Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
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A51878
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A perswasive to the consciencious frequenting the daily publick prayers of the Church of England in a sermon upon I Thessal. verse 17, and 18.
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Mapletoft, John, 1631-1721.
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1687
(1687)
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Wing M562; ESTC R124
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12,881
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35
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all profane Miscreants see that they can no more banish the Notion of God out of the World then they can pluck the Sun out of the Firmament tho' they may possibly wink hard enough neither to see the one nor take due notice of the other That notwithstanding their affected Blindness and wilful Ignorance God hath still a very considerable party in the World numbers of Men who think it their greatest Honour to be and to be accounted his Servants and every day publickly own that Name and Title and as such pay their daily Attendance on their dear Lord and Master in his own House 3. Another Motive or Reason obliging us to frequent the daily Prayers of our Church is the Consideration of the Advantages we our selves shall reap from our so doing Of which sort I shall name only these Three First That we hereby do spend some part of our time every day in the best and most heavenly Employment and consequently after the best manner that we are capable of spending it Secondly That this lays a farther Obligation upon us to lead a more strict and holy Life than other men do and to be exemplary as well in all other Graces as in that of Devotion Thirdly That this is a certain means if we are not wanting to our selves of our growth in Grace and particularly in those two Cardinal Graces the Top and Perfection as well as the Ground-work and Foundation of all others the Love of God and the Love of our Neighbours 1. Then I say That the time we spend in the Publick Service of God is the best secured and the best bestowed of any other This is certainly the best because the most Heavenly Employment it being the continual Business of the Angels and the Archangels and all the Host of Heaven with joint Praises to Laud and Celebrate the Divine Majesty So that by thus doing we begin Heaven here we do already enter upon the Life and State and Employment of Angels being united to that blessed Choir and doing as they do And he that shall duly acquit himself herein will have this great satisfaction that he hath spent at least one hour every day to the best advantage as an Anticipation and fore-taste of that Life which we hope to lead in the presence of God for ever 2. Another Advantage we derive from frequenting daily the Publick Prayers is this viz. That our so doing lays a strong and daily Obligation upon us to live a more strict and holy a more divine and heavenly Life than others do to be unblamable unreprovable in all our Conversation And he who doth not charge himself with the daily Practice and Exercise of all those Graces for which he prays to God hath reason to suspect himself of Hypocrisie and Formality in these his open Prayers Those then who make Conscience of Approaching God twice every day in his Publick Ordinances must also for this very Reason besides all others make more Conscience of presenting him as with a pure Heart so with a Circumspect Innocent Unspotted Life And certainly if such Men are not much better than others who pretend less they are much worse since they do hereby openly profess more Zeal for God's Glory more Love to him and more Care to please him and a greater sense both of his Goodness to them and their Duty to him so that if they disparage such their Profession by unsuitable Practice they give just Reason to believe they have some other end to serve then that of Religion 3. A Third Advantage which will acrue to us from our daily Attendance on God in his House is growth in Grace and particularly in the Love of God and of our Neighbour those two Eminent and Comprehensive Graces on which hang all the Law and the Prophets For the first of these the Love of God 't is certain that the more often we Converse with him the more intimately we are acquainted with him who being the supreme good needs only to be known that so he may be loved by us the more strongly will our Souls cleave unto him So that if to our Private Meditation and Prayers we add such daily solemn Converse with him in the Publick Prayers and Thanksgivings and hearing of his Word our Love to him must needs grow and increase thereby And as to the Love of our Neighbour since every siding and taking part though but in some inconsiderable Opinion Interest or Custom Education or Course of Life is a peculiar Endearment and ground of Affection towards those of the same Opinion Interest or Way how much more prone will they be to bear an hearty good Will and Kindness toward each other who are daily engaged in the same common Interest and that of the highest Importance viz. a joint endeavour to bring Publick Honour to their common Lord and to forward their own Salvation who twist and combine their Prayers and Praises and converse here with one another as they hope to do hereafter in Heaven Not to mention now the solemn Intercession made twice aday for the whole Catholick Church and the open Declaration of our so forgiving all Men who offend or injure us as we desire and hope for Mercy and Forgiveness at the Hands of God. Now besides the Efficacy of the united Prayers of a Christian Congregation put up for themselves and for each other at which Christ hath promised to be present in a special manner Matt. xviij 20. It is I think an undeniable certainty That he who shall both in Private and also in Publick thus daily importune the Throne of Grace shall obtain a greater measure of these and all other Graces than he who contents himself with his Private Solitary Prayers only 4. Another Consideration enforcing this Duty of our waiting upon God in his Sanctuary every day is the great Benefit and good which others may receive from our so doing and that not only as particular Persons taking notice of our regular steady exemplary Piety joined with an unblemished Life and a truly Christian Conversation may be won by our good Example to the same practice and by the shine of our Light by seeing our good Works may also themselves come in like manner to glorifie our Father which is in Heaven But also because Publick Prayers both as they tend to the bettering all those who do conscienciously frequent them and so to the augmenting the number and improving the Graces of Righteous Persons for whose sake God often spares a wicked Place or People and also in their Nature Design and End are the proper Instrument for the obtaining and continuing Publick Peace and Tranquillity or the Establishment and Prosperity of a Church and State. Whence R. Maimonides well observes That he who dwells in a City in which there is a Synagogue or House of Prayer and doth not therein Pray with the Assembly he is to be censured as an ill Neighbour as one that is wanting in his Duty to promote by
his Prayers the good of that Community of which he is therefore an Unworthy Member And I have been credibly informed to apply this point to our selves That in the Days of Queen Elizabeth when our Church by the Blessing of God upon her necessary and warrantable Reformation had quite broken off the Chains and Fetters of the Romish Usurpation some perhaps most of our Parish Churches were as numerously thronged at the daily Prayers as they have since been at Sermons And that as our Liturgy grew afterwards into neglect by the Indevotion and Prophaneness of some and then into Contempt by the Mis-perswasion Vain Affectation of Novelty false Pretences to greater Purity of Worship and the like evil Artifices of others So true Piety and Loyalty Men's Duty to God and their Prince Justice and Charity Brotherly Kindness and good Will to each other began proportionably to lessen and decay till at length every thing of Religion but the Name and Pretence only seemed to die and expire in a Bloody Civil War Of which our Poor Church still wears the Marks and feels some of its dire Effects to this very day in those breaches which are yet unclosed From whence we may rationally conclude That as the neglect and dis-use of our Common-Prayer was the beginning of those Confusions and Miseries which ruined both our Church and State so the most probable means to secure our Religion as it is now Established and to engage Almighty Power on our side is for us all to unite our selves as in the Profession of the Evangelical Primitive Apostolical Faith and in Uniform Obedience to all the Laws of God and in stedfast Loyalty to our Prince and Universal Love and hearty good Will one towards another So also in the same daily Publick Worship of our great Lord. Which together with the Articles of our Religion is the proper Characteristick and Distinctive Mark of the purest and best constituted Church in the World the Church of England in which by the goodness of God we do now live and in which by his Grace we hope to die The 5. and last Consideration from which I proposed to deduce our Obligation to the daily service of God in the Church is the general Consent and Universal Practice of the Church of Christ in all Ages and Places almost in the World. The Apostles as we read Luke 24.53 after Christ's Ascension were continually in the Temple i. e. Every Morning and Evening in which sence the Morning and Evening Sacrifice was called the continual Burnt-Offering at the time of Publick Prayer Praising and Blessing God. And the Apostolical Constitutions which are by all allowed to be very Ancient do enjoin the Bishop to Admonish and Command the People to come every day both Morning and Evening to the Publick Prayers and that none by absenting himself should maim the Church and take away one Member from the Body of Christ 2. Constit Chap. 59. And as in all Ages so in all Places the Churches both of the Eastern and Western Communion Greek Armenian Roman Lutheran and Calvinist all Christian Churches almost do so Universally Understand and Agree That the daily Publick Worship of God is enjoined both by the Scriptures and the very Nature of a Christian Church That there is scarce any place in which it is not constantly and Religiously observed and used For a Christian Church is in its proper Notion An Assembly of Men and Women met together to Worship God by Christ Or A company joined together to have Fellowship with God and one with another in all holy Duties of which Prayer Thanksgiving and Praises are the Chief As those who need or Desire farther Information or Satisfaction in this Argument may find largely and convincingly handled in a Discourse concerning Prayer lately published by a pious and learned Divine of our Church Dr. Patrick which I wish were in all Men's Hands Thus have I shewed the Obligation we all have as far as every Man's Opportunities and Circumstances will give leave to a Consciencious Attendance on the daily Publick Worship And that this Duty is pressed and bound upon us 1. By that Obedience we owe to the Will of God revealed in the Gospel 2. By that Zeal we ought to have for the Honour and Glory of God and the Interest of our Religion 3. By the Advantages we may reap from our so doing viz. The laying out so much of our time in the best manner and to the best Account Being hereby put upon great Circumspection and Watchfulness over our selves that we lead unreprovable and exemplary Lives our own growth in all Grace and especially in the Love of God and of our Neighbour 4. By the concern we ought to have for the good of others the Publick Prosperity and Establishment both of our Church and State. 5. By the Authority and Example of the Church of Christ in all Ages and Places But after all this Men have not leisure from their secular Employments and serving God in their Calling they tell us is better than Praying But is not Religion our Calling too I am sure the Scripture uses the Word Vocation or Calling in that Sense and I think in that only and the Apostolical Constitutions tell us That our secular Callings Trades or Professions are our Work by the bye only as providing for the Necessities of this lower Animal Life 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But the Worship of God is our Principal Business 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Const 61. If we must live Godlily as well as Soberly and Righteously we must then reckon the Publick Worship of God among the Businesses of our Lives and allow a competent time for the Discharge of what appears to be one third part of our Duty I would advise even the Poorest Persons who maintain themselves and Families by hard Labour to venture so much of their time with God as the Prayers take up every day and I am perswaded they would find it no ill Husbandry God would not be in their debt at the years end But those who have not leisure because they will not have it because not being Content with Food and Raiment the Wealth of a true Christian they will be dangerously Rich though they do thereby fall into Temptation and a Snare and into those many foolish and hurtful Lusts which often drown them or their Posterity in Destruction and Perdition these ought well to consider the Nature and Doctrines of our Holy Religion viz. That it teaches us not to Love the World nor the things of This World to be Crucified to the World To set our Affections on things above and not on things on the Earth To lay up our Treasure in Heaven To provide for our selves Bags that Wax not old To be rich towards God To be led by the Spirit and to walk after the Spirit and then let them well weigh whether a Religion Established on these and the like Maxims may not reasonably demand at least one 24th part of their time for the publick Honour and Service of God and the promoting their own great Interest that of their immortal Souls and the good of the Community in which they live and whether their constant or frequent Pretence to want of leisure for the Publick Worship be not in truth a Criminal Vitious Love of the World and too much minding Earthly things and in plain English chusing to serve Mammon rather than God Certainly if the generality of Men were as truly Wise and as truly Pious as they ought to be if they understood the Interests of their Souls of their Religion of their Church and Nation as well as they do the little concern of getting Money they easily might and would so order their Affairs that our Churches might be every day as well filled in the Morning and Evening as the Exchange is at Noon And doubtless he who having the necessary Preparations of an holy Christian Conversation a Life led in all Godliness and Honesty or a serious prevailing Resolution so to Live of an upright Intention and sincere aim at the glory of God his own growth in Grace and the good of others shall make Conscience of entring God's Courts twice every day when he comes to die will find more Satisfaction in that one hour thus spent than in all those he spends in his Worldly concerns and no particular will stand fairer in the account of our time which we must all make to God at the last day than the Item So much spent every day when we had opportunity in the Publick Worship and Service of God. ERRATA PAge 3. l. 17. dele Our p. 7. l. 18. dele ly in Firstly p. 8. l. last lege 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 p. 11. l. 6. we are p. 12. l. 14. lege bearing p. 23. l. 11. put L. before 2. p. 25. l. 21. put L. before 2. p. 28. l. 10. lege This Item FINIS