Page images
PDF
EPUB

Part. II. new and uncertain Fancies in their ftead. As for thofe who now hold any wild or falfe Opinions, we pray, they may be convinced; for those who are untainted, we pray, they may not be deluded by cunning Deceivers, that fo we may all come to a bleffed unity in our Faith, and agree in that Truth which is but one; and Lord,' how happy were it for the Chriftian World, yea for any one part of it, if this Petition might prevail, and that there were no wicked and falfe Doctrines maintained or defended! happy were the People, who were in fuch a Cafe; and for the obtaining it among our felves, we must not ceafe to pray to him, who is able to bring it to pass.

S.V.Po hold the Faith in Unity of Spirit, in the bond of Peace, and tw Righteoufnels of

Life.]

It is the first part of a Churche's felicity, that all its Members do believe the Truth, and hold one right Faith as to the main, yet this is not enough; for fecondly, it is required alfo that thofe, who do hold this one Faith, be united in their affections, and holy in their Lives for if there be among them who agree Fundamentals, Factions and Schifms, Quarrels and Difputes, or if there be fcandalous and notorious Sins committed by thofe of this Profeffion; the Church cannot be happy, because ftrife and evil practices will dishonour Religion, hinder Piety, and expofe the Church to the comtempt of its cruel Adverfaries: wherefore in St. Paul's language we pray alfo, that we may hold the myftery of Faith in a pure Confcience, 1 Tim.iii.9.And may keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace, Ephef. iv.3. because as he adds,v.4. and 5. There is but one body, and one fpirit, one hope of our Calling, one Lord, one Faith,one Baptifm: May there be therefore Unity in

the

the affections, and Peace in the Practices of all Chriftians. May they fo agree in their Judgments, and live fo peaceably with one another, as if all made but one body, and all were animated by one Soul and Spirit,and all were bound in one Bond of Peace; for it is Peace, that makes every member agree with the other; and is called a bond, because it unites the whole body of Chriftians together, and makes them all as one, enabling them firmly to bear up against all oppofition; and if we had but this peace, nothing were wanting to make up our felicity, but only Righteoufnels of Life; for unity without Piety is but a Combination to do evil, and it is not fufficient, that we live lovingly together, unless we all live uprightly towards God, yea S.Paul thinks he is unworthy the name of a Chriftian who doth not depart from all Iniquity, 2 Tim.ii.19. Now if we want affections to make this Requeft devoutly, let us but look a while upon the deplorable face of the Chriftian Church, and confider how they who hold the fame Creeds, and agree in Fundamentals,differ in leffer matters, and that with so much bitterness and railing,fufy and malice, that thefe leffer matters have fet all Chriftendom in flames, and made our Divifions the fcorn of all that are without, as well as the grief of the wifer fort within: And again let us but behold the wickednefs of many called Chriftians, and we shall find their Pride and Luxury, Oppreffion and Fraud, Luft and Intemperance doth outvie the very Heathens; whereby that illuftrious Religion,which was once the wonder of it's Enemies for its incomparable purity and virtue, is now become the Cloak for all wickedness, and infamous to the very Infidels. How juftly may we complain with Holy Salvian? In us doth Christ Juffer reproach, and by us the Chriftian Religion is blafphemed, for we make the very Heathen fay: Bebold what kind of men they are, who

worship

[ocr errors]

Part. II. worship Chrift—we may judge of him that is worshipped by his worshippers, for how can we think him a good Mafter, whofe Scholars we fee to be fe very bad? Salv. gub.l.4. Now when we reflect upon these things, I hope we shall with moft paffionate defires, befeech Almighty God by his good Spirit to redress these Evils, which are fuch a difhonour to him, a scandal to the Church, and a grief to all good men.

S.VI. Finally we commend to the Fatherly goodness all those who are any ways afflicted oz difrelled, in mind, Body,oz Eftate, [Especially thofe for whom our Prayers are defired.]

As we are men we are obliged to pray for all Mankind, as Chriftians for the Catholick Church, and now we Remember. them which fuffer Adverfity, as being our felves alfo in the body, Heb.xiii.3. and liable to the like Calamities. Nature binds us to the firft, Religion to the fecond, and our own frail Condition to this latt. We call this a Prayer for all forts and conbitions of men; wherefore we must not leave out the afflicted, which are the greatest part of Mankind, there being no Sort or Condition of men free from afflictions; rich and poor, learned and illiterate, young and old, high and low, do all finart under them, fooner or later, in fome kind or other: And verily Afflictions are of fo many forts, that it is almoft impoffible to reckon them all, yet every kind is fo grievous to thofe which feel it, that none of all the variety of Sufferers ought to be left out in our Prayers; whereupon though a particnlar enumeration be impoffible, yet the Church hath in a few words most admirably comprized all the afflictions in the World, and firft in general recommends to the divine goodness all Perlons, any ways afflicted oz tread, let the Sufferers be never fo many, or their

Di

Suffe

[ocr errors]

(9) deũ, peữ Bçaτείων σημάτων ὅσαι τύχαι Orμoppa---Trag.Grec.

Sufferings never fo various,these words will comprehend them. But this may feem too flight and general a remembrance; wherefore here is annexed a most admirable and full Divifion of all kinds of Afflictions,the meafures of which are taken from the feveral Subjects of all human Miseries, viz.Our mind,our body and our estate, that is, from all that we are or have, for all within us and all without us, may be a Subject for misery. Calamity appears in 10000 fhapes to torture poor man (q): Sometimes the mind is deprived of the use of it's faculties by Sickness or Age,or evil Accidents, and those who retain their Understanding are oppreffed with grief, and overwhelmed with melancholy, tormented with fear, and frighted into defpair, and Solomon thinks a Man may bear any infirmity more easily than a wounded Spirit; first therefore, we pray for those, that are afflicted in mind: Secondly, Others are afflicted in Boby, as all those who labour under Sickneffes and Difeafes, Aches and Pains, Wounds and Sores, diflocation or breaking of Bones, with other Infirmities, which are incident to the body of Man, of which there is fo vaft a Catalogue, that the Masters of Phyfick can hardly find names enough to express them by, and yet there have been Inftances of them all. It were endlefs to recount all these miseries, fo that I shall rather confider, that there is not the smallest nor the meanest part of our body, but it may put us to intolerable pain,and every thing about us may become a feveral Tormenter, a finew or a vein, yea a tooth or a nail, may make us live in mifery, and take away our wretched lives; what reafon then have we to pity and pray for one another? Confidering how infinitely many there are of these fufferers, how lyable we are to fa.

into the like Estate, and how impatiently we our felves are wont to bear the leaft of thefe Evils. These confi. derations should make us pray for all the fick and miferable in the whole World. Thirdly, others are distrelfed in their fate, as all those who are poor and naked, hungry and deftitute of daily food, and all who have no Houses nor Habitations for them and theirs, and all that are in Prifon and Captivity, under cruel Task-mafiers, or in grievous bondage, so also are all fuch, who have had Estate in Land, Mony, Goods, Offi ces,&c. but are deprived of them, by cheating and falle witness, by plunder and fequeftration, by theft and robbery, or elfe by Oppreffion and Injustice,by the hand of man, or the immediate hand of God, by fire or water, ftorms at Sea, or Earth-quakes on the land; all these poor defolate Creatures we do remember with much pity, and will do good to as many of them as we can, but for the reft, all we can do is to commend them to God's infinite pity, who (as the Greek Prayer notes) knows them every one and where they dwell, and understands what they all defire and need (r), and he is able to relieve them all, whatsoever their Cafe be: He is their Father,and of a very gracious nature; fo that we hope fo many fad Spectacles will move his bowels, and prevail with his fatherly Goodness to come and help them. Now it would be a great advantage to our devout. Recital of thefe Prayers for the afflicted, if at that time when we make them, we do call to mind fome of our Acquaintance or friends, whom we know to be afflicted 02 otTreffed in mine, body 02 eftate, and efpecially pray for them, whofe miferies do more affect us, because they are known to us: And left the carelesness or uncharitableness

(r)'Ovida's &nasov nỳ và aithματα αυτέ, οἶκον και The Xpelar RUT Liturg:S.Bafil.

« PreviousContinue »