Selected quad for the lemma: rest_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
rest_n	call_v	day_n	week_n	2,323	5	10.1060	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A80845	Fœlix scelus, querela piorum, et auscultatio divina; or, prospering prophaneness provoking holy conference, and Gods attention, in which you have the [brace] happy estate of the wicked, holy exercise of the godly, hazard and event of both. Plainly propounded in sundry sermons preached at Botolphs Algate London: and after contracted in two sermons preached in Peters Church in West-Chester, July 17. 1659. Now published to the counsell and confirmation of the godly; and check of the false surmises and reports of the wicked. / By Zachary Crofton.	Crofton, Zachary, 1625 or 6-1672.	1659 (1659)	Wing C6993; Thomason E1870_1; ESTC R209731	120,321	422

his Embassadors speaking to the whole Assembly it becomes not private Members to be speaking one to another the Lords day is designed of God himself unto duties of Religion publick domestick and personall and acts of society must be occasionall It is great folly nay grosse prophanenesse to spend the time of Church edification and instruction in private colloquie I would we had not known some good men guilty of it do not many among us get into a private house and employ themselves in holy conference unto the negle●● nay at length the contempt of publick ordinances or must we fix for holy conference the time which is our families that is to say the feason of our particular calling in which we ought to labour unto the subsistance of our selves and family when poor men leave their trades and spend much time in the society of the Saints and holy conference but leave their families in want their affections to holinesse may be commended but their indiscretion is to be blamed no exercise of holinesse which is private and occasionall must hinder our particular callings when God teacheth we need not teach one another and when hardship hinders speciall acts of holy society it is not required at our hands 8. Nor must you manage your conference with more caution in reference to time then to the Place all places are in point of holinesse alike but not so in point of prudence ●he people of God may occasionally conferre in any place and so in the Church as well as an house but when by mutuall consent you make conference a fixed duty you must in prudence avoide the Church for private duties do not become publick places the Church is a place purposely prepared and preserved for publick Assembly and administrations of the Church and therefore bears its name Church as the notation of its nature and by long and uninterrupted custome and practice of all Christian ages and nations all holy exercises in these publick places have the Church for their object and presuppose ministeriall authority for their form avoid therefore these places as you would avoid all enchroachments on the holy function of the ministry and the appearances thereof 3. Nor must we have more care in reference to the time and place then the manner of holy conference let us us not instead of conference make set and formal discourses after the manner of ministeriall instruction I have come into some private societies who have assembled to confer and heard one man preach to the rest rather then conferre with them and I have indeed sadly observed that society to be a nursery of presumption to the ministry I do not say that private Christians are prohibited from inferring doctrines from Scriptures and enforcing them with reasons and application I doubt not but masters may thus do in and to their families and tutors in the university to their pupils each according to their capacity but for private Christians in any fixed friendly society thus to do is in my eye without the least of warrant for they want not only the ministeriall but parentall and magisterial authority which should award such a kind of instruction I do believe the propheticall priveledge of a believer is prescribed and limited to those whom nature hath put in subjection to him and will not nay must not be extended to his Peeres brethren moreover they in so doing destroy the duty to which they pretend for their work should be to conferre by colloquy to communicate each to other their businesse is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 mutual debate expostulation colloquie each speaking to other answering one another when speak in order proposing their doubts urging their objections imparting their thoughts and so communicating one unto another which is clearly destroyed where one only is the speaker all the rest are hearers should a stranger come into such an assembly and observe that one instruct the others and that withall magisteriall nay ministeriall circumstances could he call this a conference or would he not rather conclude it a preaching to the Church 4. Prudence must direct us unto order in our conference as wel as care in respect of time place and manner confusion is incident to and must be carefully set against by all society when the godly meet to conferre they must be orderly in the matter of their conference laying the foundation before they rear the superstructure acquainting themselves with Rudiments and principles before they enquire into higher matters of faith there are many things in Religion which men whilst weak in or ignorant of principles are not able to bear first conferre of matters essentiall to saith and then go forward debate the duties before the dignities of a believer the high flown Saints of our age can conferre of nothing but their priviledges and high enjoyments of God Christ and the spirit and so nourish pride and fancy but not faith and as you must be orderly in the matter debating what may profit more then what may pleas so also you must be in the manner speaking one unto another and one after another suiting an answer proper for the thing propounded not speaking all at once unto confusion and distraction whatever coms first into your mouth without any care of it's pertinencie to the thing discoursed Having then associated each with other and made your holy conference a dutie in it self occasionall and transient to be fixed manage it withall wisdome in respect of time place manner and order for by the miscarriage of these you do expose your selvs and exercise unto scandall and just censures giving way to the Devill in a little you lay your selves open to temptation conference in the time place and manner of gospell ministry is but a praeludium to the prophane contempt and presumptuous undertaking that holy function give me leave to enforce this direction with a sad example of the sinfull issue of the imprudent management of holy conference which hath fallen within my own time and knowledge which proved the prologue of apostacy from the Church and Covenant of God unto the men that used it In Audly parish in the County of Stafford lived many eminent professors of Religion with whom I have had sweet Communion and taken sweet counsell many times many of them were men of eminent parts unto prayer and conference in which they were very conversant in processe of time they fell under a very weak dul ministrie which gave them occasion to be more frequent in their conference each with other and especially on the Lords day pretending by themselvs to make up the defects of the ministry which was over them untill at length they fixed their conference on one day in the week and sometimes on the Lords day to be held in the publick place or Church and did cal unto it by the tolling of the bell one of them more apt then the rest spake unto the rest of which miscarriage in a private duty

the Sea for the ransomed of the Lord to passe thorow and the Redeemed of the Lord shall return to Zion with singing and everlasting joy shall be upon their head they shall obtain gladnesse and joy and sorrow and mourning shall flee away Isai 35.9.51.10 11. Can God be mindlesse of his Church bought with his own blood hath he not spared his Son but given him for us Rom. 8. ●2 and shall he not much more spare us all things el●e hath he bought us with a price to glorifie him in soul and body and redeemed us to bee unto himselfe a peculiar people zealous of good works and shall he not have speciall respect unto our performancies vocation Lastly the godly are in speciall Relation to God by their vocation they are the chosen from eternity Redeemed with inestimable price yea and the called of the Lord the Elect of God lye sometimes in the estate of darknesse and by nature are no lesse liable to the wrath of God then the worst of men running with others in the same excess of riot Ephes 2.2 3. Titus 3.3 subject to the God of this World and serving divers lusts thus it was with Abraham and thus it was with the ●postles untill the grace of God appeared and called them out of darknesse into his marvellous light Heb. 3.1 but the godly are made partakers of the heavenly calling an estate of honour unto which not many wise not many rich not many noble do attain 1 Cor. 1.26 Vocation is the execution of Election and extention of favour intended from eternity whom God praedestinated them he called Rom. 8.39 Our calling is that which actually entitles us to the priviledges of grace and brings us into con formity to and communion with God engageth us to walk with G●d and assureth that he is our God alsufficient our shield and exceeding great reward we are culled and called to bear up Gods name in the World and therefore must needs be cared for by him above the rest of the world he hath called us and must needs conserve us to his heavenly Kingdome If the cry of the called and chosen of God be of more value then that of the sleighted and rejected of the Lord if the complaints and holy conservation of the Redeemed bee worth regard then the Godly and their holy exercise must needs meet with speciall acceptance this specialtie of relation is the great Reason of the Saints affliction and suffering by the World and shal it not be the reason of their support safety the World hates them because chosen out of the World and shall they not then be kept in the World and from the evill of the World John 17. the the Devill rageth against them because the redeemed of the Lord and shal they not through divine favor shortly bring Satan under their feet their friends forsake and contemne them because the Called of the Lord shall not God then favour and fill them with joy in the light of his countenance So long as the godly stand in this speciall relation by Election Redemption and Vocation they cannot but find speciall acceptance of their service in sinfull times But secondly They are a people specially qualified for God they are not onely Vessells of honour but fitted for the masters use they have not one-divine election Redemption and Calling to enforce Gods affection towards them but singular holy qualities in their own mind and spirit to attract and draw unto themselves the divine favour like good Children are beloved by the Father not onely for that innate Reason because Children but because good they are the subjects of all those qualities which are the objects of divine complacencie they do what God delighteth in they are godly and hath not godlinesse the promise of this life and of that which is to come and they are employed in holy exercises and that is profitable when bodily exercise profiteth not The Text taketh notice of their rare qualifications and they are two they fear God and think upon his name they are both habitually and actually holy the fear of God that spring of prudence and beginning of all wisedome designing matters of highest importance discerning dangerous and difficult oppositions and directing all way and means for the accomplishment of it's great design of favour and Reconciliation That spur of duty that trembleth at Gods Word trampleth on all obstructions and travelleth with constancy and cheerfulnesse in the way of Gods holy Commands That strength against corruption and temptation curbing lusts casting off allurements and couragiously standing against humane fury which can onely kill the body the fear of God which made Abraham leave his Fathers house and follow God he knew not whither Mat. 10.28 which made Joseph faithfull in Potiphars house not daring to commit lewdnesse with his wanton Mistrisse that made Obadiah compassionate toward and carefull to preserve the Prophets of God that kept Job upright in the East and restrained the Idolatry imposed on the three Children and spurred Daniel to be exact in devotion when never so much liable to danger that filled the Martyrs with zeal in adhaerence to truth under hellish torments This fear of the Lord is the qualitie habit and disposition of such as live godly in evill times for indeed others that want this cannot do that the want of divine fear is the very ground of a●l impiety and shall not this speciall quality make them acceptable to God the fear of the Lord is to be prized above favour which is deceitful and beauty which is vain Prov. 31.30 And the Lord seeketh such as fear him to serve him and his eyes are on such as fear him his ears are open unto their cry Psal 33.18 And his pity is to them as a Father to his Child Psal 103.13 The fear of the Lord tendeth to life he that hath it shall be satisfied and shall not be visited with evill Prov. 19.23 but if visited he that feareth the Lord shall come out of all evill such is Gods delight in this speciall quality Eccl. 7.18 that though the sinner do evill an hundred times and be delivered yet certainly it shall go well with them that fear the Lord. Eccles 8.12 But they are not onely united unto God by the fear of his nam● but do also act it unto his honour ● By thinking on his name they have not only this holy habit imprinted on and implanted in their hearts but it is operative and sendeth forth its fruits and effects they that feared the Lord thought ●pon his name and spake often one to another The fear of God fills the Godly man with the thoughts of Gods Name and so fills him with grief and jealousie because of the blasphemy which is belched out against this holy name and the dishonour that is done unto it like ingenious children they are affected with the Fathers disgrace the very zeal of Gods house consumeth them their cry