie.God the strength of all those that trust in thee, mercifully heare our prayers, and because the weakenesse of our mortall nature can do no good thing without thee, grant vsus the helpe of thy grace, that so we may please thee both in will and deede. Lord of all power and might which art the onelyonly author and giuer of all good things, grasse in our hearts the louelove of thy name, increase in vsus true Religion, nourish vsus with all goodnesse, and of thy mercy keepe vsus in the same. Grant vsus O Lord, wee beseech thee the spirit to thinke, and to doe alwayes those things as bee righteous, that wee p. 20which cannot be without thee, may by thee be able to doe according to thy will, &c. Lord wee pray thee that thy grace may alwaies preuent and follow vsus, and make vsus continually giuen to all good workes. O God for asmuch as without thee wee cannot please thee, graunt that thy mercy may alwaies direct and rule our hearts. See the 2. 6. 13. 15. and 22. Sundaie after Trinitie to the same effect. **The Communion.Lord hauehave mercy vponupon vsus and encline our hearts to keepe this Lawe. Preuent vsus, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious fauour, and further vsus with thy continuall helpe, that in all our workes begunne, continued, and ended in thee, &c. ppCatechisme.My good childe know that thou art not able to doe these things of thy selfe, nor to walke in the Commandements of God, and to serue him without his speciall grace. qqConfirmation of Children 3. Prayer.Almighty God who makest vsus both to will and to doe the things that bee acceptable vntounto thy Maiestie, &c.rrA Commination the last Prayer. Turne vsus O good God, and so shall we be turned.

Thirdly, that Christ Iesus dyed sufficiently for all mankinde, but effectually for none but the Elect, and true beleeuers, who alone are saued by his death.

The sufficiency of Christs death for all mankinde, is expressed in these seuerall places.ssThe Letanie O God the Sonne redeemer of the World, hauehave mercy vponupon vsus miserable sinners.ttThe Communion. Aboue all wee must giuegive humble and hearty thankes to God the Father, &c. for the redemption of the world, by our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ, &c. Almighty God our heauenly Father which of thy tender mercy diddest giuegive thine onelyonly Sonne Iesus Christ to suffer death vponupon the Crosse for our Redemption, who made there (by his owne oblation once offered) a full, perfect, and **Not efficientsufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sinnes of the whole world, &c. O Lambe of God which takest away the sinnes of the world, hauehave mercy vponupon vsus. thou that takest away the sinnes of the world, receive our prayers.**The Catechisme. Secondly, in God the Sonne, who hath redeemed mee and all mankinde.uuVisitation of the sicke. O Sauiour of the p. 21world saue vsus, which by thy Crosse and Passion hast redeemed vsus: All this must bee vnderstood onelyonly of the sufficiency and merit of Christs death, not of the efficacie, benefit, and application of it, which belongs to none but to the true Church of Christ, euen the Elect and true beleeuers as these passages ensuing will informe vsus. xxTe Deum.When thou hadst ouercome the sharpnesse of death, thou diddest open the Kingdome of heauen to all beleeuers. We pray thee helpe thy seruants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious bloud. O Lord saue thy people, and make thy chosen people ioyfull. yyBenedictus.Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for hee hath visited and Redeemed his people. To giuegive knowledge of Saluation to his people, for the remission of their sins. His mercy is on them that feare him throughout all generations. He remembring his mercy hath holpen his seruant Israel, &c.zzLetanie. Spare thy people whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious bloud.aaThe Communion. This is the bloud of the new Testament, which is shed for you, and for many for the Remission of sinne. Grant that by the merits and death of thy Sonne Iesus Christ, & through faith in his bloud, we and all thy whole Church may obtaine remission of our sinnes, and all other benefits of his passion. Now the Church the mysticall body of Christ, is the blessed company of all faithfull and elect people, and none else but they; as the next prayer, the Collect on good Fryday, and the places quoted in the first Position, prooue. And whereas the Minister in distributing the Bread and wine, saith particularly to eueryevery man: take this in remembrance that Christ dyed for thee: drinke this in remembrance that Christs bloud was shed for thee; it cannot imply that Christ dyed effectually for all men; but the contrary, that hee dyed only thus for the Elect and faithfull: because our Church bbThe Exhortation before the Communion.prohibites all such as want true faith and repentance, or liue in any grosse and knowne sinnes, to come to the Sacrament, admitting none but true and faithfull penitents to it: so that the Minister and our Church doe alwayes p. 22looke vponupon all Communicants, as the elect and chosen Saints of God, endued with true faith and repentance, and so they may well apply (at leastwise in the iudgement of Charity) the efficacy and merits of Christs death vntounto them. I will conclude this point with the passage of A Prayer necessary for all men. Iesus Christ thy onelyonly Sonne hath perfectly fulfilled thy Law, to iustifie all men that beleeue and trust in him. And thus much for our Common Prayer Booke.