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A51814 Praise and adoration, or, A sermon on Trinity-Sunday before the University at Oxford, 1681 by Thomas Mannyngham ... Manningham, Thomas, 1651?-1722. 1681 (1681) Wing M496; ESTC R1851 10,969 30

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PRAISE and ADORATION OR A SERMON ON TRINITY-SUNDAY BEFORE THE University at Oxford 1681. By THOMAS MANNYNGHAM M. A. late Fellow of New-Colledge Oxford LONDON Printed for William Crook at the Green Dragon without Temple-Barr PSALM 103. V. 1. Bless the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy Name THere is an Habitual and also an Actual praising or Glorifying of God the first consists in a regular conformity of our Lives or the general course of our Actions to the holy Will and Commands of God But Actual Adoration which is to be the Subject of my Ensuing Discourse is it self a peculiar and solemn part of Divine Worship which does not only consist in an open recitation of Hymns and Spiritual Songs but also in a silent Exultation of our Faculties and a Religious warmth of Soul wrought by Heavenly Objects Now there are many Words and Phrases in holy Scripture especially in this Book of Psalms which are often us'd to express the same Duty of Blessing or praising the Lord And though they are promiscuously inserted as certainly they ought to be either in Popular or Poetick Writings yet are they many of them of peculiar limitation and significancy which being somewhat stated and explain'd may serve to establish a full and easie notion of what in my following Discourse I shall make more copious and less nice reflexions Wherefore our most humble and worthy Apprehensions our sincere devout resentments of the Divine Perfections are necessarily requir'd to constitute the Invisible Adoration of the Heart and Soul and Spirit which from its Vital and inward heat is continually displaying it self into great variety of External Evidences according to the diversity of those objects about which it is immediately conversant So that we may be said to praise the Lord when we declare his free and most excellent works of Mercy and Justice of Creation and Providence to Magnifie and Adore him when we set forth his incommunicable and Natural Excellencies such as his Omnipotence Immensity c. which joyntly consider'd with his Universal Dominion and Sovereignty over all Creatures may seem to signifie all that we mean by the Glorious Majesty of God We may be said to Bless the Lord by our wishes and words and being the good we wish is Extrinsick to his Nature and not yet obtained as that the whole World may be converted and fear his Name c. we must be sure to bless him with our endeavours too But chiefly this Blessing is effected by our most solemn Gratulations for seeing we cannot confer any real good on God we must continually express our joy and gladness for his actual possession of all possible perfection To worship him usually denotes a most humble posture of Body when we incline towards or prostrate our selves on that Dust out of which we were made We Glorifie God with our Mouths and accordingly the Psalmist calls his Tongue his Glory Awake thou my Glory Thanksgiving is an open profession and a hearty acknowledgment that we have received a Benefit most freely and without any merit of our own Adoration and Thanksgiving seem to differ in these respects we adore God for things that were acted long ago which concern not us any more than that they were the Effects of his Omnipotence as for all the Wonders done in the behalf of the Children of Israel Thanksgiving relates to those Benefits which either we immediately receive or whose effects are communicated to us Also we adore God for his Judgments and his Vengeance however displayed either on our Enemies or on our selves for which we are not properly said to return Thanksgivings because Adoration respects the Justice of the Action Thanksgivings the goodness of it These Words and Phrases being thus somewhat explain'd I shall make no scruple to use them again in their popular sense and freedom according as I shall find occasion for them in my farther amplifications on the Text which I will endeavour to handle in these three respects I. You may be pleas'd to consider the Necessity and Excellence of Praise and Adoration Bless the Lord O my Soul II. I shall endeavour to shew what are those Faculties and Capacities of the Soul whereby this Adoration is perform'd All that is within me III. I will point out some of those Benefits which will arise from a Worthy performance of the Duty Bless the Lord c. I. You may be pleas'd to consider the Necessity and Excellence of Praise and Adoration Bless the Lord O my Soul Prayers and Praises which bear the name of all that we can properly call Divine Worship are as well the Eternal Dictates of Nature as the most Sacred Commands of Revelation and if there may be allowed any remarkable precedency in these higher Duties of Natural and Reveal'd Religion Praise or Adoration seems justly to challenge that Prerogative for should not we first acknowledge our Being before we view and lament its imperfections should not we return our sacrifices of Gratitude for what we have already received before we implore the Divine Benignity for further accessions fresh supplies and new assistances Common Justice obliges us at all times first to look back and magnifie the Lord for our actual preservation before we presume to put up our Petitions for pardon and future security and it requires a Psalm of Thanksgiving that we are in a capacity to know our Wants to survey our Infirmities The meanness of our nature has indeed placed us below the possibility of making any Recompence and yet the indigency of our condition still calls upon us to make fresh acknowledgments and however imperfect these oblations are yet are they the only shew of real service we can render the only Image of Requital which our Creator has indulged us And as this Adoration is our indispensable Duty so 't is our Advantage and our glory too 't is not only the business of our Creation but the Excellency of it and we never appear in a more exalted State than when we Glorifie In the performance of this Duty we more eminently make good our Communion with Saints and Angels whilst with those blessed Spirits we constitute the same Choire and make one Universal Hallelujah Nothing surely can be more Just and Natural than to imploy our breath to the glory of him who gave it us nothing more profitable than to magnifie the Lord into greater Mercies to our selves Nothing more delightful than to be always full of glorious Conceptions always pouring forth the Language of Blessing and Affection Prayers are but the Mournful Draught and Table of our Misery the representation of our Ship-wreckt Nature Repentance has a gloomy side but Praise is Faiths and Reasons Triumph a bright unmixt immaculate Joy and only wants some few degrees of being all we can conceive of Heaven Therefore II. You may be pleas'd to consider what are those Faculties and Capacities of the Soul whereby this Duty is perform'd Now the powers of the