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coarse and uncouth language vrlrich some of the bishops and ministers then used in prayer . * But , ' saith he , * let them know there is no ttnce besides
thd affection of the soul that reaches the ear of God ; and they will not jeer , if perchance they observe that some of the bishops and ministers of the church do call upon God with barbarisms / And / according to Chrvsdstom . * And * according to Chrysostom
, , * God seeketh not the eloquence of the tongue , nor the elegant composition of words , but the flower and vigour of the soul / He that only reads his prayers , may never be able to do any thing more than read ; may never be
able to use his own thoughts in conceiving a regular address to God , hi 3 maker , father and ruler . In the use of free prayer , the careful performer can take in and expatiate upon whatever relates to particular cases and occurrences , so as to engage , affect
and piously dispose the minds of those that join with him . On these accounts , I reckon that the spirit and gift of prayer are infinitely preferable to the finest compositions in the world ; and
surely every one must be convinced in his conscience , that they are a most excellent qualification in a minister of the gospel . Happy , beyond expression , is the man who is thus qualified for communion with God . He
worships him in spirit and in truth , in the pure , spiritual , lively devotion of the soul , and stands in no need of other assistance . His heart is his Prayerbook , vastly preferable to the most curious compositions . Reading of
prayers cannot give a minister any character of esteem in a Dissenting congregation , where it is considered as a very low manner of performing this office . If a minister prays by heart or memory , which is the " least that is done among Dissenters , he must , at the same time , shew some previous
care and application to qualify himstelf for the duty , and some present thought and attention in the discharge of it , and so may appear to be deserving of some respect ; which must arise to a hi ^ h degree of esteem when the propriety of expression and sentiment , together with the life and fervour of
utterance , plainly indicate that the address proceeds from the immediate conceptions and sense of a well-prepared and truly pious and devout mind . "
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Prom the foregoing extracts froni this excellent little tract , it would appear , that the learned author had . a decided objection , not only to a Liturgy , but also to precomposed prayer , in any way . The only instances when he would allow a minister to use his own precomposed prayef , are €€ on some extraordinary occasions , or under a disconcerted state of mind . On these
occasions , " he adds , ** I think they may be allowed to read such written precomposed prayer . " The growin g custom , among our Unitarian ministers , sanctioned and encouraged as it is at our colleges , of reading their prayers , is certainly matter for deep consideration . I own I am not without
my fears , that it is not only injurious to the interests of piety , but to those of Dissent . I am at least confident in the assertion , that it is by no means approved by the great majority of our
congregations , and this alone ought to make us hesitate at introducing generally a custom , which was certainly regarded by our ancestors as an unscripturai innovation A . DISSENTER .
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JLewes , Sir , June 21 , 1821 . NOW resume my pen , to lay be-I fore your readers ( according to an intimation given in a former letter , pp . 402—407 , ) some queries which have
arisen in my mind concerning Dr . Priestley ' s attempt to prove that the Gentile Christians were originally simple Unitarians . I feel extremely doubtful whether his attempt has perfectly succeeded . He appears to me only to have
proved , that very early there existed among the Gentile Christians two principal opinions respecting the divinity of Christ ; some believing that the Divine Logos , ( or Word , ) which constituted his divinity , was a person distinct from God the Father ; others ,
that it was an extension from the Father of his divinity , by which he himself was incarnate , in the man Jesus : both parties thus agreeing , that the Messiah was God and man in one person , by " all the fulness of the Godhead bodily dwelling" literally in the
man I . cannot perceive that Dr . P ., quoting ancient writers , has been able to produce any one expression or inti-
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520 Difficulties on the Unitarian Hypothesis .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1821, page 520, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2504/page/16/
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