A Treatise of Prayer, Treatise · Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
WEE come now to that ſpeciall prayer, which by good warrant wee call the Lords prayer, and to make anſwer as wee can, and as the Lord ſhall aſſiſt to ſix Queries thereupon. But firſt wee may not diſſemble what we finde written by worthy Hild: and excellent Perkins, That the Lords prayer may be ſayd by us as wee read it; Our bleſſed Saviour preſcribed to his Diſciples a forme of prayer, not onelyonly to be to them and his whole Church a rule and ſampler, according to which all our prayers ſhould be framed, as appeares. Mat. 6. 9. After this manner pray yee, but even for them, and to ſay, tying themſelves to the very words of it, as appeareth Luke 11. 2. When you pray ſay Our Father. So worthy Hild: excellent Perkins ſpeakes in theſe words; The Lords prayer is a direction and as it were a ſampler to teach us how and in what manner we ought to pray: None is to imagine, That wee are bound to uſe theſe words onelyonly and no others, for the meaning of Chriſt is not to bind us to the words, but to the matter and to the manner, and to the like affections in prayer; And then a little after making anſwer to the third plea againſt the uſe of the Lords prayer, Hee anſwers, That therefore the rather it ſhould be uſed as a prayer. But he makes no proofe hereof, unleſſe this which followes may be taken for a full proofe; Sure it is that ancient and worthy Divines have r… verenced it as a prayer chooſing rather to uſe the ſame words than any other, as Cyprian, Tertullian, Auguſtine, And ſo concludes, Wherefore this opinion that the Lords prayer is not to be uſed as a prayer, is full of ignorance and errour.
SECT. II.
THus wee have dealt faithfully in ſetting downe what we find pleaded for the ſaying of the Lords prayer. Yet we hope to acquit our ſelves of both theſe, Ignorance and Errour, in the words of truth and ſoberneſſe, though our Judgements bend from Mr Hilds words. That our Saviour gave his Diſciples that prayer to ſay, tying themſelves to the very words: nor can we fall in with theſe ancient Divines, chooſing rather to uſe thoſe words in prayer than any other. Wee ſhall in all humility and modeſty interpoſe our judgement againſt this, without making the leaſt reflection upon the good knowledge, excellent learning and Godlineſſe of theſe two men, the one famous for all theſe all over this Nation, the other over all the Chriſtian world; And therefore how loath are wee to make mention of theſe things: But that here is a neceſſitie for it, becauſe they that are ſuch ſticklers for formes of prayer, and are reſolved to bare themſelves up upon thoſe crutches. They alſo, who, as far can be obſerved, never uſed any other prayer but the Lords prayer, doe catch at ſuch ſayings as theſe, coming from ſuch excellent men, when they ſlightingly paſſe over what they may find in every page for their edification; wee were ſaying, full loath we are to meddle in theſe things, but for the reaſon above-ſaid; Though wee hope wee ſhall doe but our duty herein, which is to bring the ſayings of men to the ſayings of God; The words of men, to the words of God, as to their ſtandard or ſcale, where they muſt be weighed in the ballance of the Sanctuary.
SECT. III.
HEE is a perfect man that ſlips not with his tongue; and as perfect is hee, that ſlips not with his pen, Dabimus veniam petimuſ que viciſſim, wee give and wee crave the ſame pardon. But ſtill wee take leave to doe our dutie, finding wee have ſuch warrant for it, to examine the forementioned words by the touchſtone of Gods word. Thoſe brave and generous Bereans did ſhewAct. 17. 11, 12 themſelves to be ſuch, by inquiring into, and queſtioning the Apoſtles words, who yet, if any in the world, might have been beleeved upon his ipſe Dixit, his owne word for it, that Apoſtle might; It was enough that Paul ſayd it; no, not enough, for theſe truely wiſe Bereans; they have a ſure word to goe by, and to that word they will bring the Apoſtles words, to inquire of them whether they be the words of truth, as wee doe inquire whether it be true gold by the touchſtone and fining pot; They that receive the word with all readineſſe of mind, will with the ſame readineſſe ſearch the Scriptures dayly, whether thoſe things be ſo or no. And behold a bleſſed effect of this; Many of them beleeved. Wee think this was ſpoken before, If ſo, ſo much the more wee ſhould obſerve it.
SECT. IV.
BEfore we proceed to our next Chapter, we deſire the Reader to obſerve for the cloſe of this; That theſe excellent men have but ſpoken their owne words, and given us their owne perſwaſion, as to the matter of our enquiry, onelyonly the later of them tells us the Judgement of others, Cyprian, Tertullian, and Auguſtine, theſe choſe rather to pray in theſe very words: But what is this to us, if we cannot underſtand our Lords words as they did? Indeed we find Cyprian hath a whole Sermon of the Lords prayer, which in order is his ſixt. And it was ſo cleare to him, All were to pray in thoſe very words; that he concludeth That to pray in any other words, argueth not onelyonly ignorance but a ſin. Yet theſe are but words, ſpoken onelyonly not weighed, and in darke times compared with ours. And, we think, there are ſome other words in the ſaid Sermon more to be taken notice of, which are theſe; The New man, now borne againe, and like the Prodigall, come Homo novus renatus quando Deum, patrem dicimus, quaſ… fil… Dei agere debemus, ut quomodo nobis placemus de Deo▪ patre ſic ſibi placeat & ille de nobis.to himſelfe, and returned to his Father, the firſt word he ſpeakes is Father. And now he is declared a Son, he carries himſelfe like a child. Whence he infers it ſhould be our great Care ſo to doe, That as it pleaſeth us well to Call God Father; ſo it may pleaſe Him as well to call and acknowledge us His children: which falls-in fully with what we reade, Jer: 3. 19. Thou ſhalt call Me my Father, and ſhalt not turne away from Me; that is as before explained, I will give thee the Diſpoſition of a childe, when I give thee leave to call Me Father. This now we have cited out of Cyprian, tendeth much, we think, both to our edification, and information, that we may know how to ballance his words, and, by the juſt weight we find in the later, make allowance for the lightneſſe of the former. And all this we ſhall be able to doe, we meane, we ſhall be edified and fully informed in theſe and all other matters neceſſary to ſalvation, when we ſhall humbly yeeld-up our ſelves into His Hands who leads into all Truth, and will not ſuffer us to be lead by our own humours or principles. So wee proceed according to our propoſed Method, to Anſwer ſome Queries about the Lords prayer, where theſe matters will fall-in in their due place and order.