Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	ghost_n	holy_a	word_n	15,366	5	4.0928	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57509	A sermon preached at Blandford-forum in Dorset-shire, December the 19th, 1682, at the Lord Bishop of Bristol's visitation by Richard Roderick ...	Roderick, Richard, 1647 or 8-1730.	1683 (1683)	Wing R1770; ESTC R7208	11,789	30

A SERMON Preached at Blandford-forum IN DORSET-SHIRE December the 19th 1682. AT THE Lord Bishop of BRISTOL's VISITATION By RICHARD RODERICK B. D. Student of Christ-Church in Oxon and Vicar of Blandford-forum LONDON Printed by M. Flesher for Henry Clements Bookseller in Oxford 1683. A SERMON Preached at BLAND FOR D-FORUM IN DORSET-SHIRE December the 19th 1682. ACTS 2. 42. And they continued stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship and in breaking of Bread and in Prayers IT is too too observable that when Men have once wickedly complyed with discover'd or weakly given up their Assent to unsearch'd Errours their main business afterwards is right or wrong to justify the Principles which they have imbibed The Care that should have been taken to prevent is laid out to hide their Deformity and disguise their Shame Hence the Writings of Fathers and perhaps the Decrees of Councils are entituled to them Scripture is wrested and Antiquity raked into to give Patronage to the foulest Misdemeanours Thus of old St. Origen was made use of to defend the Heresie of the Arians St Cyprian of the Donatians St. Ambrose St. Jerome and St. Austin of the Pelagians And of late the uncommissioned Zeal of Gregory Nazianzene and the Stories of Theodoret have been cited to excuse Disobedience to Princes and to null the rights of their next Heirs Thus Schism has always fled for Sanctuary to the Altar and from those who most constantly attended upon it especially in the first Ages of Christianity has endeavoured to gain Credit and Success Thus also too many in our Days though God be praised their number decreases and was never such as they boasted of too many for the defence of their Separations plead that Liberty in which they suppose the Primitive Christians stood fast and renounce that indispensible Communion which the Church enjoyns upon pretence that from the beginning it was not so Whereas indeed we are assured that the early Fore-runners in the Faith did not make or follow separate Congregations and divided Interests but They continued stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship and in breaking of Bread and in Prayers The Words are a Character of the Primitive Christians of the Church in the times of the Apostles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here rendred Fellowship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 breaking of Bread however taken by some learned Men the former for that most liberal distribution and wonderfull Charity conspicuous in those Days the latter for breaking of common Broad according to the custom of the Jews in the beginnings of their Feasts Yet by others of great Authority This is supposed to denote the Eucharist which the Apostles blessed That the Communion which they were the chief Members of Without any farther Explication of the Text. I. I shall endeavour to shew that the Primitive Christians not onely such as were contemporary with the Apostles but those also that succeeded them were united in Judgment and Practice as to Matters of Religion and the Worship of God They continued stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship and in breaking of Bread and in Prayers II. I shall examine what Means were used in the Primitive Church thus to unite Men in Judgment and Practice as to Matters of Religion and the Worship of God III. I shall enquire how far now-a days the Magistrate and those in Authority under him may proceed in order to the uniting Men in Judgment and Practice as to matters of Religion and the Worship of God IV. I shall conclude with an Exhortation to what is here said to have been the Practice of the Primitive Christians and ought to be ours that we also be united and continue stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship and in breaking of Bread and in Prayers I. I am to shew that the Primitive Christians were united in Judgment and Practice as to Matters of Religion and the Worship of God they continued stedfastly in the Apostles Doctrine and Fellowship and in breaking of Bread and in Prayers At the time when that prodigious effect of Omnipotent Mercy was express'd in the Incarnation of our Redeemer the distracted World not keeping any regularly traced Path towards Salvation wandred in Darkness and in the Shadow of Death The Jews had made the written Law give way to the oral they had prostituted their Understandings to the Direction of those blind Guides which taught for Doctrines the Commandments of Men and by magisterial Confidence and precise Hypocrisie Qualifications which often come together so far enslav'd the Judgments of their Proselytes that if two of them held contradictory Opinions each notwithstanding was thought infallible The Heathens though the Light of Nature would not suffer them to be ignorant of what was good yet could not come to the knowledge of the Lord much less of what he required in the acts of Devotion The Jews had lost their way the Gentiles never knew it But after his coming whom the Father sent to be a Light to lighten These and to be the Glory of Those the Partition-Wall betwixt Jew and Gentile was broken down and both united into and made Members of one Body whereof Christ is Head Our Saviour having thus gathered and constituted his Church and setled an orderly Government in it the Primitive Christians knew it to be their Duty and accordingly held Communion with the one and submitted to the other They rejoyced to be of one Fold under one Shepherd not loosely scattered abroad as Sheep having none They heard and obeyed his Voice when he spoke by them whom the Holy Ghost made Overseers of his Flock They contended earnestly for the Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints and Christ having provided for his Service in a regular way came together in Unity to the House of the Lord to offer Prayers and Thanks-givings jointly to the Almighty and Violence to Heaven with united Forces When the Disciples were but few These all continued with one accord in Prayer and Supplication Act. 1. 14. And when the Word of God mightily grew and prevailed The multitude of them that believed were of one Heart and of one Soul Acts 4. 32. No foolish Prejudices uncharitable Surmises or fruitless search after sarther Purity excluded them from the Fellowship of their Brethren from a common Participation of the Sacraments and Prayers and carrying on the designs of Christianity with joint Endeavours and Affections They kept the Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace of outward Communion endeavouring to walk worthy of that Vocation wherewith they were called in one Lord one Faith one Baptism They knew that the Lord had always even before the times of Christianity been jealous of his Honour and manifested his Jealousie by requiring an awefull Observance and punishing the least neglect of the Place where his Honour dwelt An immediate stroke from Heaven was sent upon the Men of Ashdod of Gath and of Ekron for detaining the Ark of God upon the