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	time_n	week_n	2,302	5	9.6378	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92760	A sermon preached before the Religious Societies in the city of Dublin, on the 29th of Septemb. 1695 Together with the method to be observed by them at their meetings, and the laws of their Society, with the 39 Articles of the Church of Ireland, By B. Scroggs, D.D.	Scroggs, Benedict, 1657 or 8-1696.	1695 (1695)	Wing S2120; ESTC R229819	14,205	73

A SERMON Preached before The Religious Societies In the City of Dublin On the 29th of Septemb. 1695. Together with the method to be observed by them at their Meetings and the Laws of their Society with the 39 Articles of the Church of Ireland By B. Scroggs D. D. Dublin Printed for Jacob Milner and are to be Sold at his Shop over against the End of Essex-Bridge in Essex-street 1695 To the several Religious Societies in the Kingdom of Ireland Brethren I Have Publish'd this short Discourse according to your Request and if you are profited by it and encouraged to prosecute the Good Work you are engaged in I am not much concern'd what Censure the world may pass upon it I have also added the Laws and Method to be observ'd by all your Societies thro the whole Kingdom and have made a few alterations and such additions as you desired in the devotion used at your Meetings and if in any thing else I can serve you I shall neither spare my pains nor my prayers for you nor any charges as far as my abilities extend And now I must beg leave to put you in mind of a Duty which I have so Frequently and Earnestly urged and repeated heretofore that above all things you avoid all dissentions and divisions the fatal Rock upon which the noblest designs do so often split and miscarry and which has almost ruin'd Christianity it self against which no persecution nor malice of the Enemy cou'd ever prevail And therefore beware lest you receive any into your Societies that come for this end to disturb and distract you not out of ill-will to Religion in general but to the Establish't Church which by your examples is likely to be encreas'd as well as edified Avoid all disputes and then you cannot fall into any violence of passion and if you shou'd be angry you must stifle it in the beginning and never suffer it to proceed to a division or separation or a settled grudge or animosity between parties And to this end let every single man resolve to reconcile his Brethren when they are at difference and let all in general agree to put strictly in Execution that Law which you have for this purpose And may the Favorer and Protector of all good designs continue and encrease the success of your Endeavours and give you courage and prudence and perseverance and all the Graces that are necessary to carry on this great and blessed Undertaking This shall always be the Prayer of Your most Affectionate Brother and Humble Servant B. Scroggs Acts of the Apost 2 Chap. 42 Verse And they continued stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship and in Breaking of Bread and in Prayers THo I mention only this Verse for my Text yet my design is to take for my Subject all the manners and customs of the first best of all Christians described in this and the following Chapters by the Evangelist St. Luke and because my discourse is intended only for those societies of young men that have lately assembled themselves with design to imitate that primitive Zeal and Piety I shall take leave to speak only what 's proper to them and that also in a more plain and familiar way than is usal in this place All good men must be Transported with joy to see any thing in this wicked age like that Fervour and Life of Religion that ran thro the whole body of the Primitive Church It shou'd be as pleasant and surprizing as to find Life returning into the eyes and limbs of a dead friend and certainly if ever Christianity be recover'd it must be by such means as are now beginning to be used it must be by religious societies and combinations against the Enemy of our souls by which we warm and excite and encourage and direct one another and to think to do this by the zeal or prudence or the labours of single men is as great a folly as to expect the conquest of our temporal enemies by sending one man at a time to wage war with their whole armies I might insist long upon this subject in shewing the use and necessity of societies for the reducing of piety to its primitive vigour but at present t will be sufficient to justifie and recommend to all good men these particular societies from the practise of those Christians mention'd in my Text for tho they cannot equal 'em in that extraordinary degree of Piety nor imitate 'em in the miraculous power of the spirit yet it is plain that they resemble 'em in most other respects as I shall now prove by several instances 1st The Christians mention'd in my Text did often meet and converse together to improve one another in Piety and onflame each others Zeal and this I take to be the meaning of the word Fellowship in my Text not only the fellowship of the Apostles tho this must also be understood but fellowship with one another in their houses and in the absence of the Apostles For the number of the new Converts being then so great that at one Sermon no fewer than threethousand were converted it was impossible that the Apostles shou'd every day be present at every Congregation or Assembly in their houses And besides we have examples of such Meetings in the Scriptures where the people in the absence of the Clergy have met together in a private way for devotion and other holy ends as we find in the 12th Chapt. of the Acts where upon the disporsion and flight of the Apostles Peter came to the house of Mary and found there many Disciples gathered together for Prayer Now tho these Assemblles of Christians were in this unlike our Societies that the people in them were of all ages and sexes and conditions but here only men under certain qualifications are admitted yet their example will warrant and justise our practise and if one be lawful the other is at least as warrantable since the design and consequence of their meeting is the same as I shall shew it to be hereafter In the mean while we shall suppose 'em thus far to be like in their meeting together in houses for private Religious exercises And 2dly They are also like in respect of the time of their meeting which was chiefly upon the lord's-Lord's-Day This day was Consecrated at first by the Apostles and Primitive Christians assembling upon it for several religious ends and tho these Assemblies met daily and kept holy every day of the week and every day of their lives yet the day they kept most holy was the Lord's-Day as we read in the 20th of the Acts and the 7th verse Upon the first day of the week when the Disciples came together to break bread that is to receive the Sacrament In which place we may observe that the whole day was kept holy and spent in Religious exercises for St. Paul continued his preaching till it was midnight and tho this was more than ordinary because the Apostle was to

according to your abilities and making this one part of your employment at that time to consider what objects of charity are in greatest want of your relief and contribute your mite to 'em which our Saviour says is as great as all the treasures of rich men and surely when others that are more able to give Alms are stir'd up by your example they will be ashamed to give so sparingly as the custom is now among the wealthier sort of people Under this head of Charity I must add something concerning Justice to our Neighbour a Vertue most strictly observ'd by all the Primitive Christians in their contracts and dealings with other men For tho it is not expresly mention'd in this place yet it is plainly intimated and follows of necessity from the other Vertue For if they were so charitable as to give all their Riches and Estates to the poor they cou'd not be supposed to do any act of injustice tho they might gain the whole World by it And this I mention to you because by your professions you are always employed in those actions that are the subject of Justice and therefore as you have already gain'd a great reputation for honesty and fair dealing so I must beg and entreat you to take a particular care hereafter of all your actions in reference to this duty that you may not be like the hypocrites of these times that pretend piety design advantage but like the Christians in my Text that thought of nothing but the necessaries of Life and despised riches and all other blessings when they came in competition with the duties of Justice and Charity 7thly Another Vertue and the last I shall mention in which you agree with them is a servent zeal and concern for the conversion and salvation of other men the noblest of all the Graces and the perfection and fulness or rather the overflowing of Religion and Piety than which nothing can be more acceptable to God more serviceable to the Church and more advantagious to your own souls For they that bring many to righteousness shall shine like the stars for ever and ever and not only shall be like the Angels but like the Son of God whose only business upon earth was to reform and save Sinners from destruction Now the Christians mention'd in my Text were above all others remarkable for this Vertue they met together as an heathen Author said of 'em not to conspire against the Government but against Injustice and Adultery and other Sins and all their ambition and their whole employment was to root out Errors and Irreligion from the hearts of men And tho it was the peculiar office of the Apostles and Ministers of the Gospel to Preach publickly to others yet to admonish and instruct privately they thought their duty and never rested from performing it Thus in the 18th Chap. of the Acts Aquila and Priscilla took Apollos to them and in private expounded the way of God to him more perfectly And such expressions as these are common in St. Paul's Epistles Greet Aquila and Priscilla my helpers in Christ Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa who labour in the Lord. For if the people had not been zealous in promoting the common work of Piety and true Religion by admonishing and instructing in a private way every man his own Friends Acquaintances 't is impossible that the few Apostles and Clergy of those times shou'd have gain'd the tith of those innumerable proselytes to Goodness and Christianity And the same thing may be affirm'd of this present age that if others do not help the Clergy and contribute what assistance is proper for them towards the work of Reformation we must expect that Vertue will still decay and the World grow worse and more irreligious every day I know few or none excepting your selves that are sensible of this duty but you have endeavour'd to imitate the pattern set before you in my Text and have made your selves like the first Christians a nursery and seminary of Vertue and good Morality and true Religion and God has shewed his approbation of your design as he did in the first planting of Christianity by the great success of your labours and the extraordinary encrease of your number in so short a time as it has been since you begun this work so great an increase that if it shou'd continue in the same proportion but a few years longer Vertue wou'd become the fashion and Vice grow scandalous for want of number to encourage and defend it I might here use a multitude of arguments to shew how it is your duty and your interest your eternal interest and the interest of the Church and Kingdom that you shou'd continue stedfast and immovable in this Vertue and how encrease and multiply is not only the first most necessary command of the Creation but in a spiritual sense of the Gospel also and the Christian Religion But my design was to press upon you this and the other duties only by the motive of conforming your selves to the first and best of all Christians which I thought was most likely to prevail upon all that have the right and genuine temper of Christianity And thus far I have made the comparison between you and them in 7 Particulars 1 In meeting together to carry on the publick work 2 In meeting upon the Lord's-Day to keep that holy 3 In continuing stedfastly in one Apostolical Faith 4 In breaking of bread or receiving the Communion frequently 5 In continuing also in Prayer both publick and private 6 In Charity or Alms-giving 7 In Zeal and Fervor for the Conversion and Salvation of other men Which Rules of your Society may you always observe and never sail to have the same success with which God has hitherto blest your endeavours But as you are like the first Christians in all these particulars so you must remember that there is one thing which I intimated at first in which you cannot resemble them and that is the miraculous power of the Holy Ghost which for many years upheld and encouraged their endeavours You must not expect I say that God will work such wonders as he did then for your assistance and encouragement for the time of miracles is over and therefore In the 1st place since you cannot depend upon miracles be so much the more careful and diligent in your work and make up the want of them by resolution and constancy You will meet with the same obstacles and the same dangers excepting Martyrdom but be not discouraged or frightned by it some will laugh at you and others will censure and affront you and perhaps your numbers may not encrease as you expect but let not all this dishearten you for your design is noble and heroick and your labour will be rewarded as much as if you had converted the whole world to a sense of Piety and Religion 2dly Since you have no miracles to preserve you nor any extraordinary inspiration such