Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n
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A39351
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An exclamation to all those that love the Lord Jesus in sincerity against an apology written by an ingenious person, for Mr. Cowley's lascivious and prophane verses / by a dutiful son of the Church of England.
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Elys, Edmund, ca. 1634-ca. 1707.
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1670
(1670)
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Wing E675; ESTC R36225
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6,702
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20
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c. It is a vain thing indeed to make any kind of Apology for that sort of VVritings in any Part of the world not altogether Heathenish or Apostate from the Practice of the CHRISTIAN Religion for such an Apology will certainly redound to the Shame at least to the Infamy of the Unrelenting Author If Devout or Virtuous Men will superciliously forbid c. Since no Devout or Virtuous Men as Such can do any thing Superciliously whether this passage be not most notoriously Foolish and Impertinent let any one judg who is himself a Person of True Honour and Virtue I am not asham'd saies He to commend Mr. COWLEY'S MISTRESS And I trust I shall never be asham'd to Confess the Faith of CHRIST Crucifi'd and manfully to fight under his Banner against Sin the World and the Devil And with this Resolution I Bid Defyance to him as an Enemy of the Cross of CHRIST and Charge him with the Guilt of Violating the Obligation lay'd on him by Mr. COWLEY when he recommended to his Care the revising of all his works That he should be sure to let nothing pass that might seem the least offence to Religion or Good Manners To destroy all plausible Pretences of the Innocency of this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 expresly forbidden by the Holy Apostle Coloss 3.8 I doubt not but by GODS Assistance I shall in a few words clearly Demonstrate that such a Tenent viz. that It is Inoffensive to good Manners is wholly Destructive to the CHRISTIAN Religion whose main Scope and Drift is this to make Man Partaker of the Divine Nature through a sense of His Interest in GOD Assuming the Humane Nature to Sanctifie Him wholly in SPIRIT SOUL and BODY Now I boldly averr to All the world Despising the Shame of being never so much Reproacht by men Puft up by their Fleshly Mind that GOD INCARNATE is the Principal Object even of Our Passionate or Sensitive Love And that the Habit of Exercising this PASSION Directly upon CHRIST and All Our other PASSIONS or Sensitive Affections upon their various Objects in a way of Subserviency thereunto is the thing Chiefly imply'd in the Sanctification of the SOUL and BODY viz. as the SOUL is taken in Contradistinction to the SPIRIT But I conceive that the Sensible Heats resulting from this Divine PASSION are in the Abhorrency of whatever is Inconsistent therewith and Apt to Extinguish it then in the Direct Embraces of its Object If any Learned man shall find upon his thoughts any Objections or Scruples to be propos'd against what I have now written on this Mystical Subject I should be Glad to undertake the Solution of them if he would propose them in Latine but I am very Averse from speaking of These Things at large Directly and in the most Accurate Terms in the Hearing of the Vulgar being well Assur'd that the Power and Vertue of this Truth may be Convey'd into any Pious and VVell-Dispos'd Soul in other Terms then what will Convince Gain-Sayers c. Now whether if so Great a WIT as Mr. COWLEY had Employ'd his Youthful FIRE in the Exercise of such a PASSION as would have made him to Cry out unto GOD with the Spouse in the Canticles Draw me we will run after thee And to say with that Glorious Martyr St. Ignatius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 My Love was Crucified and with that Mirrour of VVit Learning and Virtue Prudentius speaking of the Name of CHRIST O nomen praedulce mihi Lux Decus Spes Praesidiumque meum requies ô certa laborum Blandus in ore Sapor fragrans Odor irriguus Fons Castus amor Pulchra Species Syncera Voluptas Whether I say if he had so Employ'd his Youthful FIRE or Amorous Constitution it would not have been more to the Advantage of himself and others then the Pleasing himself with the Writing of those wanton Imaginations I leave to the Consideration of those to whom this Paper is chiefly Directed viz. those that LOVE the LORD JESUS in Sincerity But to evince this great and important Truth to the meanest Capacity viz. that this cursed Tenent that the Writing or Reading of such Verses as I here pronounce so Odious and Detestable unless with an Holy Scorn and Indignation is not Offensive to Religion or Good Manners is wholly Destructive to the CHRISTIAN Religion I shall produce this plain Text of Scripture Whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all in the Name of the LORD JESUS giving thanks to GOD and the FATHER by him Coloss 3.17 Now if any man shall say that the making of such Verses c. may be judg'd to be a work done in the Name of the LORD JESUS I shall only bid him to consider that our GOD is a Consuming Fire Iamblicus witnesses that Pythagoras and his Followers did hold that all our Actions should tend to the sincere Acknowledgment and service of the DEITY His very words are these De Vitâ Pythag. c. 28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A blush would well become the youthful cheeks of those whom this Apologist encourages in their witty impieties at the reading of this Here I cannot but use the words of the truly Learned Dr. CASAUBON in a late Treatise of Credulity and Incredulity p. 140. O that Christians or rather men professing Christianity had as much conscience and sense of goodness and piety as some Heathens have had I shall take the Confidence to tell this Gentleman who contrary to the Request of his dying Friend has disturb'd the CHRISTIAN world with the publication of these filthy Lines which certainly may be rightly term'd Simulachra pabula amoris that even the Epicurean Lucretius would have scorn'd this Action of his Sed fugitare decet saies he Lib. 4. Simulachra pabula Amoris Absterrere sibi atque aliò convertere mentem Perhaps those who flight my words will be somewhat affected with what I shall here collect out of Mr. Henry Vaughans Preface to his Book entitled Silex Scintillans SACRED POEMS and private EJACULATIONS A large Encomium of this excellent Gentleman I find amongst the Poems of the incomparable Mrs. Katherine Philips who I presume by her acquaintance with Mr. COWLEY was the instrument of the great and good GOD to excite him to that sense of Piety which he discover'd in that desire above mentioned that his works should be revis'd c. O that he had liv'd to have blotted out those naughty things particularly his wicked Encomium of that disgrace of Our Nation that detestable Apostate that LEVIATHAN Infidel and to have testifi'd his Repentance with his own Pen But the Judgments of GOD are unsearchable and his ways past finding out Mr. Vaughans Repentance for the like Follies is by himself largely declar'd in these following words Well it were for them the Authors of idle Poems if those willingly studied and wilfully published vanities could defile no spirits but their own but the case is far worse These Vipers survive their Parents and for many