Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	call_v	day_n	week_n	21,908	5	10.6544	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26158	Ten sermons preach'd before Her Royal Highness, the Princess Ann of Denmark at the chappel at St. James by Lewis Atterbury ... LL.D. and one of the six preachers to Her Royal Highness.	Atterbury, Lewis, 1656-1731.	1699 (1699)	Wing A4157; ESTC R35290	112,085	264

Labour of proving to you the absolute and indispensable necessity which lies upon every one to continue in the Practice of this Duty And in truth this has been the usage of good and vertuous Men in all Ages of the world not only of those whose Examples are recommended to our Imitation in the Holy Scripture but also of those Heathens who have been eminent for Vertue and Morality The Psalmist tells us Psal 77.6 That he us'd constantly to call himself to an Account I call to remembrance my song in the night I commune with my own heart and my spirit made diligent search Amongst the Fathers of the Primitive Church we find all those who wrote upon practical Subjects pressing this Duty of Self-examination The time would fail me should I instance in the Precepts of St. Chrysostom Basil Gregory and the rest Neither were the Heathen Moralists wanting in the recommendation of it both by Precept and their own Examples That Precept of Pythagoras in his golden Verses is generally known 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ask thy self says he every Night What Sin have I committed this day What Good have I done What Good have I left undone which I ought to have done Seneca tells us Quotidie apud me causam dico I every day pass Judgment upon my own Actions when I am in Bed and the Light is taken away I run over all my Words and Deeds I consider how I have spent that day I omit nothing which I can recollect for why should I be afraid to reflect on my own Failings when I can say to my self this was not well done but do so no more He also tells us of his Friend Sixtus the Philosopher who duly thus examin'd himself before he went to rest What Disease of thy Soul or what Vice hast thou cur'd this day What Sin hast thou subdu'd Art thou a better Man to day than thou wast yesterday If so thou hast liv'd to some Purpose but if not thou hast but consum'd and lost thy time And to name no more the Divine Plato when he saw any Man do a wicked or unbecoming Action us'd to ask himself this Question 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 have I never been guilty of this Crime If this Sin looks so ill in that Man is it not worse in me If I have never been guilty of it let me be sure to avoid it for the time to come I might easily heap up many like Instances for this has been the Practice of good and vertuous Men in all Ages and in truth 't is hardly possible for a Man to be good and vertuous who omits or neglects the Performance of it And therefore I shall take this for granted And proceed Secondly To lay down some Directions how we may perform this Duty to the best advantage And 1. When we design to perform this Duty of Self-examination let us first free our Minds from all the Cares and Business of Life from every thing which will take up our Thoughts and apply our selves to this Task with seriousness and attention For since the Interests of this World and the next are widely different it will be impossible to attend on the one whilst our Thoughts are taken up about the other And we may as well fix our Eye upon two opposite Objects at the same time as keep our apprehensive Faculty intent both on Things temporal and Things spiritual When we have cleans'd and purg'd our Souls from all carnal and worldly Thoughts and Affections let us beseech God from whom are the Preparations of the heart that he will enable us impartially to examin and search into our own Souls enlighten our Understandings assist our Memories and discover to us those Sins which lie hid in our Consciences and teach us those things we know not which either we never took notice of or which we have forgot That we may have the same apprehensions of them at present we shall hereafter be affected with when we come to lie upon a Sick-bed and to have a Prospect of the other World Having thus fitted and prepared our selves let us consider how and after what manner we must Examine our selves And I. The time when we ought to employ our selves about this Duty II. What ought to be the Subject of our Examination And 1. As to the time when this Duty will be most seasonably perform'd I have already made it appear That it has been the Practice of good Men in all Ages to examine themselves daily and this with very good Reason For since Confession of Sin is one Condition which God requires of us before he will Seal the pardon of our Sins 't is impossible we should make a full and particular Confession of them unless we examine our selves daily The number of our Sins is so great that should we defer it till a farther time many of them would slip out of our Memories and then God has reveal'd to us no other Condition of Pardon but that general Confession of them Psal 19.12 cleanse thou me from my secret Sins and how can we call those Sins secret which are conceal'd from us only because we will not take the Pains to discover them What time of the day is most proper for this Employment every Man's Prudence must determine this must be directed by the Exigency of his Affairs but for the most part it will be requisite even in this Case Eccles 11.6 to follow the Advice of the wise Man In the morning sow thy seed and in the evening with-hold not thy hand To consider in the Morning what Temptations we are like to meet with that day what opportunities of doing good and making the most strong and firm Resolutions that we will resist the one and embrace the other And to call our selves to account in the Evening how well we have put these Resolutions into Execution whether we have perform'd our vows unto God or else shamefully given up his Cause and yielded to the importunity of a prevailing Temptation But besides this daily Examination of our selves there are other times when we ought to call our selves to an Account 'T is the great Duty of the Lord's Day A Day set apart on purpose that those Persons who all the week long are cumber'd with the Cares of this world employ'd in the Business of their Callings and in making provision for their Bodies might have some time to recollect themselves and to secure the eternal Welfare of their Souls And how can Men employ this day better I mean that part of it when they are not call'd upon to joyn in the publick Offices of Religion than in recollecting themselves how they have spent the week past what Sins they have been guilty of what good Actions they have perform'd what Progress they have made in a holy and vertuous Life and in considering what Temptations they are like to be expos'd to the following Week and in taking up Resolutions of walking more strictly and more