Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	baronet_n	esq_n	sir_n	15,793	5	7.6495	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A38686	The usefulness of church-musick a sermon preach'd at Christ-Church, Novemb. 27, 1696, upon occasion of the anniversary-meeting of the lovers of musick, on St. Cæcilia's Day / by S. Estwick ...	Estwick, Sampson, d. 1739.	1696 (1696)	Wing E3363; ESTC R13553	10,099	30

The Vsefulness of Church-Musick A SERMON Preach'd at CHRIST-CHVRCH Novemb. 27. 1696. Upon Occasion of the Anniversary-Meeting OF THE Lovers of Musick On St. Coecilia's Day By S. ESTWICK B. D. and Chaplain of Christ-Church in Oxford Published at the Request of the Stewards LONDON Printed for Tho. Bennet at the Half-Moon in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1696. TO THE Stewards of St. Coecilia's Feast The Right Honourable the Lord Dunluce Sir John Smith Baronet John Hill Esq Colonel Henry Holt. Colonel Nathan Blackiston John Cary Merchant Moses Snow B. M. Nicola Matteis Gent. GENTLEMEN YOV desir'd me first to Preach and then to Print this Sermon I have Obey'd You in Both as being willing to do whatever lay in my Power to keep up a due Esteem of Church-Musick in an Age that seems hastning on apace to a neglect if not a disuse of it If this Discourse may contribute any ways towards so good an end and withal serve to express the Respect I have for You I have the double aim I propos'd to my self in Preaching and Publishing it For I am a true Lover of Musick especially when it is imploy'd to so excellent a purpose as that of composing our Attention and raising our Affections in Divine Worship and a true Honourer of all those who favour and encourage it After which I need not tell either You or the World how much I am Gentlemen Your Obedient and Humble Servant S. ESTWICK A SERMON Preach'd at Christ-Church Nov. 27. 1696. upon Occasion of the Anniversary Meeting of the Lovers of Musick on St. Cecilia's Day Col. 3. 16. The latter Part Teaching and Admonishing one another in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs Singing with Grace in your Hearts to the Lord. THE Design of this great Assembly's meeting together being to celebrate the Praises of our God with exalted Hearts and Voices I hope each one has acquitted himself in a suitable manner and duly observ'd the most concerning part of this Exhortation contain'd in the latter branch of these Words It may be needless to tell you we have all been pleas'd if not transported whilst the Skilful Performers with laudable Emulations have endeavour'd to raise and extol God's Goodness to the utmost pitch our impair'd Faculties will allow of in this imperfect State By the Frame of our Nature we may perceive our selves fitted and prepar'd for the Reception of Harmonious Sounds as we are fenc'd about with Nerves we find our selves ready strung and most of us tun'd for this Heavenly Entertainment By a kind of Sympathy sometimes we tremble we are generally pleas'd when a fitting Subject is well painted by the Composer and well breath'd and set off by the several Performers If any one should be found so hardy or as some think so ill-natur'd as to oppose himself to the General Consent of Mankind and to deny the Pow'r of Harmony for his Satisfaction we might have wish'd him here where he might have had the best sort of Argument for his Conviction viz the Testimony of his own Sense and if after this he had remain'd unaffected with the gentle Insinuations of our softer Strains and unmov'd with the more forcible Impressions of our louder Acclamations you are all ready to pity the Fate of this Unhappy Temper and to pronounce him such a sort of an Infidel that is uncapable if not unworthy of a farther Conviction To say we are pleas'd with Harmonious Sounds is to say very little in comparison of what our Apostle has suggested to us who carries this Matter much higher and teaches us the true use and benefit of Divine Musick in the Worship of God He is chiefly concern'd for that Spiritual Advantage that may result from this Sensible Pleasure and intimates to every Good Christian that at the same time he is gratify'd and delighted he may be better'd and improv'd by it in Holy and Vertuous Living By Teaching and Admonishing one another in Psalms c. we are assur'd of the fitness of this Divine Exercise to promote the Spiritual Interests of Faithful People of its suitableness to help 'em forward as well as refresh 'em in their Passage towards their Heavenly Canaan and in a word to farther and advance their Spiritual Good and Edification How this is done by this Divine Exercise will be more fully made out in this ensuing Discourse in the mean time it ought not to be forgot that in a large sense we may be said to be taught and admonish'd by whatever renews revives and calls to remembrance former Thoughts and Idea's we certainly may be admonish'd of what we knew before and I think may not improperly be said to be Taught and Instructed by whatever excites and enlarges our Desires of Goodness by whatever enflames in our Hearts the Love of God and our Neighbour and whatsoever Instruction serves to confirm our Faith to enliven our Hope and quicken our Graces and to render our Souls more Humble more Holy and more like to God than they were before may in a large Sence be deem'd Teaching tho' all this while we gain no fresh Supplies of new Idea's but having an Occasion offer'd us of reviving those old ones that before lay dormant we are thereby enabled to turn 'em to a better use and to reduce our Knowledge to Practice This being the Sense of our Apostle's Teaching and Admonishing in this Place give me your Attention whilst I lay before you some Considerations that may serve to enforce the Injunction and shew the Usefulness of Divine Musick in the Worship of God and the Advantages that may be reap'd by it in Particular by every one that attends to it in due Manner First I desire to offer to your Consideration that this Method our Apostle has made choice of as a help to our Spiritual Improvements was the old way of Teaching the World much applauded by the Wise Ancients and in their Esteem a very effectual means of inculcating Wisdom and making Men more Tractable by fixing in their Minds the Principles of Natural and Moral Philosophy As for its Antiquity Timagenes as Quintilian observes allows Musick to be the eldest of the Learned Studies And a greater than him tells us that about the same time that Tents Husbandry and Working in Brass and Iron were found out by their several Authors Jubal lessen'd their Cares by the addition of Musical Instruments which being handled down to After-Ages and serving to cover the Nakedness of Vocal Sounds were embrac'd and cherish'd by Legislators and Philosophers who found the Aptness Musick had to Civilize the ruder part of Mankind the Advantages it had in gently insinuating Mysterious Truths Upon which accounts Poetry and Musick may well be esteem'd the Nurses of Infant Common-wealths the School-Mistresses of Learning from whose fruitful Breasts stream'd such a kindly Nourishment as made Empires swell out to that extent of Grandure as to attract the Eyes of their Neighbours to behold and dread their Power Lycurgus and Numa enacted Laws for the