Selected quad for the lemma: saint_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A34759
|
The tomb-stone, and A rare sight
|
Carter, John, d. 1655.
|
1653
(1653)
|
Wing C656A; ESTC R36272
|
81,644
|
218
|
keepe nothing of Gods counsell back He must lift up his voyce like a Lyon and roare in the eares of Kings Potentates and the greatest States-men The Lyon must roare though the Doggs bark and the Wolves howle and all the Beasts of the Forrest do yell and grin A soule-searching Ministry is gall and wormwood to unreformed persons Ministers that cast the Pearles of reproofes before Doggs and Swine must expect that such brutish creatures will fly in their faces and if it be in their power will rent and teare them But what saith the Lord Thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speake Be not afraid of their faces for I am with thee to deliver thee Jer. 1. 7 8. Make thy face strong against their faces and thy forehead strong against their foreheads Ezek. 3. 8. Ministers must have undaunted resolutions ahd be as bold as Lyons 4. Ministers of the Gospell must not forget the stately gate of the Lyon The Lyon is comely in his going Ministers should be carefull above all others to walke as becomes the Gospel of Christ A holy walking that is the comely walking I beseech you behold how the high Priest is adorned and how he walks He had a plate of pure Gold upon his forehead and upon that Plate was ingraven HOLINESSE TO THE LORD Upon his Brestplate the URIM and the THUMMIM Viz the light of knowledge and the perfection of holinesse these were upon Aarons heart when hee walketh when he goeth in before the Lord. He had a Robe down to his feet and towards the bottome beneath upon the hemme of it a golden Bell and a Pomegranate a Golden Bell and a Pomegranate round about The golden Bell signifies the sound of pure Doctrine and the Pomegranate a sweet and savoury fruit notes that holinesse of Conversation that was in the High-priest view him well and you see him adorned with holinesse Cap a pe from head to foot It is the duty of Ministers Vivere concionibus concionari moribus to live Sermons Melius docemur vita quam verbo Examples prevaile more with men then Precepts In all things shew thy selfe a Pattern of good Workes saith Paul to Titus in Doctrine uncorruptnesse gravity sincerity In the frame of the Temple upon the borders were painted and ingraven Lyons Oxen and Cherubims To shew what kind of persons they ought to be who serve in Gods house As Angels for knowledge to dive into the Mysteries of the Gospell laborious and painfull as the Oxe They must be Lyons also for courage and boldnesse and they must be comely in their going their Conversation must be holy and lovely I shall commend at this time but one thing more to my Brethren of the Ministry and that is Prayer Let us be much and earnest in Prayer Alas we shall never be able to open the Book except the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah help us verse 4. John wept much because none was found worthy to open the Book and to read it We must weep and pray pray and weep that we may be enabled to open the Booke For there are sublime things in the Book and hard to be understood Alas our hearts will faile us and we shal be afraid of the faces of men if the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah do not strengthen us and put Courage into us keep up our Spirits to him therfore we nought to make our Addresses Yea in this let me beg help for my selfe and others wel-beloved I speak to you all that are before me this day in the words of Saint Paul Eph. 6. 18. Pray alwaies with all prayer and supplication of the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance supplication for al Saints 19. And for me and for all the faithfull Ministers of the Gospell that utterance may be given unto us that we may open our mouths BOLDLY to make known the mystery of the Gospell Exhortation 3. I passe on now to the third Exhortation and that is to all in generall men women and young ones And there are various and sundry duties which I shall endeavour to perswade you to And first Is Jesus Christ the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah Then prostrate bow to this Lyon tremble at his voice Is Christ the King of his Church and People then come all in shake off all other yoakes Satans Dominion and Sins Reigne and list under this King be his Subjects kisse his Scepter and kneele to him know your King be loyall to him give him your whole heart honour feare and obey him give to Caesar that which is Caesars pay him all his Tribute of time of your Estates of every thing Fight for him contend for the faith the truth the honour of Jesus Christ Let the Lord Jesus Christ have a Throne in all your hearts say We have no King but the Lord Jesus Christ To move you hereunto consider the excellency of this Kingdome above all other Kingdomes in the World It hath the best King He is fairer then the Children of men He is the supream the absolute King of himselfe all other earthly Kings are but Vice-roys Lord-deputies All other Kings are but meer men he is God and man all other Kings have but a little peice of earth to set their feet upon he is the great Monarch of Heaven and Earth all other Kings weare but a corruptible Crown but his Kingdome endureth for ever Such a King there is not another What the Queen of Sheba said of Solomon the Type hath its Complement and perfection in Jesus Christ Happy are the Servants and Subjects of this King Blessed be the Lord thy God Oh thou Lyon of the Tribe of Judah which delighted in thee to see thee on the Throne of Israel because the Lord loved his Israel for ever therfore made he thee King It hath the best Scituation I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion There is the nether Zion and the upper Zion both pleasant Of the nether or lower Zion the Pilgrim Church upon Earth it is said Beautifull for scituation the joy of the whole Earth is Mount Zion the City of the great King And what is the beauty thereof The presence of God dwelling in the midst his people and protects them God is known in her Palaces for a Refuge Of the upper Zion the triumphant Church in Heaven it is said Yee are come unto Mount Zion and unto the City of the living God the heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of Angels to the general Assembly and Church of the first-borne which are written in Heaven and to God the Judge of all and to the spirits of just men made perfect and to Jesus Heb. 12 22 23 24. It hath the best Lawes What Nation is there so great that hath Statutes and Judgments so righteous as all this Law which I set before you this day
before there arose up a Generation of malignant men haters of a faithfull and painfull Ministry and of the power of Godlinesse These were of the Gentry and chief of the Parish these rose up against my Reverend Father pressed him to conformity complained of him to the Bishop and threatned that they would make him conformable or else out him At this very juncture of time the Rectory of little Belsted fell to be void a very small Village some three miles from Ipswich a solitary place the means better then Bramford yet short of a competency for such an eminent pillar of the Church some 50 or at most 60 pounds per Annum The Patron Mr. Blosse became a Suiter to my Father to accept of it He refused it againe and againe His resolution was to endure persecution at Bramford to grapple with all difficulties and dye there rather then to remove But the providence of God over-ruled him At Bramford he saw he must be outed Mr. Blosse would take no deniall he found favour in the eyes of the Bishop and was instituted without subscription or any ceremonyes and then at last God taking him by the hand and pulling him whether he would or no he removed from Bramford after some 34 yeares service in the work of the Ministry to Belsted Parsonage where he continued eighteen years before God caused him to rest from his Labours In all that time he discharged his holy Function just as he did at Bramford and though his Congregation there were but small yet he had many Fish that came to his Nett from Ipswich and other adjacent Townes destitute of faithfull Shepheards So that his latter Crop in Gods harvest-field was very considerable Little Belsted was a Tusculanum to him where in his age he had much secret and sweet Communion with God in the house and with Isaac in the fields a beginning of that glorious communion he now enjoys with God in the mountains of Spices He being dead yet speaks his Works praise him in the gates From the Presse we have had his learned and pithy Commentary on the Sermon of Christ in the Mount And two short but substantiall solid and profitable Catechismes One Milke for Children The other Winter evenings communication His paines in the study of the Revelation were indefatigable He writ much in a little room But these Labours of his never yet saw the light Many Ministers that conversed with him privately did light their Candles at his For his carriage and deportment in his Family it was very religious He had the Morning and the Evening Sacrifice his house was a Church Twice a day he had Scripture read and after the Psalme or Chapter were ended he would aske of all his Children and Servants what they remembred and whatsoever sentences they rehearsed he would speake something to them that tended to edification For his habit and my dear Mothers apparrelling it was very plaine and homely of the old fashion yet very cleanly and decent insomuch that all that came to the house would say they had seen Adam and Eve or some of the old Patriarchs And in all his House there was nothing but honest plainnesse He was such an one as Jacob 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a plaine syncere I had almost sayd a perfect man I am sure a true Nathanael in whom was no guile He never used Plate in his house but Vessels of Wood and Earth Pewter and Brasse were the highest Mettals for his utensils All the dayes of his housekeeping hee used constantly at his Table a little wooden Salt which with age was growne to be of a duskish black which was much taken notice of by all comers He never feasted but alwayes had wholsome full and liberall dyet in the house And all fared alike He and my Mother never thought his Children and Servants and poor folks did eat enough The righteous man is mercifull to his Beast he was carefull even for the bruit Creatures that they should be fed to the full All his Cattell were like the first Kine that Pharoah saw feeding in the Meadow they were fat-fleshed and well-favoured in so much that I have heard some godly people say merrily If they would be a Cow or a Horse or a Hogg or a Dogg they would chuse Mr. Carters house Hee had a sharp wit and was sweet mild and pleasant in his conversation yet not any of his most facetious passages that did not savour of holinesse His discourse was ever heavenly and his eyes almost ever lifted up to Heaven he did not eate or drink without praising God with his mouth and eyes his whole conversation was in Heaven Besides his Family prayers and duties he prayed constantly in his Closet whensoever he went into his study and before he came out to Dinner or Supper Hee prayed very loud and mostly very long For the extension of his voice I conjecture he had a double reason one that by his earnest speech he might quicken up his owne heart and devotion the other that he might be a pattern of secret prayer to his Children and Servants And I never heard him close any prayer without the Lords Prayer And I know his ground he judged his owne best prayers imperfect and Christs prayer most perfect and comprehensive That you may the better be satisfied concerning his sense and judgement in this matter I will here transcribe one passage out of his Printed Commentary upon the sixth of Matthew v. 9. Where after hee hath set forth the excellency and perfection of Christs Prayer he addeth He now directeth us to the right performance Viz. of the duty of prayer After this manner pray yee Or as Saint Luke setteth it down When you pray say Not binding us strictly to use these words alwaies and none other but to use the matter manner and like affection But as for them who cannot so well inlarge their suits in other words or for those also who can and do it yet remain still unsatisfied as not having done it sufficiently and who can do it sufficiently the Lord hath left this most excellent helpe to use the very words of this divine prayer as the most worthy Servants of God ever have done And learn we here by the way what an absolute necessity lyeth upon us which ought to be our greatest glory and comfort to pray in these words or in this manner For it is the undispensable Commandement of our Lord Christ After this manner pray Thus farr he He had a speciall dexterity in comforting afflicted consciences resolving doubts and answering questions When some came to him not long before he left this Earth and told him of the tyranny of the Prelates how it heightned every day of their persecuting conscientious Ministers of their Innovations and the Book of Liberry for sports on the Sabbath day tending to the fearefull profanation thereof He used these expressions I have had a longing desire to see or heare of the fall of Antichrist But