Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A54489
|
A sermon preached at St. Mary's Truro, on the second of December, 1697, being the day appointed for a public Thanksgiving for peace by Sim. Paget ...
|
Paget, Simon, 1665 or 6-1716?
|
1698
(1698)
|
Wing P168; ESTC R5324
|
15,036
|
38
|
till now at length we are arrived at our secure Port of Peace and Happiness and let us under a due sense of all this as a gracious method of Heaven in bringing to pass this glorious work of Peace let us add mightily to the Thanks of this Day and accumulate our Praise offerings to God for such a constant Succession of Mercies towards us since the beginning of the War And this let us do not only for a day or two but for a considerable time to come nay for our whole lives if it be possible because such signal Mercies do require a considerable space of time wherein gratefully to commemorate them and because we may reasonably believe that we shall enjoy the benefits of this Peace as long as we live While we live therefore let us Praise the Lord and while we have any being let us sing Praises to our God Secondly we must glorifie God in declaring his Goodness to others that so we may stir them up to an admiration of the great God and cause if it were possible the whole world to joyn together in adoring the infinite Perfections of his Nature This is one great reason why God does oftentimes so visibly interpose his hand in humane affairs viz. that men may see and know and consider and understand together that the hand of the Lord hath done this and the holy one of Israel hath created it By the exercise of his Wisdom and Power and Goodness in the affairs of the World God would bring men to an acknowledgment of his Authority to an obedience of his Laws to a belief of his Word to a dependence on and resignation to him in all the circumstances of Life and therefore it should be the great concern of all men as they tender the Glory of God in the sincere practice of Religion to declare and make known his signal Providences thro' the World and to endeavour in all sincerity and gentleness to bring men over to a sight and acknowledgment of them that so they may say Verily there is a reward for the Righteous verily there is a God that judgeth the Earth Thirdly we must glorifie God in our duty to the King It redounds to the Glory of God for Caesar to have the things which are Caesar's as well as for God to have the things which are God's For there is nothing wherein God does more plainly discover his infinite Perfections than in the establishment of Government upon Earth and ordaining Kings to rule over us Here his Wisdom his Justice his Power his Goodness do all of them appear in a most conspicuous manner and for men not to acknowledge their power not to be obedient to their Laws not to pay them them their Tributes not to speak reverently of them not to honour them as God's Vicegerents upon Earth is I am sure to cast dirt in God's face and instead of honouring him to affront him in the highest degree imaginable And now more especially we have great reason to be very fruitfull in all the Branches of our duty to the King for now after a great many Fatigues and dangers which he voluntarily exposed himself to for our sakes he is returned home with the Olive-branch of Peace in his mouth and will make us if we are not wanting to our selves a flourishing and happy people 'T is to his Goodness and Love to his Wisdom and Care to his Courage and Conduct under God that we owe our Preservation and Peace and therefore to him next to God let us ascribe all due Thanks and Honour all just Admiration and Praise all sincere Love and Obedience as the seasonable instrument of all our Happiness Let him now live in Peace since he has made it himself and not find it a harder thing to get the Hearts of his Subjects than the Necks of his Enemies Fourthly We must glorifie God in the amendment of our Lives And here 't is that we shall glorifie God indeed this is the greatest Glory we can possibly give to God and that which he expects from us as a most reasonable service at all times but more especially when he has been pleased to confer any signal benefits upon us He hath shew'd thee Oman such things as he good He hath delivered thee from great Evils and established thee in a happy condition and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love Mercy and to walk humbly with thy God Let the light therefore so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven Haling your conversation honest among the Gentiles that whereas they speak against you as evil doers they may by your good works which they shall behold glorifie God in the day of Visitation Fifthly more particularly let me recommend to you mutual Love and Affection one towards another and that to your Godliness in general you would add Brotherly Kindness in particular This I am sure the Apostle looks upon as very instrumental towards the promoting of God's Glory Now the God of Patience and Consolation grant you to be like-minded one towards another and for what reason but that they might with one mind and one month glorifie the Father of our Lord Jesus Chrst As it conduces to the Honour of a Master to have his Family in good order and to the Honour of a King to keep his Subjects in Quietness and Peace so it highly conduces to the Honour of the great God when his Creatures live in a mutual Love and Esteem of each other They do thereby signifie their obedience to his Laws and copy out that great original who is Love it self and whose tender Mercies are over all his works Let us then in the Name of God lay aside all Disputes and Differences all Rancour and Malice and Revenge and live in the sincere Love and Friendship of one another Now we have Peace let us live in Peace now we have Peace from our Enemies let us not be so foolish as to throw up the Ball among our selves never let it be said that we have brought the War Home And let me beseech you to lay the Ax to the Root of the Tree I mean of this pernicious Tree of Animosities and Dissentions which does oftentimes spread it self so impiously large as to lash not only the King and Government but Religion it self and God the Author of it The Root is little private Whisperings and Resentments and Grugdes and Mis-understandings of one another in things of small moment and value which in time do advance to that height as contumeliously to disgorge themselves upon a Man's King and his God too I am verily perswaded that most of our differences in Church and State are in a great measure owing to these little Mis-understandings and Resentments in our private Conversation and therefore as we tender the Glory of God in the Unity of the Church and the good of Government in the Honour of the King let us now lay them all aside and expell them our Neighbourhood for ever And if we must keep up Contentions amongst us let our only Contentions be who shall forgive first and love best let our only Contentions be who shall most devoutly serve God who shall most entirely affect his King who shall most vigorously promote the Publick Good And then we may expect that God will bless us and suffer us to enjoy the Peace which he has given us and which he sees we are so carefull to keep and preserve Sixthly and Lastly We must glorifie God in our Charity to the Poor He that giveth Alms sacrificeth Praise To do good and to communicate forget not for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased Now to God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost Three Persons but one God of Love and Peace be ascribed all Glory Honour Might Majesty and Dominion both now and for ever Amen FINIS