Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A59607
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The true Christians test, or, A discovery of the love and lovers of the world by Samuel Shaw ...
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Shaw, Samuel, 1635-1696.
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1682
(1682)
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Wing S3045; ESTC R39531
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240,664
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418
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though it neither stammer nor stagger What then are we limited in eating and drinking to a bit or a sup as in speaking to yea and nay Lord what man upon earth so wise as to know so exact as to observe such a point Surely there is an innocent entertainment as well as a necessary relief of nature But what Casuist shall state it Any degree of eating or drinking that fits us for higher offices seems to be lawful Lord I beseech thee grant that my appetite may be allways subject to my will my will to my reason my reason to thy Holy Word Grant that I may not take undue pleasure in Wine wherein is excess but be filled with thy Holy Spirit That I may not serve my own will or lust in eating or in drinking but make it my meat and drink to do thywill That I may by a divine Communion continually eat the Flesh and drink the Blood of the Son of God in which there is no danger of surfeiting Oh there let me insatiably hunger and thirst MEDITAT XLIX Of Pleasures unlawful in the Manner PLeasure either sinful in the Matter nor Measure yet may be so in the Manner To eat and drink is in it self innocent and a natural innocent delight may be reaped from thence but to relish and sensate these innocent pleasures only as they are natural gratifications is gross and sensual The most refined Souls whilst they are in conjunctian with these Earthly bodies must needs find pleasure in what gratifies the natural Appetite But they find more pleasure than so pleasure of another nature besides that The Soul ought to tast the sweetness of God as well as the palate rellish the created sweetness of meat and drink it ought to behold the amiableness of God as well as the eye behold and admire any created beauty If we do not rise up by the particular created goodness of the creature to the uncreated goodness the Father of Lights we are gross and sensual How gross are the Amoretto's of the World who stand gazing upon the sweet Features and charming Complexion forsooth of a Mistress the Worldlings who dote upon the Fabrick of a House or the Shape of a Horse and contemplate nothing higher How can I commend the convenience of Riches the refreshingness of Meat and Drink the pleasantness of Sleep the sweetness of Friends or of Life and not climb up to Riches Refreshment Rest Love Life it self That whereby any thing is in any kind excellent is some communication from God something of and from him Why then stand we gazing and doting upon beautiful Objects Why so ravish'd with melodious Ditties Can we not contemplate Harmony in the Abstract nor Beauty exeept it be incarnate Can we enjoy nothing but what we can see or hear or handle O dull and degenerate Souls O thou most blessed and eternal Spirit refine and spiritualize my apprehensions and sensations that I may see thee in every thing that I see taste thee in every dish and draught Thou leadest me by the streams but suffer me not to lie down there but help me to pursue them up to the Fountain Oh that I were a Jacob and that every Creature were a Ladder whereby thou mightst descend upon me and my Soul might ascend up unto thee MEDITAT L. Of Pleasures unlawful as to the Season THere is a Season for every thing and the right timing of things makes them beautiful The Pleasures that are lawful and honest nay and seem almost to have some relation to Religion may at some times be intermitted The Disciples could not fast whil'st the Bridegroom was with them but that is no wonder Aaron could not feast before the Lord when such and such things had befallen him Lev. 10. and Moses could not blame him There may be a time when the very pleasant praises of the Lord may seem unpleasant and the Songs of Sion be out of Tune The Apostle by his disjunctive discourse seems to imply some such thing concerning the Christian Psalmody that it is not seasonable in a time of affliction If any be afflicted let him pray If any be merry let him sing Psalms But to lead a merry jocund Life to give up ones self to Eating and Drinking and Sports in a time when God calls to Weeping and Mourning is an Argument of a prophane and profligate Sensualist and seems to be an unpardonable presumption Isa 22. 14. It is revealed in my ears by the Lord God of Hosts Surely this iniquity shall not be purged away from you till you dye How unseemly is it for me said David to dwell in Cedar and the Ark of God in Curtains For me to go rest my self upon a soft Bed when my General lies upon the hard ground To go solace my self with my beautiful Wife whil'st the Armies of God are looking Death in the face is not seemly for me quoth that Noble Captain Vriah If Whoring had been lawful and a Gentleman-like quality yet Zimri was absurd to be Whoring when all Israel were mourning under Gods judgments The Text imputes it as an Act of great weakness in that King who was drinking himself drunk in his Tent when the Enemy was upon him and he should have been ordering his Battel which puts me in mind of the Reproof that the old man in the Comedian gives an idle Servant In ipsa turba atque in peccato maximo potasti scelus Quasi re bene gesta To be fidling when the City was on fire is a character fit for Nero For an Old Woman to dance according to the Latine Proverb Makes Death laugh in his sleâ—ve To frolick it under the afflicting hand of God upon our selves or the Church under imminent dangers in a time of Universal Wickedness with the old World to give up our selves to all fleshly pleasures is far worse than to eat flesh in Lent Lord how like is the new World to the old one But shall there not yet be newer wherein dwells righteousness why there then shall be pleasures for everwere Oh but it is the part of a brave bold spirit to be unconcern'd not to be baffled nor scared out of the enjoyment of it self Give Horace his Mistress and come on him what can What an Heroick thing is Atheism Nay rather this is a Beastly Valor Such as the courage of the Horse in Job that mocketh at fear and saith amongst the Trumpets Ha ha Or of the Leviathan that laugheth at the shaking of the Spear Lord the pleasures of the flesh are mean and beastly things at best But when they are thus unseasonable it adds wickedness to their meanness and devilishness to their beastliness Enable me to observe the operation of thy hands teach me to distinguish the time to weep from the time to laugh let my reason ever maintain a just dominion over my appetite my Senses yea and my Fancy too MEDITAT LI. Of Fantastical Pleasures THere are pleasures of the Fancy which may be distinguisht from
In our hearts to love or esteem any vile person be he of what Civil Capacity he will before them that fear the Lord be their Civil Capacity never so mean is as good an Argument of an unsanctifi'd mind as the contrary is of a Citizen of Zion Psal 15. 4. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned In this Courtly Age it would be lookt upon as an unmannerly behaviour in the Prophet who would not vouchsafe to look towards the King of Israel 2 Kings 3. 14. But certainly it is worse than unmannerly to have the greatest respect and kindness for them that are not at all of Israel MEDITAT LXXVIII Of Flattery THis brings me to think of the foul vice of Flattery which although it be not always an Estimation of men for men often flatter those whom in their hearts they disesteem and despise yet it would be thought so and is as worldly as the other An humble behaviour indeed is ornamental soft answers are good and useful To approve or commend a good man or a good action is so far from being simply evil that sometimes it is duty and may serve good ends But it requires a great deal of wisdom For First It easily mingles it self with something evil and is corrupted by Covetousness Slavish fear or Self-love Men may most set off themselves and study to endear themselves most when they commend other men Secondly It is easily perverted to ill ends and may as soon make me prouder as better Commendation therefore must be given Justly Seasonably Proportionably and should be mixt with the remembrance of God as Paul's was to Philemon ver 4 5. Flattery is sometimes gross in words commending evil and calling it by good names assenting to every thing at a venture or denying without reason Magnifying some little thing beyond its desert and extenuating some foul fault into a meer peccadillo or unavoidable infirmity Sometimes it is more fine and subtile in actions in a crouching truckling over-obsequious behaviour I need say no more of Flattery than that it is First an argument of a mean and slavish mind The truly generous mind that adores truth knows not how to give flattering Titles Secondly that it is of most mischievous consequence and very pernicious in its effects because it inâ—â—â—â—â— Princes Courts and Great Mens Houses Flatterers by blinding the Judgment of Princes do at once put out the eyes of a Nation For they lead â—hose out of the way who when they are misled cause the rest of the world to err We know how fatal it prov'd to Ahâ—â—â— when his Chaplains the Prophets and the Courâ—â—◠〈◊〉 together to deceive him Go up and prâ—sâ—â—◠〈◊〉 the Prophets Let thy word be as one of 〈◊〉 says the Courtier And with what indignation God does 〈◊〉 the daubing of these Prophets and their putting 〈◊〉 under mens heads and arms the Prophet Ezekiel does acquaint us Lord what is man or his power who can onely kill the body that I should fear and flatter him in any thing that is hateful to thee What Profit or Preferment can I expect from man that shall Countervail thy dishonour or the prejudice done to truth and holiness by sordid Flattery or sinful Complyance Oh that the interest of God and Religion be exalted in my soul far above all these petty carnal Considerations And oh that the Messengers of God would seriously examine whether they be not the servants of men of the worst part of men even their lusts by imprisoning the Truth lest it should fly in some honourable or worshipful face whether they do not tremble to speak of temperance before incestuous Felix or whether they can take such fair leave of their Patrons as Paul took of his Ephesians I have kept back nothing that was profitable to you MEDITAT LXXIX Of Worldly Business UNder this Phrase The World is comprehended also the Work Employment and Business of the World To prefer the Business of this World before God denominates a predominant Lover of the World God has indow'd Man with active Principles designing him for Business To be active is to be like God who is life it self He is not an idle Spectator enjoying himself and minding nothing else neither doing good nor evil as some prophane men in the Prophet imagin'd him but he is good and doth good An idle and unactive life is unmanly and infamous No station does exempt men from Business Gentlemen and Ladies have their Callings There is Business accommodated to all sorts of men Having already of Idleness I will say no more of it here but this A good man must needs love Business as it is a Vehicle of Grace For how can a man exercise Righteousness Mercy or Charity without Business The necessities of humane life are so many either our own own or other mens that it is impossible any man should be idle but who is of an idle sensual temper To prevent mistakes I will first consider what is not to prefer the business of the World before God To be diligent and industrous in our Callings with a good design is not it To be more in worldly Business than in heavenly is not it God himself has allow'd six dayes to one To employ our hands in working more than in lifting up to Heaven is not worldly If we speak properly To observe due measures and propound right ends in worldly Business is Conformity to the Will of God and heavenly God acted like himself in the Creation of the world as well as in the Redemption of it and so do godly men in employing themselves about worldly Objects as well as spiritual The Angels are as well in Heaven when they are employ'd upon Earth in preserving the goings of the Saints as in their most immediate Contemplations To give the Precedency to worldly Business as to Management and Action is not simply and always it A lesser Business and more ignoble may be prohic 〈◊〉 more necessary than a greater and preferrible to it The Necessities of the Body may take place of the Conveniences of the Soul To do every thing in its proper season is a point of high Wisdom and indeed Religion Let us always remember that Religion is in the due management of worldly Business as well as otherwise To do Works of Necessity or Charity on the Lord's day is not it To have a reverend esteem for that day is good and necessary Religion flourishes in a Kingdom or a Soul as that is observed But yet there may be a Superstition in it which our Saviour by his Example and Doctrine has endeavor'd to heal The Sabbath was made for man and must give place to him But let all take heed they do not create Necessities or pretend them as I doubt too many of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Physical and Chyrurgical Tribe do To put ones self upon Business to offer ones service for the good of a Neighbor to meddle in other mens matters uncall'd by