Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A60344
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An earnest call to family-religion, or, A discourse concerning family-worship being the substance of eighteen sermons / preached by Samuel Slater.
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Slater, Samuel, d. 1704.
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1694
(1694)
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Wing S3961; ESTC R25152
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217,672
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342
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have the dew of Heaven and the fatness of the Earth may you be richly stor'd with grace and come behind in no gift thoroughly furnished for every good work yea and fill'd with all the fulness of God but withall be very humble great in value and usefulness but little in your own eyes that will not be to your loss but much to your advantage for God gives grace to the Humble and no less to your Honour Humility eclipseth and obscures no Mans glory but sets a singular lustre and gloss upon it making it shine with a greater brightness Holy and Humble Paul was one of the most Eminent Servants God ever had in the World and his speaking of himself as being less than the least of all Saints detracted nothing from his real worth nor did it hinder his being equal with the chief of the Apostles if we may speak of a chief among them among whom our Lord appointed a Parity at that time there was no such thing as a Pope I would not speak one word to swell or puff any of you up if you study and know your selves as you ought you will soon find defects infirmities corruptions enough to keep the best of you down yet I cannot but say you are my Joy and Crown and as I do every day make mention of you in my Prayers so I can and frequently do bless and give thanks to my God upon my remembrance of you and that upon sundry accounts which I speak of for your encouragement and the promoting your farther progress I have reason to hope it is the true grace of God in which you stand and as you have a Name to live so you have been made partakers of the Life it self for as you do all make a good and excellent Profession so I know none of you that stain and contradict it by a scandalous walking You have been stedfast in shaking and falling Times some did indeed go off in the Days of sore Persecution not having on the whole Armour of God nor being able to indure Hardship as the good Souldiers of Jesus but they were few so few that we did not miss them we do not want them the Lord grant that they may find Mercy of the Lord at the great Day I shall be glad to meet them in Heaven You have received and owâ—â—d me as an Angel or Messenger of God and the delight you take in my Ministry hath evidenced it self and still doth by your constant attendance upon it In this Sceptick Age you have been Wise to Sobriety in this Erroneous Age you have been sound in the Faith neither admiring the pretended new Lights nor falling in love with those old rotten Errours which some have dig'd out of their Graves In this dividing Age you have kept the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace you are not for taking up a Yoke of Bondage but for standing fast in that Liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free yet no Friends to Licenciousness While you flee to the Gospel for Relief and Comfort you own the Law for your Rule you do not divide Christ but take him just as God hath exalted him and doth offer him Prince as well as Saviour and not only to be an underling to pay your Debts and bear your Burdens and die for your Offences but likewise to be a King upon his Throne Commanding and Ruling you And as you rely only upon him for Righteousness so you desire to imitate and follow him in his Holiness and to shew forth his Vertues who hath called you out of Darkness into his marvellous Light Am I mistaken in any of you as to these things I hope I am not the Lord grant I may not I know of no wild Notions nor loose Opinions among you may there never be any but all of you have as one said Heads well-hearted and Hearts well-headed and so a soundness throughout May you approve your selves to God and Men being good Christians good Subjects good Citizens good Husbands and Wives good Parents and Children good Masters Mistresses and Servants good Friends and Neighbours filled with the Holy Ghost and Goodness and all the Fruits of Righteousness Love God Father Son and Spirit with a supreame intire and most intense love think the most vehement flame of your love too cold here Love the Church of God study seek and pray for her good Love all that love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity though in some things they differ from you let not that cause any alienation in Affection so long as they hold the Head count them Brethren and be dear over them as such love one another help one another quicken strengthen comfort one another provoke one another to Love and good Works rejoice in one anothers Mercies sympathize with one anothers Afflictions bear one anothers Burdens and so fulfil the Law of Christ. Most dearly Beloved my Mouth is open to you and my Heart enlarged The great God knows I do as really desire and pray for the Prosperity and Salvation of you all and of all yours as I do mine own and in the following Sermons I have commended no other things to you than what I believe and know to be both your Duty and Interest and would my self be found in the practice of if we call our selves Christians let us be Christians Israelites and Israelites indeed what signifies the Name without the thing Gird up I beseech you gird up the Loins of your Minds make no trifling Objections listen not yield not to any wicked Temptations but apply to your Work act for God in your Places to the utmost shine bright in your own Sphere keep your Hearts continually in an holy frame fit for Communion with God in Duty be not now backward to it nor hereafter weary of it Though you have but a little stock of Knowledge and Parts fall to Trading and you will increase it Be not discouraged because you cannot do what you would God accepts of the Will when the Disciples were offended with a good Woman Christ's plea for her was She hath done what she could The Lord told his Servant he had been faithful in his little and thereupon gave him an entrance into his Joy Your little will find great acceptance and be rewarded with great Blessings so it be your Best In short would you stem the Tide of Profaneness which breaks in upon us with fury Would you save the Life of Practical Religion which is brought very low and in a deep Consumption Would you be instrumental for the preserving of a Seed to serve the Lord Would you be able to give a good account of your selves in the Day when God shall come to Reckon with you And do you desire the present and future welfare of those precious Souls which are committed to your Care then observe the Rules and follow the Counsels of God which are given in this Book And the God of Heaven accept you in the Beloved grant your
was his Will that all his Disciples should of him learn to be so Mat. 11.29 The highest Heaven is not so much above the Earth as the great and glorious God is above Angels and Men there is an infinite distance between him and us yet how low doth he stoop how wonderfully doth he condescend to his poor Creatures to Worms to Dust and Ashes to whom he looks with whom he dwells whom he gives leave to lay hold upon his strength to wrestle with him to come with boldness to his throne of Grace to whom he saith Ask me of things to come concerning my Sons and concerning the work of my hands command ye me Isa. 45.11 Mind these things and be astonished that so great a Majesty should so greatly bow to such pitiful shreds of Being Psal. 8.4 What is man that thou art mindful of him or the Son of Man that thou visitest him Now certainly since the great God and our Saviour do thus stoop and humble themselves we cannot but conclude that Pride becomes no body but it is the shame and disgrace of all that are guilty of it and generally those Persons are highest in Pride who are lowest in Worth Pride and Frowardness turn Men and Women into Monsters yea into a kind of ugly Devils for as such they appear in the Eyes of those that have to do with them yea let their other accomplishments be never so great yet this one thing spoils all Such a Man is an Understanding Man a Learned Man a Wise Man an Active Man a very Useful Man this is an high Encomium but he is a Self-conceited Man a Proud Lofty Man it is a great blot in his Escutcheon Men do not like him and God will resist him whereas Humility is an Ornament wheresoever it is found but it sets them off most who are highest God delights to see such a Man he will dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble Spirit Isa. 57.15 And that is an evident sign he likes and loves them well and as he will dwell with him so will be good and liberal to them he will revive his spirit and give him grace Jam. 4.6 He hath a special favour for them he will smile lovingly upon them he will give forth plentifully of his Spirit unto them they shall have fresh influences and blessed assistances grace for grace Thus an humble Spirit renders you pleasing to God in and through Jesus Christ and a kind affable courteous behaviour will commend you to Men to all those with whom you Converse But while I am commending humility to Family Governours I would not have them to do any thing unworthy of that place in which God hath set them Stoop but not basely not below your place shew your selves humble and kind but do not make your selves mean and cheap Remember you are Parents and Master and Mistress and carry as such and let not Inferiours forget themselves nor turn kindness into wantonness and neglect there are due bounds and limits unto which they may go and beyond which they cannot pass without being Transgressors It is not fit that Servants should be all tongue in the presence of their Master or their Mistress or boldly mingle them selves with their Discourses yet they may be permitted to speak before them so that they open their mouths with wisdom in a due season and in a right manner It is not fit that Servants should usurp Authority or take into their own hands the reins of Government as if they had a right to dictate and give order no no their business is to do the work and not to cut it out yet they may sometimes and in some cases modestly shew their Opinion Servants are to be obedient to their Masters pleasing them well in all things not answering again not quarelling and murmuring against their Orders or Corrections not thwarting and contradicting them and thereby provoking their anger and indignation against them yet when they are spoken to they must not be sullenly silent but give respective answers yet when they have received wrong and are unjustly charged they may seasonably with due submission and soft words which turn away wrath assert their own innocency and clear themselves of that blame which was laid upon them An instance hereof we have in David 1 Sam. 24.8 9 10 11. When Saul looked behind him David stooped with his face to the earth and bowed himself and David said to Saul wherefore hearest thou mens words saying behold David seeketh thy hurt Behold this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee to day into my hand in the Cave and some bid me kill thee but mine eye spared thee and I said I will not put forth my hand against my Lord for he is the Lords Anointed Moreover my Father see yea see the skirt of thy Robe in my hand for in that I cut off the skirt of thy Robe and killed thee not know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand and I havâ— not sinned against thee thus he did and so Servants may humbly clear and vindicate themselves when innocent And Saul himself as bad as he was did hearken to him and owned his integrity saying thou art more righteous than I for thou hast rewarded me good whereas I have rewarded thee evil Before I pass on and leave this particular I shall propound to your consideration the practice of Iob who was a Mirrour of Patience and a Non-such for Piety He tells us it was far from him to despise the cause of his Man-Servant or his Maid Servant when they contended with him If I had done so saith he what shall I do when God riseth up and what shall I answer when he visiteth Iob 31.13 14. We must needs speak something to that word contended when they contended with me May Servants contend with their Masters and Mistresses they do often too too often contend among themselves one with another more shame for them but would Iob allow them to contend with himself if he did indeed we may admire his Patience but have no reason to commend his Prudence What therefore are we to understand by this their contending let Holy and Reverend Mr. Caryl answer the question which he doth in these Particulars First We are not to understand this of a bold and saucy contending doubtless Iob was a Wiser Man than to endure such unmannerly Servants in his House such sacucie carriage deserves and calls for sower returns nor Secondly Are we to understand hereby contention in a way of gainsaying thwarting him in his Orders and contradicting his Commands a Master who knows his place will not bear with that he is not to have them for his Controulers nor Thirdly are we to understand it of any unreasonable murmuring and dislike upon every trivial and frivolous occasion these things saith he are not to be permitted in any well-govern'd Family such as Iob was If Servants will thus