Selected quad for the lemma: church_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
church_n	article_n	catholic_n	creed_n	3,489	5	9.9234	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59111	The devout communicant, assisted with rules for the worthy receiving of the blessed Eucharist together with meditations, prayers and anthems, for every day of the Holy Week : in two parts / by Ab. Seller ...	Seller, Abednego, 1646?-1705.	1686 (1686)	Wing S2450; ESTC R10920	183,621	482

for the Laws of our Religion oblige me to die for thee And by so doing I make a noble change I barter a few transitory trifles for eternity I give a small pittance of my wealth and with it I purchase the prayers of the poor and indigent who generally pray heartiest and are heard soonest and I gain Heaven by it For it * Acts 20.35 is much more blessed to give than to receive Nor will a narrow and necessitous Fortune make an excuse For tho a man cannot build an Hospital or redeem a number of Captives yet he may deal his bread to the hungry and cover the naked with a Garment Or if this be above his Circumstances and Estate yet he can give good advice and a good example and he can pray for all mankind to that God who gives liberally and without grudging and this is a noble peice of Charity The Collect. O God whose Nature and Property is ever to have Mercy and to do good send down thy Holy Spirit into my Heart that I may love my Neighbour as my self and do unto all men as I would they should do unto me endeavouring as much as lies in me to promote the welfare and salvation of all the world and by earnest Prayers pious Advices and a good Example to advance thi Kingdom of our Holy Saviour till the Number of his Elect be accomplished through the Merits and Mediation of our only Mediator and Advocate Amen CHAP. XIII Of Vnity MY Love to my Neighbour is discovered 1. by my union and peaceableness 2. By my Alms. 1. By my Union for this is one great end of the Sacrament to unite all Christians in the bond of peace For * 1 Cor. 10.17 we are one body says St. Paul because we are partakers of one bread and therefore the primitive Christians had their publick Love-Feasts joyn'd as an Appendix to the Holy Sacrament in which persons of all Sexes Characters and Degrees did promiscuously partake of Gods blessings and made the meeting properly an Eucharist and some old * Glos MS. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Glossaries say that the Lord's Supper in S. Paul is this Love-Feast and to testifie the sincerity of their Love they gave the Holy Kiss each to other before they approacht the Holy Table which they called the sign of Reconciliation * Cyril Catech. Mystag 5. and the ‡ Act. Pass Perpet Faelicit p. 35. solemnities of peace and some learned men affirm that they gave it also a second time just before their departure out of Churh and then they called it * Tert. de Orat. cap. 14. the seal or close of their Devotion tho ‡ Legat. pro. Christ p 41. Athenagoras expresly affirms that it was forbidden by the Canons of the Church that any person should give this Kiss a second time as the * Act. Mart. ubi supr Martyrs also saluted one another before their deaths as a token that they went out of the world in perfect Charity and in the Communion of the Church of God And to this time on Easter-day and a fort-night after the * Olear Itin. l. 2. p. 53. Moscovites wherever they meet use this custom Nor may any person of what condition sex or quality soever dare to refuse this Kiss And in the * Sandy 's Trav. l. 1. p. 62. Greek Church now tho it be an insufferable wrong to kiss a Greek woman at any other time yet between the Feasts of the Resurrection and Ascension it is allowed when they greet one another with these words Christ is risen For it is this Sacrament that does unite us in our holy brotherhood by Vertue of which we are impowered to acknowledg one Father which is God to be made partakers of one and the same spirit of Holiness and to be set free from the powers of darkness and admitted into the only true light For every man who is a believer is a brother and no one else for * Vid. Chrys Hom. 25. in Ep. ad Hebr. the terms are reciprocally used by the Apostle it being also anciently given to those who were called The Faithful * Just M. Apol. 2. as they were distinguisht from the persons under catechizing or penance And therefore in those best days as no man durst travel to any Foreign Church in expectation of admission into their Communion or receiving their Assistance and Relief without Letters Testimonial from the Church which he left so they who were so recommended were acknowledged as Good Catholick and Orthodox Christians by their admission to the participation of the Lords Supper And among the Clergy it was an ancient custom to send pieces of the consecrated bread of the Eucharist * Iren. apud Euseb l. 5. cap. 24. from one Bishop to another as a Symbol and Mark of Communion till the Council of * Can. 14. Laodicea out of reverence to the Sacrament forbad it the Prelates afterwards instead of the consecrated bread sending some parcels of the bread destin'd to and prepared for the Holy Sacrament Now this mutual participation of Sacraments and other Offices of Religion is not unfitly thought by some men to be meant by that Article of the Apostle's Creed The Communion of Saints the Holy Catholick Church being so denominate from those sacred Rites which are in common to all Christians whereby they are not only united to God their Saviour but have fellowship one with another And to this purpose the ancient Church thought fit in the beginning of the Communion-service when none were present but those who were compleat Christians and in intire Communion with the Church in all Ordinances to recite out of the Diptychs which were never read but at the Altar not only the Names of the famous Princes and Bishops who were alive as a testimony that they held communion with them but also of all the Saints departed of the Mother of God the Apostles Martys Confessors and others that they might give a publick testimony to the world that they lived in the profession of the same Orthodoxy for which some of those Saints were martyred and in which they all died magnifying the Name of Christ for his goodness to his Church in calling it out of darkness into marvellous light and making them children of God And whosoever was left out of those Tables was by that Omission excommunicate as is famously known in the case of St. Chrysostom Since therefore all these holy usages are so many lessons of Peace and Union I will avoid all Schism as carefully as I shun the paths of death and I will conscientiously keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace I will honour my superiors and obey their Laws I will reverence my Holy Mother the Church and value her Communion and will study to be quiet and to do my own business The Collect. KEep O Lord thy Universal Church with thy perpetual Mercy in thy true Religion and

* Buxtorf Synag Jud. c. 13. Jew who could not possibly go up to Jerusalem at the Passover had the allowance to kill a Lamb at Home and to call upon the Name of the Lord praising him for the deliverance out of Egypt § 4. But if by any means he can go to Church he chuses to be there some time before the Holy Offices begin that he may the better compose himself recollect his Thoughts and review his Vows for he who wilfully slips the opportunity of being at the beginning of the Prayers is in the way to lose all the advantages of his coming thither for he who does not confess heartily cannot communicate worthily Early therefore the good man goes to Church and he takes care to come fasting that nothing may enter into his mouth before the Body of God for for this cause the Ancients transferr'd their Love-feasts from being eaten before the Sacrament to be eaten after it not only to prevent excess but to do Honour to this Heavenly Food by preserring it to all our temporal necessaries And yet the good man is not so scrupulous to believe that if while he washes his mouth a drop of water casually trickle down his Throat that that breaks his Fast and disables him to communicate that day § 5. The spare time before the service begins is spent in holy reflections and renewed vows of obedience such as these In the name of Jesus who loved me and was crucified for me I renounce my self and all my own desires that I may love my Saviour and do him service May his Cross and Passiion save me may his Grace keep and direct me in the paths of Peace world without end Be glad and rejoice O my soul and give Honour to the Lord God Omnipotent for the Marriage of the Lamb is come Blessed are all they who are called to the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb These are the true sayings of God Nothing in this world can be comparable to it nothing but the vision of God above it To which is subjoined this Meditation § 6 I am come into the Temple of God to receive his Injunctions and to partake of his Blessings I entertain the tidings with Joy and the Exultations of a glad heart this is the day which the Lord hath made I will tejoice and be glad in it this is the Lords day and this his Habitation where it pleaseth him to dwell O how amiable are thy dwellings O thou Lord of Hosts Here the Angels wait and worship and if they veil their faces being ravished at the Transporting and Majestick Sight how cold and negligent am I in my preparations to entertain the lover of Souls my comforter in this world and my bliss in that which is to come the guide of those vvho travel to Zion and the revvard of vvhoever attains to the Heavenly country Had I the Meekness of Moses and the Patience of Job the Zeal of Elijah and the Purities of the Man after Gods ovvn heart yet vvere I not meet to approach Gods Holy Table Could the Seraphim transfer to me their ardours or the bright Angels cloath me with their innocency yet it would be infinite Condescention in my God to admit me Lord What then shall I do If I come I am afraid of presumption but if I refuse to come I slight thy invitation I contemn thy Ordinances and affront thy Goodness I break thy Commandments and throw off my subjection I will therefore come tho I bring not with me the intire preparation which the Sanctuary requires for he who despiseth thy Table is as guilty in thy sight as he who eats and drinks unworthily Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof and yet thon biddest thy self to be my Guest and intreatest to be admitted into my Bosom the greatest Prince condescends to visit his meanest subject and the Holiest God to dwell with the most sinful Wretch Lord I have sinned and done exceeding wickedly And can my God look savourably on such an abominable Transgressor as I am Can thy Mercy incline thee to take the Childrens Bread and to give it to such a Dog I acknowledg I am an Intruder but Mary Magdalene whom thou lovedst and to whom thon forgavest much when she made her first Addresses to thee O Blessed Jesu came unbidden to the house of a supercilious Pharisee when the Meat was on the Table and without taking notice of any body else laid hold of thee whom she earnestly sought at thy feet she throws her self and washes them with her penitential Tears she was ashamed of her sins but not of her approaches to her Saviour and so am I Oh! how am I grieved that I am yet so far from the power of Godliness so intangled with the love of vanity so fond of the world and so negligent of Heaven so prodigal of my time and such a niggard of my Charity so vain in my imagination so inconsiderate in my discourses so indevotional in the most solemn acts of Religion but so intent to things of no moment so concern'd about my daily Bread but so careless of getting the Bread of Angels so inclinable to be angry with others while I want that indignation that becomes me against my own transgressions May the good Lord be merciful to me and to every one who prepareth his heart to seek the Lord God the God of our Fathers altho he be not cleansed according to the Purification of the Sanctuary § 7. After this it is taken for granted that the good Man who is Gods Minister and the Peoples Priest is come to Church and hath begun the Divine Service at which the devout Christian earnestly attends praying with all fervency o Receiving the Absolution with all Contrition and Humility praising God with all heartiness repeating the Creed with his utmost vigour because it is a confirmation of the truth of his profession and tho he takes all occasions when there is any pause as frequently there is in the Celebration of the Eucharist to put up his own private Prayers to God yet he never dares suffer them to interfere with the publick worship for ¶ 1 Cor. 14.26 when the Apostle reproves the men of Corinth that at their solemn Meetings every man had his Psalm and every one his Doctrine i.e. one was preaching while another was praying and a third singing and tells them that this could not edifie he looks upon that reproof as a lesson of advice and duty to the whole Church and a general Rule of demeanour in the House of God § 8. When the devout Christian observes the Holy Man of God for such is every Priest or such he ought to be standing at the Altar he looks on him with Reverence because he ministers in Holy Things and represents Jesus consecrating at the first Institution And for him thus he prays Lord let thy Priests be cloath'd with righteousness and let thy Saints sing with joyfulness Hosannah