Selected quad for the lemma: order_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
order_n	day_n	youth_n	youthful_a	13	3	10.8441	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61409	Advice to the young, or, The reasonableness and advantages of an early conversion to God demonstrated, in three discourses on Ecclesiastes xii, I by Joseph Stennett.	Stennett, Joseph, 1663-1713.	1695 (1695)	Wing S5406; ESTC R15661	77,634	190

of his Reason But we have not only the Wisest Man in the World giving us Rules in a matter of the greatest Weight and confirming them with the Probatum est of a very large and long Experience for behold a Greater than Solomon is here The Wisest of Men wrote this Book but the Spirit of Wisdom inspired it If then all the advantageous Characters of Solomon should not much influence the Minds of Young Persons to regard his Admonitions yet the Authority of the Holy Spirit himself whose Dictates these originally are lays a strict Obligation on them to observe 'em as his own Divine Counsels with a Religious Zeal and to respect 'em as his Precepts with an awful Reverence To form in our Minds a just Idea of the general Drift and Design of this Book 't is proper to observe That as 't is natural for Man to seek to be Happy and therefore the Philosophers of all Ages and of all Nations have given Rules according to their Sense of Things for the obtaining this great End We have Solomon a very Philosophical Prince and who of all others deserves best to be term'd the Prince of Philosophers giving in this Book the History of himself with respect to the Method he took in the pursuit of Happiness recounting to us his false Steps for our warning and at last making both the End and Duty and Interest of Man to consist in the Service and Fear of God All which seems to be compriz'd in the Close of this Book in those Words Let us hear the Conclusion of the whole Matter Fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole Duty of Man For if we leave out the word Duty which is not found in the Original more Scope is given to the Words This is the whole of Man q. d. his whole Duty End and Interest And while he is looking back with Regret on the Loss of his own Time and with a Penitential Sorrow reflects on the Sins of his Youth he earnestly admonishes others to beware in Time of the Rock on which he split to be warn'd of taking a wrong Course by his Fall to be perswaded to take a right one by his Repentance and as an excellent Mean conducing to both their present and future Happiness to devote themselves as soon as possible to the Service of God or in the Words of our Text to Remember their Creator in the Days of their Youth For our better understanding of which Words Order directs us to take notice of those in the two last Verses of the foregoing Chapter on which they have an immediate Dependance where the Wise Man seems to obviate an Objection which some especially those whose youthful Heat prompts 'em to pursue the Pleasures of the World would raise against his past Discourse which so much depretiates 'em If such should say his Morals are too severe he answers them Chap. 11. v. 9. Rejoice O Young Man in thy Youth and let thy Heart chear thee in the Days of thy Youth and walk in the ways of thy Heart and in the sight of thine Eyes Which according to some is a Concession of a moderate use of Worldly Pleasures and may be thus paraphras'd Imagine not O Young Man that I pretend to make it a Crime for thee to be Chearful in the use of the good Things of this Life which the Providence of God allots thee No Gratify the Desires of thy Heart and entertain thy Eyes and other Senses with variety of pleasant Objects provided a due Moderation be observ'd in all these Things so that thou use and not abuse 'em for an Account of thy Management of them must be render'd before the just Tribunal of the Alimighty I do not bid thee renounce the Joys and Comforts of this Life But know thou that for all these Things God will bring thee into Iudgment I therefore caution thee of the Danger of being insnar'd by an Inordinate Desire of them Others interpret these Words as an Ironical Permission whereby the Absurdity of the wild Maxims and extravagant Sayings with which Young Persons are wont to encourage themselves and others to persist in a vicious Course are expos'd and a serious Caution thereupon subjoin'd Youth say they is the Time of Life most fitted for Pleasure and Joy the Senses are then most lively and impressible and as a multitude of charming Objects are continually inviting us so our own Inclinations are prompting us to embrace ' em Now therefore is the Time for us to abandon our Selves to Mirth and Pleasure Well says Solomon Rejoice O Young Man c. q. d. Take thy own Course give up thy self to the Conduct of thy beloved Lusts take thy fill of Jollity and Pleasure but mark the Consequence be assur'd that for this Course of Life if obstinately persisted in the Great and Just God will Judg and Condemn thee to Eternal Pains Know thou that for all these Things God will bring thee into Iudgment Which last Sense seems to me most Genuine not only because we have several Examples of this Ironical way of speaking in the Holy Scripture as that Saying of our Blessed Saviour to his Disciples Sleep on now and take your rest seems to be both from the Reproof for Sleeping and Exhortation to Watchfulness which he had given 'em just before and from the Alarm he gives 'em not to indulge their Drowsiness but to rise and be going for the Reason he assigns just after those Words And that of the Prophet Micajah to King Ahab who enquir'd of him whether he should go up against Ramoth-Gilead Go and prosper c. whereby he assumes the Language of the false Prophets but afterwards explains himself in express Terms If thou return at all in Peace the Lord hath not spoken by me Not only do such Examples as these I say justify this Sense of the Words last given but that which seems especially to make it preferable to the former is that those Phrases in the Sentence we are examining of Walking in the way of one's Heart and in the sight of one's Eyes can't be easily accommodated to a moderate use of Worldly Enjoyments as the former Sense supposes seeing 't is evident they are used to quite another purpose in the Scripture by that Prohibition God gave the Israelites not to seek after their own Heart and their own Eyes and by the Curse Iob imprecates on himself if his Heart had walked after his Eyes Both which shew that to walk after one's Heart and Eyes is an Expression more fairly applicable to a Dissolute and Sinful Course of Life than to a Temperate use of Lawful Pleasures After this Ironical Permission of Sinful Pleasures and the serious Premonition of Judgment subjoin'd to it follows a Conclusion in these Terms Therefore remove Sorrow from thy Heart and put away Evil from thy Flesh for Childhood and Youth are Vanity Which some will have

as have need of Milk and not of strong Meat Or that you are of the number of those who are over learning and never able to come to the Knowledg of the Truth You should be greatly mortified to this World who have a long time profess'd to be convinc'd of its Vanity and to be dying daily to it and who find old Age ready to transport you to the other And since you have long pretended to have had your Conversation and business in Heaven certainly you ought to have gain'd much by that happy Commerce and to have laid up much Treasure in the Regions of Glory as well as to have been rich in good Works here below and you should be dextrous in putting on and handling the Christian Armour who have often had occasion to try it And so skilful in defeating the Projects of your Adversary the Devil since you are suppos'd not to be ignorant of his Devices as after the sharpest Conflicts to become more than Conquerors through him that hath loved you These things may reasonably be suppos'd and expected of you But do you fill up these Characters that so well agree with your long standing in the Church of God Are you Fathers in Knowledg and Piety as well as in Years And is the size of your Spiritual Stature pro. portionate to the time of your Natural Life or at least of your Spiritual Life which commenc'd not long after the other Are you become very humble by a long acquaintance with your own Hearts and with that God who is the searcher of them Is your Faith become strong by a long exercise Your Hope firm by your long and familiar acquaintance with the Promises of God and with him in whom all those Promises are Yea and Amen True and Faithful Have your various Afflictions taught you to possess your Souls in Patience And have the many Favours you have received of God so tun'd your Hearts to his Praise that you can in every thing give thanks Does your spiritual vigour advance as your natural Strength declines And is your inward Man renew'd day by day as your outward Man perishes Have you made such a Proficiency as this in Religion Or is it otherwise Examine your selves strictly and seriously about it May not your Creator send you back to learn of those that are much younger and who have had less Advantages of Improvement than you Nay may he not send you back to be instructed by your selves I mean by the former part of your Lives And shame your late Back-slidings by putting you in mind of your early Zeal May he not justly reprove you in reminding you of your former Kindnesses to him as well as of his to you as he did the Iews of old and say I remember thee the kindness of thy Youth and the love of thy Espousals when thou wentest after me in the Wilderness in a Land that was not sown Israel was Holiness to the LORD and the first-fruits of his Increase May he not charge you as he did the Ephesians with having left your first Love And with having fallen short of your first Works Surely it becomes you now strenuously to persist in fighting the good Fight of Faith when you are near the consummation of all your Victories in an eternal Triumph To press forward vigorously in your spiritual Race now at last when you have almost attain'd the Mark and to aspire earnestly after that Diadem of Glory with which you are so suddenly to be crown'd To converse constantly in Heaven now you are just forsaking the Earth to live entirely by Faith since you are going to die in it to die in the Lord and that in order to live with him in a State that will turn your Faith into Vision and your Hope into Enjoyment If thus while Age bends you toward the Earth Grace raises your Hearts toward Heaven if your Faith grows sagacious while your Eyes grow dim and your Hope grows firm while your Hands and Knees are feeble if the Warmth of your Love to God increases as your natural Heat abates and the Sallies of your Souls after him grow strong and lively as the Motions of your animal Spirits grow weak and languid Then as your last Works will be more than your first so you 'll honour God as well in the worst part of your Time as you have done in the best of it And as by bringing forth much fruit even in old Age you will glorify your Heavenly Father So your Hoary Hairs will be honourable in this World and an exceeding and eternal weight of Glory will be your Portion in the World to come Secondly Let me now address my self to you that are Young and entreat you also to put this important Question to your own Hearts Whether you have yet remember'd your Creator so as to dedicate your selves to his Service or not If you have devoted to him the first-fruits of your Time 1. It behoves you with profound Humility and Reverence to ascribe to God the Glory of his Grace who made you willing in the Day of his Power to serve him in the Beauties of Holiness even from the Womb of the Morning of your Time and to offer him the early Dew of your Youth For no Flesh may glory in his Presence seeing all Flesh is Grass and the goodliness thereof as the fading Flower of the Field in a Moral as well as a Natural sense If you have been distinguish'd from others by early impressions of Piety know that 't is Grace that hath made the difference and glorify that God who perfects his praise out of the Mouths of Babes and Sucklings and reveals that to Children which he sometimes hides from the Wise and Prudent Bless him that has redeem'd you from the Earth and from among Men at a time when the Pleasures of Sin and the Society of Sinners appear in the most alluring form Praise that God who by the early Seeds of Holiness he has sown in your Hearts is preparing you to reap a plentiful Harvest of Graces and Blessings here and of Glorious Rewards hereafter 2. Consider the mighty Obligations that are upon you to engage you in a Holy Conversation As you have receiv'd more than many others more is requir'd of you And what we have said may be justly expected to be found in those old Disciples that have follow'd Christ from their Youth sufficiently signifies the Mark you are to aim at and the exalted degrees of Grace you are to aspire to In order to which you ought to be cautious of the least degree of Apostacy Have a care lest after having seem'd to begin in the Spirit you should miserably end in the Flesh. Therefore flee youthful Lusts. And endure hardship as good Soldiers of Iesus Christ Inure your selves to Self-denial