Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n
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A23773
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The whole duty of divine meditation described in all its various parts and branches : with meditations on several places of scripture / by the author of The whole duty of man.
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Allestree, Richard, 1619-1681.
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1694
(1694)
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Wing A1168A; ESTC R43055
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62,234
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194
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leisure IV. THUS these Temporal Objects of Vanity and Pleasure chase away our Thoughts from Heaven and its Celestial Raptures We can spend the Flower and Beauty of our Years in Vice and think the Almighty will be well enough pleas'd with the Deformity of decrepit Age We can sport and revel our Piety and Time in vain and frivolous Delights and conclude our selves potent enough to compel Heaven and become Religious when we are bowed down with Infirmities and have nothing left us but Repentance and a Tomb. V. WE are so highly pleas'd with the Sweetness of Sense that we are negligent of any greater Felicity and so extraordinary much delighted with the Happiness of Sinning freely that we could willingly embrace that Religion which tolerates Vice most We place all our Devotion with the luxurious Epicure in the Riots of Nature Jolly Meetings are our best Religious Exercises a Sermon is as troublesom and melancholy to us as a Funeral and to hear of our Latter-end in the mid'st of our Pleasures sounds like a Lecture of Death the unwelcome and faint Eccho of the Grave VI. LET the Preacher instruct us never so earnestly to remember our Creator we rather chuse to follow Satan's Doctrine to enjoy this World as long as we can and entertain Thoughts of Heaven at our leisure And shall the Lusts of this vain World O Lord be greater in my Soul than the Love of Thee Shall the temporary Allurements of Sin eclipse the Memory of thy Glory My Life I know is but a Span and yet I beseech thee abreviate that rather than it shoud be spent in a neglect of Thee better this Earthly Tabernacle of my Body be dissolv'd than become a Theatre for Sin to revel in VII LET me pay unto Nature the due Debt I owe her sooner than perhaps she would summons it rather than run deeper in score with thy Justice 'T is far better I should die and be lost in the memory of the World than to forget thee Thou broughtest me at first from nothing not to sin but to serve and fear Thee and has impressed in me a Ray of thy blessed Self that I might not seek my own perverse Will nor pursue this vain World but heavenly Mansions inure me therefore to Thee that I may behold those solid and ravishing Joys and Consolations that is in serving of Thee what Tranquility accompanies thy Grace that so I may no longer follow my own depraved Sense but my Saviour VIII IT is none of the least Sins of our Youth that we are negligent and forgetful of Thee our Creator And no wonder we are ignorant and insensible of the Joys to come that live in such a constant and continued neglect of Heaven Make me therefore O my God seriously to consider that had I the perfect Fruition of all I could wish or long for here I should not only be unsatisfied but in the end find how miserable he is that fixeth his Heart on any thing but Thy Self Teach me therefore so to enjoy the World that I lose not Thee nor the Memory of that Blessed and Eternal Reward Thou hast promised to them that Honour and Fear Thee MED VI. General Rules for a Godly Life Ephes. xv 16. See then that ye walk circumspectly not as fools but as wise redeeming the time because the days are evil EVERY Day Death approaches thee and then follows Judgment and Eternity Therefore think often how thou may'st be able to Answer in that most strict and severe Judgment Look circumspectly unto thy Thoughts Words and Actions for at that great Tribunal thou must render up an exact Account Eccles. 12. 14. Every Evening and Morning entertain thy Thoughts of the pale Messenger and deferr not thy Repentance till the next Day for the Morrow is uncertain but Death is certain and waits no Person 's leisure II. NOTHING is more opposite to Piety than Procrastination If thou contemnest the inward Voice of the Holy Spirit thou will never attain to a sincere Repentance Make it thy business and study to walk in the Law of the Lord. In thy Conversation be Affable and Courteous to all Perplexing to none and Familiar with few To God live Piously to thy self Continently and to thy Neighbour Justly Shew Favour to thy Friend Patience to thy Enemy thy Good-Will towards all and thy Bounty to whom thou art able Always call to mind Three things past the Evil committed the Good omitted and the Time pretermitted And ever bear in mind Three things present the Brevity of this present Life the Difficulty of being saved and the Paucity of them that shall be saved III. LET thy Evening Prayers ascend and humbly confess the Sins of the Day past and think how many are in danger of Hell-fire Let the last Day of the Seven correct and amend what Enormities thou hast committed the whole Week Shew Obedience to thy Superiours give Counsel and Aid to thy Equals and Defend and Instruct thy Inferiours Subdue thy Body to thy Mind and thy Mind to the Will of God Heartily bewail thy past Evils and set not thy Affections on Temporal Enjoyments but fix them on that which is Eternal Mourn for Sins upon remembrance of them and often remember Death that thou may'st cease from Sin Let the Justice of the Almighty keep thee in Fear and his Mercy preserve thee from Despair IV. WITHDRAW thy self as much as thou can'st from the World and addict thy self wholly to God's Service In Pleasures and Delights be vigilant of thy Chastity in Riches exercise thy Humility and in worldly Affairs neglect not Piety Be studious in pleasing none but thy Saviour neither fear to displease any but Him Deprecate Him always that his Will may be done on Earth as it is in Heaven and beseech Him to forgive thee what is past and to guide and govern what he has wrought in thee for the future V. ABANDON all Hypocrisie for God judgeth not according to external appearance but according to the Heart In thy Words take heed of vain repetitions Mat. 6. 7. because for every idle word thou must give an account in the day of judgment Mat. 12. 36. Let thy Words Works and Actions be good or evil they pass not away but remain as Seeds of Eternity And the Apostle assures us If thou sowest to thy flesh of the flesh thou shalt reap corruption but if thou sowest to the spirit of the spirit thou shalt reap life everlasting Gal. 6. 8. Neither Honours Riches Pleasures or Vanities of this Life can attend thee after thy Glass is run out Set a low value upon what thou possesseth but esteem highly what thou wantest VI. LET Holy Meditation produce in thee Knowledge and Knowledge Compunction and Compunction sincere Devotion The Silence of the Mouth creates Peace in the Heart and and the more thou separates thy self from the World the more acceptable thou art to the Almighty Whatsoever thou requestest ask it of God and whatsoever thou enjoyest resign
that Vice he advises him not to look upon the Wine for as the Beauty of a prostitute Harlot so the Colour of Wine will inflame our Desires after it Prov. 23. 31. After this method Iob resolv'd I have made a covenant with mine eyes why then should I look upon a maid Job 31. 1. VI. NEXT You must observe this Caution If you find your Heart never so much resolving against and detesting of any Sin yet be very circumspect that you confide not upon the strength of Resolution but earnestly deprecate the Almighty that he would enable you by his Divine Power and that as he has given you the Will so he would give you his Grace to perform it SECT IX Of Vows AS your Resolutios are so let your Vows be rather against the Occasions of Sin than against Sin it self In things Indifferent beware of making any Perpetual Vow but rather let it be Conditional As First That you will abstain from such a thing or perform what you design'd unless you shall be otherwise advised by some discreet sober Person Secondly Add this Caution if thou art guilty of Drinking viz. If I think of it I will not drink Wine this Month. Now if a Breach of this Vow be made though you did not think of it you sin if your Vow be absolute II. THE next Caution concerning Things Indifferent is this Add a Penalty upon the Breach oâ— your Vow which may be to this purpose I resolve to set a-part one Hour in the Day in Prayer for the Church to the End of this Month or else give Alms to the Poor In such a case if we perform either we sin not And the reason of our Penalty is because some Inconveniences may arise which may prove very prejudicial to us and then we have liberty to take the other part of our Vow viz. To give so much to the Poor III. NOW this Penalty we inflict upon our selves must not be too light and trivial but of such consequence as may be obligatory yet not of that ponderosity to be prejudicial For a rich Man to vow he will bestow a small Matter on the Poor is inconsiderable yet perhaps by a poor Man the same Value may be of too large an extent But let your Penalty be according to the Rules of Scripture and Reason and opposite to those Sins which are most prevalent in thee For Example If Covetousness reigns in thee exercise thy Penalty in Alms If Voluptuousness Prayer and Fasting or abstaining wholly for a time from thy greatest Delight and Recreation IV. LASTLY Let your Vows be rather against the External than the Internal Acts of Sin rather against Speaking angrily than being Angry For though External Acts of Sin are worse yet we have not so much dominion over them If your Vows extend to the Performance of Holy Duties let it be as to the Time not the Quantity For Example Should'st thou bind thy self to read such a number of Chapters perhaps thou art tempted to read them too hastily over whereas if thou dost allot thy self so much Time thou art not so liable to this Temptation SECT X. How to Conclude your Meditations FIRST Thou must earnestly beseech the Almighty to give thee Strength to perform whatever thou hast resolv'd to act in his Service This must be perform'd fervently though briefly and humbly from an earnest Desire to act what thou hast promised and resolved and also from an humble sense of thine Inability in the Performance Next express thy Thankfulness and when thou findest any Alteration wrought in thy Hearr to detest Sin give God the Glory and rejoyce not in thy self except it be with trembling at thy own Pride and Arrogancy II. NEXT We are to remember what Parts of our Medtation did most affect us and lay them up so in our Thoughts that frequently we may ponder on ' em Lastly When thy Meditations are ended depart not hastily to thy Temporal Employments Go not from the Presence of the Almighty as a Bird out of the Snare of the Fowler with alacrity and speed but go vigilantly and warily from Holy Duties The Collects to be said Before or After Meditation O LORD from whom all good Things do come grant to me thy humble Servant that by thy holy Inspiration I may Think those things that be good and by thy merciful guiding may Perform the same through our Lord Jesus Christ Amen GRANT to me Lord I beseech thee the Spirit to Think and Doe always such things as be rightful that I who cannot do any thing that is good without thee may by thee be enabled to live according to thy Will through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen I BESEECH Thee Almighty God look upon the hearty Desires of me the humblest of thy Servants and send forth the Right-hand of thy Majesty to be my Defence against all my Enemies through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen MED I. Confession of Sin 1 John i. 9. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness OMNIPOTENT God my Sins ever appear in my sight and are a Torment unto my Mind every Day I think of thy Judgment because Death threatens me every Hour And when I remember I must appear before the Iudgment-seat of Christ 2 Cor. 5. 10. then I exaamine my whole Life and find it is altogether Vanity my Actions are vain my Words profane and my Thoughts unprofitable If the shadow of some Vertue appears it is imperfect because Original Sin and my vitiated Nature hath polluted it II. IF all our righteousness are as filthy rags Isa. 64. 6. what can we expect our Unrighteousness should be Our Saviour tells us When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you say we are unprofitable servants Luk. 17. 10. And if we are so unprofitable in our Acts of Obedience certainly we are abominable in our Transgressions St. Gregory in his Morals tells us A diminutive Light may shine in Obscurity but being set in the Sun is darken'd Wood not measured may appear strait but applied to the Rule is found oblique The Impress of a Seal may appear perfect in the Eyes of the Spectators and yet be very imperfect in the Eye of the Artificer So that which glitters in the Estimation of the Performer is often-times sordid in the Discretion of the Judger For the Thoughts of God are different from the Thoughts of Men Isa. 55. 8. III. THE Memory of many Sins affrights me and yet there are divers I am ignorant of Who can tell how oft he offendeth O cleanse thou me from my secret faults Psal. 19. 12. I dare not look up to Heaven because I have offended him which inhabits there In Earth I enjoy no Refuge expecting nothing from the Creatures because I have offended the Lord of the Universe My Adversary the Devil accuseth me to the Almighty and desires him the most Just Judge to condemn me to Chains of