The Doctrine of Practical Praying, Chapter 22
CHAP. XXII. Of the Voyce to be used in prayer.
COncerning the voice it may be demanded whetherQuest. it be needfull in prayer, seeing the Lord heareth as well and regardeth more the prayer of the heart then the voyce of the mouth. And this doth Elias signifie 1. Kings 18. 27. when he mocketh Baals priests, saying, Cry aloud: he is a god, insinuating that if he were a god he could heare them though they did not cry aloud. I answer, That theAnsw. voyce is needfull not in respect of the Lord, who heareth and respecteth especially the cry of the heart, but in respect of us and others with whom we pray, & therefore is to be used when it may conveniently, for the reasons before alledged. Indeed sometimes in the private prayer of one alone it is more convenient to use the inward speech of the heart alone, when the outward speech of the tongue cannot be used but that it shall be heard or perceived of others. For private prayer must be made in secret, as Christ commandeth Matth. 6. 6. lest we pray, or at least seem to pray, that we may be heard or seen of men. When as therefore we are occasioned to pray by our selves alone in presence of others, we must pray in the closet of our heart, using no voyce nor making any outward shew of prayer: and the Lord which seeth the secrets of the heart will reward openly. Thus Abrahams servant standing at the well, unto which was ordinary resort, prayed in his heart, Gen. 24. 45. and Moses being among the people, Exod. 14. 15. and Nehemiah being in the Kings presence, Neh. 2. 4. and Annah the mother of Samuel in the presence of Eli, 1. Sam. 1. 13. Otherwise in private prayer it is most convenient, and in prayer with others, whether in the Church or family, it is necessary that the voice in prayer should be used: for otherwise those that are present cannot consent to our prayers and say Amen; neither can they be edified thereby unlesse they heare and understand the prayer.
Our duty is (as I have said before) to worship God both in body and soul: And as we are to glorifie God with all our members and powers, so especially by our tongue and speech: For therefore hath God given us the facultie of spee…h above other creatures, that we might not onelyonly be the matter of his glory as they are, but also the instruments to sound forth his praise. And therefore is our tongue called our glory, Psal. 16. 7. and 108. … because it is that instrument by which we are to set forth Gods glory.
Moreover, as the gesture of the body so much more the voyce of the tongue doth serve both to stirre up the affections of the heart and also to contein the cogitations from wandring about other matters. And of such moment is the voice in prayer, as that first the voice, or cry with the voice, is put sometime for the prayer it self, 1. Sam. 7. 8, 9. Psal. 66. 17. and 77. 1. and 142. 1. Secondly, the holy Ghost in many places where he speaketh of invocation is carefull to mention the voice; as in the places even now cited out of the Psalmes, and elsewhere, as Psal. 71. 23, 24. and 119. 171. my lips shall utter praise. For which cause prayer and prayse are called the calves of our lips, Hos. 14. 2. Thirdly, David prayeth, Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise, Psal. 51. 14, 15.
But here we must alwayes remember, that with our voice we must lift up our hearts to God, and that the cry of the voyce must proceed from the cry of the heart: For the Lord respecteth the heart; and if the cry come not from thence he will not heare it, Hos. 7. 13, 14. no, though men should cry loud in his eares, Ezek. 8. 18.
The voyce used in prayer is either inarticulate, or articulate.
The inarticulate is that which is uttered in sighing, groning, and weeping: For the children of God many times do best expresse their desires by sighs and grones a…d tears▪ The which proceed from an humble and servent spirit, and are wrought in us by the spirit of God, which teacheth us to pray with sighs that cannot be expressed, Rom. 8. 26. And he that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the spirit, v. 27. For as David saith Psal. 38. 9. Lord, all my desire is before thee, and my groning is not hid from thee. Thou tellest my wandrings: put my tears into thy August. …pist. 121.bottle; are they not in thy book? Psal. 56. 8. Plerunque hoc negotium plùs gemitibus quàm sermonibus agitur, plùs sletu quàm affat…. For the most part this businesse is acted more with grones then with words, more with weeping then with speech. Hezekiah professeth that he did chatter like a crane or a swallow, and did mourn like a dove, Isai. 38. 14.
The articulate voice is the externall speech it self whereby the prayer is expressed: Wherein we are to consider two things, the words which be uttered, and the language wherein they are uttered.
In the words we are to con…ider the quantitie, theWhat is to be considered in our words. Prolixity not to be affected. Rea…ons. qualitie, and the form.
For the quantity; We must not affect prolixity, as though for the multitude of our words we did look to be heard. Neither may we use any superfluity of words or idle repetitions: First, because our Saviour Christ forbiddeth all battology in our prayers, Matth. 6. 7. which Theophylact interpreteth foreign, futilitie: Hesychius, foreign, idle and unseasonable speech. But the meaning may best be gathered from the notation: for, as the Etymologist saith, the word is compounded foreign of Battus a certain Grecian who was accustomed to adorn images with long and ted…ous inscriptions which were full of vain repetitions: For so Ovid also speaketh of him, Montibus, inquit, [sc. Battus] erant, & erant in montibus illis: and therefore he saith it signifieth foreign, verbosity. Which agreeth with the exposition of Christ, who is the best expounder of himself: For in the words following he calleth it foreign, for so he saith, foreign. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. So that foreign, according to the meaning of our Saviour, is in p…ayer to use multitude of words and idle repetitions with this conceit, That for the multitude of our words we shall be heard.
Secondly, For the reason which our Saviour giveth; Christians in their prayer must not be like to the heathen. The heathen affected prolixitie and used superfluity of words and idle repetitions with this perswasion, that for their much babling they should be heard. But why must not Christians be like the heathen? Because the God on whom we call is most unlike. The heathen might well imagine concerning their gods (the best whereof were men deceased) that by multitude of words they might be perswaded; and that alwayes they did not hearken unto them, as being otherwise imployed, as Elias telleth Baals priests, 1. Kings 18. 27. and therefore thought it needfull to repeat the same things oft, that if they did not heare them at one time they might at another. As we see those priests of Baal to call upon him from morning, v. 26, 29. untill the time of the evening sacrifice, crying again and again, O Baal, heare us. But the true God on whom we call, he is our heavenly Father; and therefore for his love most ready and willing to heare us, even before we call upon him, Isai. 65. 24. And for his knowledge he knoweth what we stand in need of before we pray, as our Saviour sheweth v. 8. Which may be a third reason.
Fourthly, Solomon, Eccles 5. 1, 2. dehorteth from the same fault by two reasons: First, God is in heaven, and thou on earth: therefore let thy words be few. God sitteth in the heavens, as his throne full of majestie, power and glory; and we are on the earth, base and vile, being as nothing in comparison of him: therefore in great humility and reverence we are to speak unto him, framing and moderating our speech so as there be nothing idle or superfluous therein. For when a man is to speak to his prince or any whom he doth reverence, he will labour that his speech may be pithy, avoiding all vain, idle and superfluous talk.
Fifthly, Because in multitude of words folly is committed; For as multitude of businesse causeth dreams, so multitude of words argueth folly, v. 2, 3.
Sixthly, If in our speech with men ther… wanteth not iniquitie in multitude of words, as Solomon saith Prov. 10. 19. and if of every idle word men must give an account at the day of judgement, as our Saviour testifi…th Matth. 12. 36. If it be true as one saith, Non est ejusdem & multa & oppor…na d…ere; foreign, i. sejuncta sunt haec, foreign how much more are these true of our speech with God, wherein all superfluitie of idle words is joyned with irreverence and abuse of the majestie of God?
Seventhly, Plato, though an heathen Philosopher, yet in his wisdome, for which he was called divine, he saw that brevitie and pithinesse in prayer was to be affected rather then prolixite; and therefore preferreth the short prayer of the Lacedemonians, That God would give them foreign,Al…ibiad. 2. farre before the longer prayers of the Athenians, wherein they studying to be long, uttered many things which neither became the majestie of God nor w…re expedient for themselves: and therefore he saith, as if he had read that counsel of Solomon, foreign.
But never did the heathen so grossely offend in their battologie as the Papists at this day; who numbring upon their beads their prayers which themselves understand not, perswade themselves that the more often they do repeat their Pater-nosters and their Ave-Maries, the more satisfactory and meritorious their prayer is before God: yea, and to the greater multitude of such idle repetitions the Popes have granted the greater indulgences. For whereas according to the invention of Dominick their rosary or string of beads consisteth of 55 beads, whereof five (that is, every eleventh) be greater, to signifie that to every Pater-noster they must recite ten Ave-Mari…; they have devised since that time the Ladies Psalter conteining three rosaries, that is, … fifteen Pater-noster…, an hundred and fifty Ave-Maries, according to the number of Davids Psalmes. Not to speak now of that Ladies Psalter; in which what is spoken in Davids Psalmes of God or Christ our Lord, is transferred to the virgin Mary most sacrilegiously and blasphemously: to the saying whereof divers Popes have given large indulgences, which in all arise to threescore thousand yeares pardon.
What then? is it not lawfull to make long praiers? I answer, That prayer is not condemned of battologie or too much prolixity, wherein nothing is superfluous, neither is made with that opinion that for the lengths sake it shall be heard. Where is variety of good matter uttered with the attention of the mind and vigour of affection, there the longer we continue in prayer the better it is. We are exhor…ed in the Scriptures to continue in prayer, and to watch in the same with thanksgiving, Col. 4. 2. and our Saviour himself, to give us example, sometime continued in prayer whole nig…ts. Absit ab oratione, saithSpist. 21. pag. 403. Augustine, multalocutio; sed non desit multa precatio si fervens perseverat intentio: Let much speech be absent from prayer; but let not much praying be wanting if the intention persevere to be fervent. But we are to moderate the length of our prayers according to the measure of grace received, of faith and devotion, appearing both in the attention of the mind and intention of the affections: for, as Augustine saith, Intentio sicut non est obtundenda si perdurare I…d pag. 402non potest, ità si … non …itò est relinquenda: As the intention is not to be dulled if it cannot hold out, so if it can last it is not to be easily left.
Howbeit men may pray long and continue in prayer though their prayers be not long. To which purpose Chrysostome giveth this advice, Deum Homil. 74. Tom. 4. pag. 641, 642.orans non longos extendat sermones, nec in longum orationem producat, sed pauca simpliciáque dicat verba. Non …nim in verborum multitudine sed in mentis solertia positum est ut exaudiatur. Oportet igitur orantem ne que longos extendere sermones & jugiter orare. Breves enim & frequentes orationes fieri Christus & Paulus praeceperant parvis ex intervallis. Nam si sermonem in longum extender is, in negligentiam frequenter l…psus multam diabolo surrependi facultatem dederis, & supplantandi & abducendi cogitationem ab his quae dicuntur. Si verò continuas & crebras orationes facias, totumque tempus interpo…ans frequentiâ, facilè poteris modestiam exhibere, & ipsas orationes cum multa facies solertia: He that prayeth unto God let him not make long speeches, nor draw out his prayer into length, but let him utter few and simple words: For his hope of being heard is not placed in multitude of words, but in the right disposition of the mind. Therefore he that prayeth must not extend his speech to a great length in a continued prayer: For our Saviour Christ and S. Paul have injoyned short and frequent prayers to be made, with small pauses between them; for if thou draw out thy speech in a continued length, thou wilt become negligent, and wilt give great occasion to the devil of stealing in and of supplanting thee, and of withdrawing thy thoughts from those things which are spoken. But if thou continuest and makest many prayers, and throughout the whole time dost refresh them with frequencie, thou mayest use moderation and make thy prayers with much skill.
Agreeable to which advice was the practice of the faithfull in Egypt; of whom Augustine, Dicuntur …pist. 121. 402.fratres in Aegypto crebras quidem habere orationes, sed eas tamen brevissimas & raptim quodammodo jaculatas, né illa vigilanter erecta (quae oranti plurimùm necessaria est) per productiores moras evanescat atque hebetetur intentio: The brethren in Egypt are reported to have made many prayers, but withall such as were very brief, and in a manner suddenly darted, lest that intention vigilantly raised (which is very necessary to him that prayeth) should by long continuance vanish and be blunted. And herein our Saviour Christ hath given us a precedent. Matth. 26. 39, 42, 44. Wherefore howsoever some do carp at the short prayers in our Liturgie, calling them shreds, and wishing that in one continued prayer all our requests should be joyned; notwithstanding the wisdome of those learned and godly men who out of the most ancient Liturgies compiled ours is to be commended, who considering that our long continued prayer would to the greatest sort seem tedious and breed distraction and wandring thoughts, have set forth many short prayers to avoid wearisomenesse, and to keep the mind of the people attentive.