Selected quad for the lemma: prince_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
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A56594
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Advice to a friend
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Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707.
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1673
(1673)
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Wing P738; ESTC R10347
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111,738
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356
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you trust him and leave your self wholly to his Wisdom and Kindness I could entertain you here with a delightful Discourse on this Argument were it not that I would not burden you as I said before with too great a Book Let me only advise you of this which shall excuse me from adding a Prayer at the end of this Discourse especially since you know where to find one in another place That as it is most for our ease to recommend all we have and do to Gods good providence and resolutely to rest satisfied in what he determines so the most effectual course to obtain this resignation to him and confidence in him is rather to exercise it in our Devotions by acts of resignation and expressions of our trust in his great goodness than to be petitioning him continually to bestow upon us this grace Say therefore with the heartiest affection upon all occasions in the words of David Thou art my hope O Lord thou art my trust from my Youth I trust in the Mercy of God Psal 71.5.14.52.8.141.8.56.3.92.2.118.9.37.2.5 for ever and ever Mine eyes are unto thee O God the Lord I will hope continually and will yet praise Thee more and more What time I am afraid I will trust in thee I will say of the Lord he is my refuge and my fortress my God in him will I trust It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in Princes I will therefore trust in the Lord and do good I will commit my way unto him that he may bring it to pass Behold O Father of Mercies how intirely I confide in thee I absolutely resign my self and all I have unto thee I rely upon thy bounty for what thou judgest fit and needful for me Thy Goodness is the greatest treasure thy Truth and Faithfulness is my best security thy gracious Promises and careful Providence is my comfort thy Wisdom is my satisfaction in all events and accidents thy Power is my support protection and safeguard Lead me whither thou pleasest and I will follow thee with a chearful heart I refuse nothing which comes from thy hands O most loving Father I submit to thy orders and hope that all things shall work together for my good And I trust in thy grace that I shall always do as I do now stedfastly adhering thus unto thee and never suffering any thing that befalls me to pull me away from this humble faith in thy wise and almighty Goodness to which I refer my self now and ever And the more to awaken you to this let me tell you My Friend that we find examples of it even in the Heathens themselves who in a strange fit of devotion have sometime cryed out on this fashion O man what dost thou Why dost thou not free thy self from all this trouble Adventure at last Arrian Epict. L. 2. Cap. 16. with eyes lifted up to God to say unto him Use me at thy pleasure O God for the time to come Thou hast my perfect consent I am of the same mind that thou art I have a mind to nothing but what thou thinkest good Wilt thou have me bear an Office or shall I lead a private life Must I stay or must I fly Shall I be poor or shall I be rich I am ready to obey I will defend thee against all the World I will apologize for thy providence about these things to every body I say that all is good because thou art so Thus they exhorted men to follow God chearfully in a belief that he is Wise and Good for we can never be happy said they if we follow him sighing and groaning as a man doth one that is stronger than he who pulls him after him when he hath no mind to go Let us begin every thing saith the same Philosopher in another place without too much desire or aversation Let us not incline to this or to the other way But behave our selves like a Traveller who when he comes to two ways asks him whom he meets next which of those he shall take to such a place having no inclination to the right hand rather than to the left but desiring only to know the true and direct way that will carry him to his Journeys end Just so must we come to God as to a Guide as to one who shall dispose of our motions as he pleases We must not look about us and desire of him this or the other thing which we fancy We must not direct Him what course he should take with us nor desire him to show us this rather than that but embrace that which he proposes and desire only he will conduct us in the right way to happiness This is our duty and our safety Whereas now you shall see Men run to him and say Lord have Mercy upon me deliver me from such and such a thing Wretch that thou art Wouldst thou have any thing but what is best And who can tell what that is Is there any thing best but that which seems so to God Why then dost thou endeavour as much as in thee lies to corrupt him who is to judg and to seduce Him who is thy Counsellour and to move him by thy cries to do otherways than he thinks good Cease these clamours and do not urge him to incline to thy desires but suffer him to follow his own Wisdom It cannot be any delight to him to cross and vex us If what we are inclined to desire be conformable to his judgment he will not deny it us meerly because we are inclined to desire it But he will give us that which is good in his eyes as the holy Scripture speaks And what would we have more Will it not suffice us to have our own hearts desire And what should that be if we are well advis'd but this that we may have what unsearchable Wisdom united with Infinite Power and Goodness shall think to be fittest for us and most convenient Of this we need not doubt And this is sufficient for any Mans satisfaction XII AND as a means to all this which hath been said in the foregoing Advices I cannot but desire you in the next place to Receive as often as you can the Holy Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood For there you have an ample testimony of Gods tender love to you and care over you There a number of Christian Brethren and good Friends meet to rejoyce together There your Soul is excited to the noblest thoughts and sublimest Meditations of your Saviour's love and of the purchase he hath made for you The sight of which will not let you stand in need of being chidden by your self into the devoutest affections and the most chearful resignation to him who having given so great a gift as his Son to you will not deny you may be confident to bestow lesser benefits when he sees them expedient for