Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	believe_v	faith_n	word_n	11,191	5	4.5836	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A84588	A guide to salvation, bequeathed to a person of honour, by his dying-friend the R.F. Br. Laurence Eason, Ord. S. Franc. S. Th. L.	Eason, Laurence.	1673 (1673)	Wing E99aA; ESTC R230984	39,971	127

had been a Servant to a Tyrant and that not once but often is his life and in that manner that the Athenians sacrificed to Ceres which was with the most Religious Ceremonies which were used in the superstions of the Gentiles And therefore he said truly that natural reason is as weak and blind towards divine things as the eyes of a Batt or Owl are to behold the brightness of the clear Sun And do we not manifestly see the truth of this now amongst us by the diversity of Sects and Opinions in Religion every one following the dictamen of their natural reason and so run into many absurdities in this kind and are continually changeing their judgments without certainty in any thing And we see that natural reason is weak and defective even in things within its own Sphear as appears in the divers and contrary Opinions among Philosophers and Scholastick Divines and in the differences in the judgments of men in ordinary occurrences what a blind Guide then must this needs be in divine and sublimer things From this then we must necessarily conclude that the light of Faith is required to direct us without errour in these Affaires The Apostle affirms that Fedes est substantia rerum sperandarum That Faith is the ground of things we hope for in the next Life and the foundation of our Spiritual Edifice if that be wanting there can be no building if that be not sound all must fall to the ground And the Apostle further declares the necessity of this Accedentem ad deum oportet credere he that will come to God he must believe aright And captivate his understanding and reason to the obedience of Faith to which Reason must be a Handmaid not a Mistris And our Blessed Saviour tels us that he who doth not beleeve is condemned And this Faith can be but one so the Apostle affirms Una fides One Faith one Baptism one Lord of all Hence is that of St. Fulgentius lib. de fide c 38. omni enim homini c. to a man that holds not firmly the faith and unity of the Catholick Church neither his Baptism nor Alms nor Death for the name of Christ will profit him to Salvation And St. Athanatius informs us in his Creed that he who will be Saved above all things must hold the Catholick Faith entirely and inviolably From hence it necessarily follows that a man though our Politicians imagine the contrary cannot be Saved in any sort of Religion for all these cannot be the only true one necessarily required to Salvation I will conclude this discourse concerning a meer honest Life with the judgment of St. Augustine Serm. 13. de verb. Apost The Epicurian Philosophers saith he practised vertue for the conveniency of the Body useing moderation in their eating and drinking in their prosperities and adversities and in their whole conduct for the welfare of their body that it may in no manner suffer dammage The Stoick Philosophers being more Spiritual practised Vertue for the natural good of the Soul and Reason to which Vertue is conformable and agreeable in fine he blameth them both that their vertues were defective and as the first were Sensual in their moderation and temperance so the second were proud in their Vertue which they practised for it self and the good of reason to which they ordred it The first saith he lived according to the flesh the second according to the reason of the Soul but neither according to God So according to St. Augustine one is not to rest in the utility and honesty of vertue but he will that a Christian Soul should raise it self higher to practise Vertue for God to glorify him by it So that the body should not be the end nor also the rational Soul but only God to whom it must be ordered and referred He only being our soveraign good and so alone deserves to be desired and searched for himself and in that manner as he hath prescribed without which there can be no true Vertue acceptable to him and the light of Faith is necessary to direct us in this seeing humane reason cannot do it Therefore Christ sends us to his Church to receave from her his Doctrine and Instructions and commands us to obey her under the penalty of being rejected as Heathens and Publicans which he Incurs who makes his imagination his Oracle his proper sence his Doctor and himself the Church he followes CHAP. II. The true Life of a Christian which is that of Faith JUstus autem meus ex fide vivit my just one saith God by the Prophet shall live by faith There are too Sorts of just men one according to the world the other according to God the just according to the world are those who are so by Humane reason maxims of Estate or temporal Interest The just according to God are those who have Faith for the Principle of their actions and rule of their lives A just man according to the world doth not injury to any because the light of reason dictates to him what he would not have done to himself that he should not do to another one just according to God doth no injury to any out of a further motive which is because Jesus Christ commanded and practised it for our example A just man according to the world gives alms to an indigent person out of a natural compassion and tenderness of heart A just man according to God doth it because Jesus Christ saith What you shall do to one of these little ones you shall do to me because they are members of Christ Whosoever gives a cup of could water shall not lose his reward it is the promise of Christ but he doth not promise this reward if you give an alms to one because he is one of the same country condition or nature you are of but if you give it to him because he is a Christian a disciple of Christ because he required it of you you gave it in the name of Christ or because he is ordain'd as a companion to glorify God with you in heaven A good Servant according to the world serves his master faithfully because he expects a reward from him for it a good servant according to God doth it because St. Paul exhorts servants to obey theirs Masters as Jesus Christ and for conscience sake One just according to the world nourisheth and brings up his children because they are his A just parent according to God doth it because they are members of Christ creatures ordained for his glory The reason of this truth is evident The life of a true Christian is a Supernaturall life faith is more above reason then reason above sence and as one who lives as a man is not governed by his sence as beasts but by reason so he who will live as a true Christian must not follow the conduct of naturall reason only as men do but he must be directed in his life by faith and Evangelicall maxims

and Fasting distinct things therefore there is some other way how this may be understood St. Augustine St. Aug. Epist 112. c. 9. expounds it thus To pray without intermission what other thing doth it mean then to desire without intermission Eternal Life Let us desire this of our Lord and we always pray and by this we may easily conceive any man always to pray and to spend both day and night in Prayer And this desire in the heart of the godly doth never cease but they alwayes seek and implore the Divine assistance whether they eat or drink or what else soever they do as a man in Prison clogg'd with Irons alwayes desires his Freedom Others answer to this doubt in this manner we must not understand this so strictly that we should not in a moment of time cease from prayer but that very often and diligently we should employ our selves in it nor for other works less necessary omit it as if a Physitian should say to his Patient see that you always eat this kind of dyet and never intermit it he doth not mean by this manner of speech that he should sit day and night at the Table eating but that at convenient times as at Dinner and Supper he should not abstain from it So he is said always to pray who every day hath set-times consecrated to prayer and permits not himself to be called or hindred from thence We may easily continue this exercise all the day by the help of jaculatory prayers which we may use at all times in all places and company for which St. Augustine commended certain Monks in Egypt What work or company can hinder thee from lifting up thy heart to God with the Psalmist Ps 37 in these few words Intend unto my aid O Lord God of my Salvation Which words Cassianus affirms to bemost powerful efficatious or one may use a variety of such short speeches This thou maist do saith St. Chrysostom wheresoever thou art no place can hinder thee from lifting up thy heart to God if thou wert dressing meat washing dishes sweeping the house or the like thou may'st thus pray I could wish that they who are delighted in prayer and willingly spend their time in it would not burden themselves with a multitude of Vocal prayers and discoursive Meditations but give more to the affection of the Will than to the speculation of the understanding spending most of that time in setting their affections on fire towards God which is the true end of prayer A man may understand the necessity of prayer who truly considers the miserable estate of man reduced to such a misery and poverty in spirituals that he cannot of himself act speak or think any thing that is grateful to God unless assisted by his holy Spirit What remains for an infirm Beggar who hath no art no patrimony nor strength to labour for his being What remedy in this condition but to beg or else to perish Doth not then our condition like to this enforce us continually to fly to God by prayer and by this means to beg of him who is rich in mercies a supply of all necessaries for this our life as we are instructed in the Pater Noster by asking our daily bread The Salvation of every Christian depends on God whom we must daily implore for the obtaining of it and because this Salvation of ours is in continual danger and that every one is bound to procure it with all care and diligence he can hence it is that always we are bound to pray to God for it seeing it is not to be obtained by any other means than from him and by him Again there is no man who hath not somtimes sinned nor that hath any warrant or security hereafter not to sin and in this respect it is most necessary for us by daily prayer not only to seek that he would gratiously pardon and forgive our former sins but also that he would be pleased to prevent with his grace lest we fall again into other sins through which we may incur eternal Damnation We have a continual War as the Apostle informs us with invisible and powerful Enemies and of our selves we are weak and unable to resist and conquer how can we be for a moment secure if we neglect to implore aid and assistance from God this St. Chrysostom sets out to us by that of Exodus Exod. c. 17. where it is said that when Moses lifted up his hands in prayer Israel did overcome but when he was remiss in it the Amalekites his Enemies did prevail from hence that Holy Father concludes that he is not to be excused who would not have his Enemy overcome and yet ceaseth from prayer Oratio jugis infirmitas hostis as he speaks Continual Prayer is a weakning worsting of our Enemy He affords weapons against himself who ceaseth to weary his Enemy by the instancy of prayer and lastly he concludes with this exhortation If thou desirest to be freed from dangers to overcome the Devil to subdue the Flesh to suppress the sensual Appetites to root out Vices to procure Vertues to contemn Temporals to love and possess Eternals give thy self seriously to Prayer But prayer to be powerful and efficatious for a supply of all necessaries must be qualified with these two conditions especially First it must be done with attention and recollection of Spirit Christ by his own example in the Prayer he made in the Garden immediately before his Passion taught us this he would not prostrate himself there to his Heavenly Father before he was abstracted and separated from his Disciples there with him Quantum jact us est lapidis Luc. 22. as far as the cast of a stone to inform us that in this exercise of prayer we should abstract our selves from all Creatures This at the first was a defect in St. Augustine as he confesseth Lib. 10. Conf. c. 27. Mecumeras tecum non eram Thou wert with me but I was not with thee God was with him by his immensity but he was not with him by reason of his Distractions St. Chrysostom Councelleth that our prayer ought to be Mysterium a Mistery so secret and intimate as known only to God and not so much as to our selves Cassianus affirms that not to be a perfect prayer in which a man reflects upon what he prays he should be not only distracted but also so retired and abstracted as to be not only seperated from others but even from himself by Union with Gods will and such a prayer is a true Mistery and secret It is the advice of Origen that the Soul should have always a fixed Altar in it self in which it should offer up unto God the Sacrifices and Victims of praises and prayer It is the admonition of our B. Saviour in the Gospel that when thou prayest Intra in cubiculum Enter into thy Chamber or Closet which is not only to be understood of a material Chamber or place of Retirement but