Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	day_n	great_a	sabbath_n	1,394	5	9.4960	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B01867	Gospel-worship, or, The right manner of sanctifying the name of God in general. And particularly in these three great ordinances, viz. [brace] 1. Hearing the Word, 2. receiving the Lords Supper, 3. prayer. / By Jeremiah Burroughs. At the end of the contents of this book is printed the titles of all the works of Mr. Ieremiah Burroughs, that are published by Thomas Goodwin ... [et al.]	Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.	1648 (1648)	Wing B6084A; ESTC R173334	230,318	294

the soules of sinners and therefore if ever thou wert thankfull be thankfull here The Sabbath my Brethren that is appointed to be the set constant day of thanksgiving for the great mercies of God in Christ and there are other daies for national mercies now a special work of the Lords day is the celebration of this holy Sacrament and the Christians in former times were wont to do it every Lords day because that 's the day appointed by God for to be the day of thanksgiving for that great mercy the Lord Jesus Christ and that 's the reason why the Sabbath was changed the last day of the week was the Jewish Sabbath and that was to celebrate the memorial of the Creation of the world and the first day now it is to be the day of thanksgiving for all the work of God in mans redemption Eighthly A further thing is this if you would sanctif●e Gods Name you must be willing to renew your Covenant that 's the end of it there must be an actuall renewing of your Covenant with God that 's thus I come to receive this bread and this wine and this is to be as the Seale of the Covenant on Gods part now this will be emplyed in the nature of the thing that if I take the Seales of Gods Covenant that I must be willing to set to my Seale too to renew the Covenant that God cals me to now know all men and women that are sav'd they are sav'd by the vertue of the Covenant of grace and there God on his part promises and makes a Covenant that he will bestow his Son life and salvation through him and thou must likewise come in on thy part and beleeve on his Son and repent which is the Tenour of the Gospel now every time thou comest to receive this Sacrament thou comest to renew this Covenant As if thou shouldest say Lord thou hast been pleased to make a Covenant of grace as the first Covenant was broken and all men were cast by that Covenant now thou hast made a Covenant of grace and callest thy servants whom thou intendest to save that they should renew their Covenant with thee in this Sacrament of thine Lord here I come and Lord here I renew it and set to my seale to promise and Covenant with thee that as ever I expect to receive any good from Christ so Lord here I will be thine I will give up my selfe for ever to thee as thou hast given me the body and Blood of Christ for my salvation so Lord here I consecrate my body and blood to thee the last drop of my heart blood shall be given up to thee and so my strength and estate and name and whatever I am or have shall be thine Have you done thus when you have come to receive the Sacrament have you actually renewed your Covenant with God you that have taken the body of Christ have you given up your body to Christ what 's the reason then that you sin so much with your bodies that you abuse your body with uncleanness and drunkennesse and other wickednesse afterwards Oh you prophane the Name of God and the very body and blood of Christ in this except thou givest up thy body and soul to God in way of Covenant Ninthly In the last place for the Sanctifying of Gods Name there is required a renewing of Love the coming with lovely dispositions and the renewing of the grace of love not only towards God but towards our Brethren for it is the feast of the Lord and it is an act of Communion Communion not only with Christ but with his Churches with his Saints and as I have told you that there is a profession of our selves to be of the same body with Jesus Christ then the Lord requires that his children should not fall out that come to his Table but that there should be love and peace there 's a mighty bond upon thee when thou commest to the Sacrament and therefore first all heart-burnings and heart-grudges must be laid aside and Secondly you must come with a willingnesse to be reconciled one to another willingness to passe by all infirmities in thy Brethren here I have the Seale of Gods willingnesse to passe by all my sins and therefore I must be willing to passe by all infirmities in my Brethren I must now cast out all ill wishes towards others and come with a desire of all good unto them and with a heart ready to imbrace any opportunity to do any good thou doest lye unto God except thou comest with such a heart as this is Lord thou knowest that I am willing to take all opportunities to doe good to those that I now do communicate with for it is the nearest Communion that possibly can be in this world between one Creature and another and this is the reason why there should be that Ordinance of Christ set up every where to cast out those that are unworthy because it is the greatest union and Communion that possibly can be for it is the Sacrament and Communion of the same body they are the same members of Christ now if thou doest no think such a one to be a member of Christ why doest not thou what thou canst to have him cast out but so long as thou hast done nothing in private to him or in telling the Church thou doest own him to be a member of Jesus Christ if thou doest so take heed how thy heart be estranged from him take heed how thou behavest thy selfe to them take heed how thou livest in jarring way and a contentious way with them and holdest t●●m off at staves end or walking at a distance from them though they be never so poor and mean know that thou doest prophane this holy Ordinance every time thou commest to it when thou commest with such a heart as this is if thou dost not find this renewed love Lord there began to be a strangenesse between me and those that have communicated with me but Lord thou art pleased to vouchsafe us to come once more to this Ordinance and Lord here we do professe that this Ordinance shall unite our hearts together more than ever they were I will study to doe what good possibly I can to my Brother that as we joyne here to the Feast of the Lord with comfort so we may live together in peace and love as it becomes the Saints of God and the members of the Body of Jesus Christ Oh how far are people from any such work of God as this is the Lord expects that this should be in you every time you come to the holy Communion Here hath been nine particulars now mentioned for the sanctifying of the Name of God when we come to partake of the Sacrament but oh Lord what cause have we to lay our hands upon our hearts for if this be to sanctifie thy Name then it hath been a riddle a mystery to us certainly my brethren these things are

regard it is holy and so we should look upon it as not to have our outward businesse to devour that time that is holy in that regard as Nehemiah When Tobiah and Sanba●● sent to him to come and confer with them No saith he I cannot go for the work i●●reat that I have to do So we must not intangle our selves to meddle with other things when we are to come to worship God for our work is great The Fourth thing for preparation is To Watch and to Pray We should watch over our hearts lest they be made unfit for d●●ie● So we should prepare for Prayer all day long in this se●se that is we should watch over our hearts that they bee n●● b● out so far as to hinder us in prayer when we come to do it I remember that Tertullian saith That the Christians did so sup as if that they were to pray so when thou art in company thou shouldest watch unto Prayer Oh that you did so you cannot but be conscious to your selves that oftentimes when you have bin in company your hearts have been put out of tune and frame that you have been no way fit for prayer when you come home your house and family finds it so you that take such delight in company and sitting up late I appeal to your consciences whether you can come home and find your selves fit either in your family or closet to go and open your hearts to God This is one Note by the way wherby you may come to know whether you have been immoderate in company at any time God gives not men liberty to be busie in any outward occasions in the world so as to unfit them for his service Preparation consists in that in watching over your hearts that you may not be unfitted for any holy duty when God cals you to it but that you may be ready even to every good work The Fift is this Preparation consists in the readiness of the faculties of the soul and the graces of the Spirit of God presently to act upon the setting upon a holy duty When a man or woman shall find the faculties of their soul and the graces that are in them to be ready to act as soon as ever they fall upon duty just as you see a company of Ringer● when they have made all preparation for the raising of the bels then in an instant when they begin to pull all the bels go in that tune that according to their skil they set them in And so it should be with our hearts the faculties of our souls and graces though now we are not upon duty yet we should be so ready that as it were upon a pull all the faculties of our souls and graces of Gods Spirit should work in a melodious way There are those that keep their hearts so prepared as at the very first moment that they set about the duty of Worship all faculties and graces begin to act and to stir and are working towards God as a fire when all the matter is ready laid presently it comes to be kindled and flame out and thus it should be with our hearts So that now you see wherein preparation of our hearts to duty consists The next thing is the Excellency of this preparation and that may be in way of Application to you to make you to be in love with Preparation for holy duties There is abundance of good in it First By this means we come to make every duty of worship easie to us things are difficult when we come upon them unprepared If you have a friend come to dinner or supper to you and should come suddenly and you have nothing prepared there would be a great deal of stir in the house but if you have every thing prepared it would be carried on in an easie way and the reason why people complain so much of difficulty in duty it is because their hearts are not prepared Indeed we have naturally many things to keep us off from God but now when the heart is prepared for a holy duty it goes off as easie to God even into the infinite ocean of All mercy and goodness as a ship goes off to be lanch'd when you have made preparation for it the heart can go with a holy boldness to God when you have made preparation for holy duties In Job 11. the place which I quoted before for the work of preparation do but consider a verse or two further and you shall find what abundance of good there comes upon the keeping of the heart prepared in things that are good Vers 13. If thou prepare thine heart c. And then Vers 15. Then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot yea thou shalt be steadfast and shalt not fear When the heart is prepared for that that is good when it comes into the presence of God it is able to lift up its self without fear in a steadfast comfortable way and this will quit the cost of any labor 2 Secondly if the heart be prepared it will do a great deal in a little time In 2. Chron. 2.36 it is said That Hezekiah rejoyced and all the people that God had prepared the people for the thing was done suddenly The thing came off freely and suddenly when as that they were prepared Hezekiah rejoyced and blessed God for such a mercy as this was it is a great mercy to have the hearts of people prepared unto a good work And so in 2 Chr. 27.6 the text saith Jotham became mighty because he prepared his waies before the Lord his God Jotham he grew mighty by this and so certainly the way to grow to be very strong and mighty to be able to do a great deal in a little time it is to make preparation there may be as much work done in one hour so as in ten times so much time when the heart is not prepared for it In Ezra 7.10 you shall find that the reason is given why Ezra had such good success in his journy it was because he had prepared his heart Make preparation for holy duties and you shall have success in holy duties There is a notable Scripture for that in Psal 10.17 where the holy Ghost saith that God prepares the heart and what then when God doth prepare the heart he doth then cause his eare to hear There was never a prayer made wherein the heart was prepared for it but that praier was heard they go both together Lord thou wilt prepare their heart and thou wilt cause thine eare to hear if God hath once prepared thy heart thou wilt be sure to be heard then Is it not worth a world for to know ones self to be accepted of God in every duty of Worship that we tender up to him this one Scripture Psal 10.17 will shew it Oh the excellency that there is in Preparation to duty There is one thing more that is very observable and that is this Where the heart