Selected quad for the lemma: friend_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
friend_n	belove_a	lord_n	salute_v	1,118	5	13.5510	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56616	The Christian sacrifice a treatise shewing the necessity, end, and manner of receiving the Holy Commvnion : together with suitable prayers and meditations for every month in the year, and the principal festivals in memory of our Blessed Saviour : in four parts.	Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707.	1671 (1671)	Wing P760; ESTC R12843	198,857	536

you should behave your selves in so great a presence If a mean subject should receive a message from his Prince to come and bear him company at his own Table would he not wonder and be astonisht at the favour would it not busie every thought in his heart to know the cause and would he not lay aside all other imployment that he might prepare himself to appear there after a decent and seemly fashion He could not be so stupid as not to study to form himself to a comely behaviour and to learn to comport himself with all the reverence and fear the caution and circumspection that his soul could possibly be master of No marvel then if we see good Christians so curious and exact so diligent and laborious to understand the meaning of our Lord in this invitation to dress up their souls in the best manner they are able when they go to his Table and to sute their behaviour to the height of the solemnity since to approach unto Majesty on such an occasion with negligent thoughts and after a careless fashion is to slight both the greatness and the grace of him who grants us the honour of his society To gratifie therefore the pious desires and endeavours that are in any souls to render themselves fit company for our blessed Lord at this feast I shall spend a few pages of this Book in directing them how to demean themselves before him and dispose their hearts to enjoy most sweet and fruitful communion with him And that I may make my discourse more easie and affectionate withal I shall take the rise of it from one of those things just now named Much of the contentment of a true feast consists in apt and good discourse according to the old saying a supper without discourse is a Crib and not a Table * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And therefore the old Roman I mention'd gives this description of the chosen persons of whom he would have his guests consist that they should be such as know how to speak in a decent manner and are neither talkative nor altogether dumb ‖ Nec loquaces nec omnino muti Our Lord then making a feast here for us and presenting himself unto us in this broken bread and wine poured forth we are not to look on these as dumb signs but as things that speak most significantly and distinctly to us Though we hear never a word with our ears yet our minds are to conceive when Christ crucified is set thus before our eyes that we hear him discoursing to us of his Love of the ends of his death of all the great blessings that he hath bought for us and of all those things which he justly expects from them that profess themselves his disciples And accordingly it becoms us to make such replies unto him and to answer in our hearts with such expressions of our affection as may shew that we understand and are very sensible what he says unto us Of both these I shall treat a little leaving it to every mans own devotion to inlarg them as he sees occasion in his private Meditations First then when you see these symbols of Christs body and blood think that you behold the crucified Jesus represented to you that you stand in his sight and are in his company yea and hear him speaking graciously to you and calling you by the name of his chosen guests his dear friends and beloved Brethren Into what a trance would it cast you if you really saw the Lord of life and glory and heard him thus saluting you How ready would you be to fall into a swoon of love and joy at the very mention of these few words My Brethren And yet for such he esteems us saying I will declare thy name among my Brethren Heb. 2.12 And so he called his Disciples after he arose from the dead saying Go tell my Brethren that I go into Galilee and there they shall see me Matth. 28.10 and again go to my Brethren and say unto them I ascend to my Father and your Father to my God and your God Joh. 20.17 And we may well conceive that in such terms of grace he receives us at this holy Feast and make account we hear him say My Brethren I sent my Ministers to call you to my house and bid you to my Table which here you see spread for you It is well done that you are come and I take it kindly to see you here The reason of my invitation is that I may remember you of my love and that you may shew your selves my Friends by a joyful commemoration thereof I have no other end in sending for you but to make you more sensible of your happiness and to lay obligations on you by doing my will to continue in it and likewise to impart unto you new tokens of my love the very greatest pledges that I can bestow on you to assure you that I will be your eternal friend You may think perhaps that this is but a little bread and wine which here you see before you and that it is but poor cheer which I have provided for you But open the eyes of your mind remember and believe what I have taught you and you will see that this is my body which was broken for you and this is my blood which was shed for you and on these I would now have you feast together Behold here how the spear pierced my side See the hole which was made by the lance when it run to my very heart Do you not discern how my hands were wounded how my feet were bored when I was nailed to the Cross for you How despitefully was I used how cruelly was I martyred and tormented besides all the mockeries and abuses the shame and reproach the agony and bloody sweat which I endured to do you Service Did I not love you think you when I suffered thus for you Can you chuse but read the greatness of my affection which is writ in my most pretious blood Can you doubt that you are dear unto me whom I have purchased at so high a rate Let these wounds speak for me and tell you what a passion I was in for your sake Look into them and see what a vehement desire I had to accomplish your salvation What sorrow was there ever like unto my sorrow or what love was there ever like unto my love This broken bread and this wine poured out tells you that I have dyed once for you already and I am now come by giving them to you to let you know that I do not repent me of it but if it were needful I would die for you the second time What greater assurance can your heart wish of my love than this which I now offer you what more would you have me do to testifie that my heart is still towards you and that I will he ever mindful of you As the Father hath loved me so I have loved