Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	church_n	religion_n	true_a	2,563	5	4.8200	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59575	A sermon preached before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, and Aldermen of London, at Bow-church by John Sharpe ...	Sharp, John, 1645-1714.	1676 (1676)	Wing S3001; ESTC R15183	21,301	51

to purifie the Blood and Spirits upon which the perfection of our Intellectual Operations doth exceedingly much depend but also by dispelling those adventitious clouds that arise in the discerning faculty from the noisome Fumes of Lust and Passion All Vice in the very nature of it depraves and distorts a mans judgment fills our minds with prejudices and false Apprehensions of things and no man that is under the dominion of it can possibly have such a free use of his Reason as otherwise he might for he will commonly see things not as they are in themselves but in those disguises and false colours which his Passion puts upon them Upon which account he cannot avoid but he will be often imposed upon and commit a thousand errors in the management of his Affairs which the vertuous man whose Reason is pure and untinctur'd is secured from It cannot be imagined that either he should foresee events so clearly or spy opportunities so sagaciously or weigh things so impartially or deliberate so calmly or transact so cautiously as the man that is free from those manifold prepossessions which his mind is fraught with We see this every day verified in men of all Ranks and Conditions of all Callings and Employments What a multitude of inconveniences as to matter of dealing between man and man doth an intemperate Appetite betray men to How silly and foolish is the most shrewd man when Wine hath gotten into his head There is none so simple in his company but supposing him to be sober and to have designs upon him he shall be able to over-reach him What a world of Advantages doth the Angry man give to him he deals with by the hastiness and impatience of his spirit How often doth a man do that in the fury and expectancies of a Lust for which when his Ardors are over he is ready to bite his nails for very vexation It is thus more or less with all kind of Vices they craze a mans head and cast a mist before his eyes and make him often lose himself in those very ways wherein he pretends to be most skilful So that it cannot be denied that vertue is of a singular use in all matters wherein we have occasion to make use of our Reason and doth secure us from a multitude of indiscretions which without it we should unavoidably commit But secondly Godliness is also an excellent means to secure a mans diligence in the discharge of his Calling and Employment which is also a matter of very great consequence in order to our thriving in the world for it is the diligent hand that maketh rich and the man that is diligent in his business that shall stand before Kings as Solomon tells us Now the Obligations that Religion layeth upon us to be careful in this point are far stronger then what can arise from any other respect or consideration soever for it obligeth us to mind our Business not only for our own but for Gods sake it chargeth the matter upon our Consciences and represents it to us as a part of that service we owe to our Creator and upon the due performance of which no less then the everlasting welfare of our souls doth depend for it assures us that he that will call us to account for every idle Word will much more do so for the idle expence of our Time and the abuse or not improvement of those Talents that he hath entrusted us with So that though we had no worldly inducement to make us diligent in our Callings though we were sure we should suffer no prejudice in our Temporal Affairs by Idleness and the neglect of our Business the fear of which yet is the only principle that puts worldly men upon action nevertheless we were infinitely concerned not to be slack or negligent in this matter in regard it is a point that will be so severely exacted of us in the other world I know but one Objection that can be made against this discourse and it is this that what engagements soever Religion lays upon us to the careful spending of our time yet it s own Exercises Prayer and Reading and Meditation take up so great a portion of it which might be spent in the works of our ordinary Employment that in effect it rather hinders our attendance on our Business than promotes it But to this it is easily answered that there is no man so engaged in the world but may if he please make both his Business and his Devotions consist together without prejudicing of either They have very false Apprehensions of Religion that think it obliges us to be always upon our knees or always poring upon some good Book no we do as truly serve God and perform acts of Religion when we labour honestly in our Vocation as when we go to Church or say our Prayers It is true indeed we ought to have our hearts in Heaven as much as is possible and to that end we ought to pray continually but what hinders but we may do this in the midst of our Business There is no employment doth so entirely engross a mans mind but he may find leisure if he please many times a day to entertain good thoughts to quicken and reinforce his purposes to cast up a short Prayer or a wish to God Almighty And this I dare say for your encouragement that such a devout frame of heart such frequent and sudden dartings of your souls to God while you are at your Business will be so far from hindering or distracting you in it that they will make you go about it with much more vigour and alacrity But further I would ask any man that makes the foresaid Objection supposing Religion ten times more expensive of our time then really it is yet whether Vice and Sin be not much more so then it would be What a multitude of idle avocations from and interruptions in our Business doth that daily occasion unto men what a number of impertinent Discourses unprofitable Visits needless points of Gallantry long diversions by Drink and Play and Company not to mention a great many other Debauches doth it frequently engage men in and yet these we count no hinderances to our Business these we complain not of but to spend a quarter of that time in some devout Exercise this is intolerable it wasts too much of our time our occasions will not permit it Such partial and unjust estimators of things are we But I proceed In the third place then as for Frugality and good Husbandry which is another necessary requisite for the getting of Wealth Religion is unquestionably the best mistress of it in the world for it retrencheth all the exorbitances and wantonnesses of our Desires which are the things that pick the money out of our purses and teacheth us to live after the measures of Nature which every body knows are little and cheap It perfectly cuts off all those idle expences with which the Estates of other men stand