Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n
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A55560
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The beauty, vigour and strength of youth bespoke for God in a sermon lately preached to young men / by Thomas Powell ...
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Powell, Thomas, 1608-1660.
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1676
(1676)
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Wing P3069; ESTC R33947
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28,699
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91
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Desire of seeking God but now Youth improved will make the Performance of the Duty more facile Opportunity improv'd sayes one facilitates every Action and Employment making a work come off sweetly smoothly and with facility It is as the laying of the Knife upon the Joynt when we would divide the Bone It is Wind and Tide to the Oars of Industry Thirdly The more Wrath you will treasure up unto your selves by having more sins to answer for The sooner we begin the less we shall have to answer for but the longer we deferre the more we shall have to answer for Fourthly Young Men shall come to Iudgement as well as those of riper years You think that you have a Priviledge by your Age Youth must have its course say some they must sow their wild Oats But now the Counsel of the Spirit is otherwise In the Morning sow thy Seed and in the Evening withhold not thy hand for thou knowest not whether shall prosper And David doth tie up your untamed Age to the horns of the Altar saying That even You must cleanse your wayes by taking heed thereto according to Gods Word Think not I say because you are Young you shall be excused For the dead small and great shall stand before the Lord and you that now take your pleasures know that for all that ye shall come to Judgement and your Pleasures shall have an End Methinks that Scripture in the 11 of Eccles. v. 9. should cool the Courage of such Young men who go on in their Career to Hell in the midst of their Pleasures Rejoyce O young Man in thy youth and let thy Heart cheer thee in the dayes of thy youth and walk in the wayes of thy heart and in the sight of thine eyes but know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into Iudgement Fifthly You will not Repent that you have call'd God to mind so soon But thou shalt esteem Gods Grace the more for it rejoyce in the sense of it and in Comfort conclude thy Life whensoever God shall call thee hence I would fain lay down some Cautions and Exhortations unto the Young Men of this Age which if observed by them I am confident would help them much in remembring of their great Creator But should I doe this it would make this little Book swell too much which for the Poor's sake I would prevent and yet a little too I will venture First more generally have a care Young Men of laying a stress on Parentage Birth Education Civility and your Natural Endowments They are all but painted shews of Righteousness and crack'd Titles to Heaven Faith comes not by Birth Generation or Education and he who is Gifted is not alwayes Believing But Secondly more particularly I would caution you from these Vices which tend much to the Corruption of Youth First I would caution you from Love of the World If any man love the World the love of the Father is not in him 1 Joh. 2. 15. O let not the World lye so neer your Hearts as it did to the Young Man 's in the Gospel You can never Love your Creator so as to die for him if the World get root in your Heart Have a care I beseech you of preferring the Gifts of God before God himself All Creatures that the Lord made he made for Man and Man for himself But this is a fearfull Contempt of God and disestimation of his Majesty when the Creature is better lov'd than God as Evah for the love of an Apple lost the love of the Lord and Esau for a Mess of Pottage sold his Birthright and the Gadarens counted their Swine more precious than the Son of God Christ Iesus He that loveth these bodily worldly and perishing Riches cannot love the spiritual heavenly and eternal Riches Love not this World because the Devil is the God of it love not this World because it cools thy Affections to God and the things of God Love not this World because it is the Bird-lime of spiritual Punishments Love not this World because the Love of the World is Enmity towards God The Riches in this World are call'd Thick Clay Hab. 2. 6. which will sooner break the Back than lighten the Heart O that I could but disswade Young men from this peccatum peccatorum sin of Earthly-mindedness Consider O young Men what Solomon sayes of this World who knew as much as ever any did as to the sweetness of sensual pleasures Three Advantages Solomon had above others to know the Vanity of the Creature 1 In regard of his Wisdome 1 Kings 4. 29 30. 2 Riches 1 King 10. 23. 3 In that he gave himself to make trial and Experience of the Creature Yet Vanity of Vanities saith the Preacher Vanity of Vanities all is Vanity Five times Vanity 1. Vanity not vain onely but Vanity it self in the Abstract 2. Excessive Vanity Vanity of Vanities Hebraism superlative by doubling he signifies most vain imperfect uncertain transitory void of Content full of Grief 3. An heap of Vanities Vanity of Vanities an Hebraism and imports most great Vanity 4. An universal Proposition all is Vanity Fugiamus hinc ubi nihil est ubi inane est omne quod magnificum putatur Let us flye from this World wherein is nothing but Vanity Nihil siquidem a somni Vanitate differt rerum praesentium figura sive illae tristes sint sive prosperae The most excellent Shews of this Life are but Dreams which may affect for a time but do vanish so soon as the man awaketh And this is the first Caution Love not the World The Love of the World is an Obstacle that must be removed where Love to Christ and to thy Soul Young man is to be shewn Secondly I would caution you from Evil Company I know very well that we are mighty apt to follow a Multitude to do Evil I know that Youth above all is apt to keep Company especially had Company And how many have been brought to Ruine thereby Have not many at the Gallowes laid their sins at the Door of bad Company forewarning all to shun the same and take Example by them Every man is as his Company The Heathen could say Noscitur ex comite qui non cognoscitur ex se He is known by his Company that cannot be known by himself A Mans Company is as it were a Commentary on his Life A Company or Multitude and I pray Young Men do you especially take notice of it is not the Rule you should walk by as for doing Evil so for doing Good He that doth Good because a Multitude doth it will also do Evil because a Multitude doth it We must not saith Austin do a good thing because Many do it but because it is Good If others doe that which is Good saith he I will rejoyce because they doe it but I will not do it because they do it c. Keep good Company we
shalt say I have no pleasure in them Is it not better to live than die turn than burn O Sirs persist not till it be too late but choose God your chiefest Good onely Good suitable Good and everlasting Good Fifthly To Remember our Creator implies a due Considering what may Please or Displease him Col. 1. 10. That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing But how few are there that make this their work studying how to please God Doth not the Course of their Lives rather tend to the contrary Who lives to please God but rather to displease him How little is Gods Favour now adayes esteemed of Most of us are ambitious of doing things that may please Persons highly dignified in this World but the pleasing of God is look'd upon as a superfluity and that which may be as well omitted as perform'd as if Gods good word would not honour us so much as a Mortals and His Favour do us more good than the Favour of Man whose breath is in his Nostrils and must suddenly perish Mans Favour is good in its place but when compar'd with Gods there is vast difference as to the Nature Property Effects and Perpetuity of it Foolish therefore is he who preferres the pleasing of Man before the pleasing of God and chooseth rather the one than the other that can remember what pleaseth the Creature but not what pleaseth the Creator This is preferring the less before the greater and the Servant before the Master How stands it therefore with us Are Gods Smiles our Heaven and his Frowns our Hell Is there nothing that we take in hand but we seriously pensitate and ponder it in our Minds saying with our selves Will this and that make for Gods Glory if so I 'le do it if not I shall forbear But Oh Christians how many are remiss in this kind of spiritual Exercise excusing themselves with Phrases that will not excuse them at the Day of Judgement This is too strict say some what need is there of it say others and Who can do so is the language of many But I wish I might have the Opportunity of telling part of my Mind to such persons Is there not a Necessity of Remembring our Creator if we would prosper but can we remember him aright if we please him not and if we please him not can we be saved Sixthly To Remember our Creator implies a remembring his Mercies and retaining a thank full sense thereof Psal. 106. 21. They forgat God their Saviour which had done great things in Egypt Doest thou often think on the Mercies of God so frequently and bountifully conferred on thee Doest thou often revish thy Soul in calling Mercies past to mind living upon Mercies present and depending upon Mercies to come Remember your Creator will surely bear this Interpretation without any wrong to the words Remember what your Creator has done for you his Mercies bestowed on you in such and such a kind at such and such a Time in such and such a Place among such and such Company It is a sign that we sincerely esteem and heartily remember a Friend when we do not forget his Kindness but do even write them down in our Memorandum Book And so it stands good in this Case also if we say we remember God and forget his Mercies we lie and the Truth is not in us it being that which cannot stand together Such who have received Mercies from the hands of God yea such Mercies without which they could not have subsisted and yet are unthankfull forgetting both God and his Benefits too surely such of all are most ungratefull Mercies above us and beneath us Mercies before us and behind us Mercies on the right hand and on the left renders us if still we are barren the most ungratefull Monsters that ever lived on Earth To be unthankfull where there is the greatest reason of being thankfull is Folly in the Abstract And where Mercy is not a Load-stone to draw to God it will be a Mill-stone to sink into Hell Vinegar you know 't is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Filius Vini and the sweetest Wine degenerates into the sharpest vinegar And as nothing is more cold than Lead yet nothing more scalding than that when melted so nothing is more sweet than mercy when thankfully received yet nothing more terrible than that when abused Grace abused turns to fury and Mercies forgotten turn to sore Wrath. Seventhly and lastly To Remember our Creator is to serve and obey him and this indeed is the summe of all Deut. 8. 11. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God in not keeping his Commandments and his Iudgements and his Statutes which I command thee this day Many nay more serve the Devil and their own Lusts than there do serve God God made man for himself but he hath less from him than any other Creature Man should serve God and that in the first place but instead thereof he serves himself first the Devil and his Lusts first Oh wonderfull Degeneration and the Cursedness of our lapsed Estate One would think it incredible that the Creature should not serve the Creator we may Wonder at it indeed and yet Believe it we must because that it is nothing is more certain God who is Truth it self hath said so and we by daily Experience find it so here then is a Mystery of Iniquity That Man should Renounce God who made him and Side with the Devil who hates him and will Eternally destroy him if still sided with That Man should take more Delight in Self-destruction than in Self-felicitating That Man should sell himself to sin and take more delight therein than in Obeying one reasonable Commandement Why should all this be O vain man Are the wayes of God unequal his Demands impossible his Commands intollerable Have a care of harbouring hard thoughts of God who hath said that his Yoak is easie and his burden is light Matth. 11. 29. If thou hast but a mind to be engaged in the Service of God let not the Difficulties that attend it discourage thee but know that God can by the sweet Discoveries of himself whilest thou art in his Service chear thy Heart and make that which seemed hard and difficult the very Delight of thy Soul Iacobs meeting with and enjoying of Rachel rendered his hard and long Service easie and delightfull unto him And so a feeling of Gods Spirit moving on thy Heart when thou art engaged in any Religious Exercise will make it joyous and not grievous a Delight and not a Burden a Heaven and not an Hell Besides holy Obedience is only hard and difficult to the Ignoble part of a Saint viz. the Flesh not to the Noble part of a Saint viz. the Soul All the Wayes of God though tending to the pulling out of right Eyes and cutting off of right Hands are wayes of Pleasantness to the Noble part of a Saint So far as every Christian is Renewed