Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
soul_n	able_a	body_n	destroy_v	4,435	5	7.8202	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26359	The Christians daily sacrifice duly offer'd, or, A practical discourse teaching the right performance of prayer by Lancelot Addison.	Addison, Lancelot, 1632-1703.	1698 (1698)	Wing A512; ESTC R25228	55,277	162

concerning Matters of highest importance in a grave and learned Assembly Will he not rather if he may choose to come prepared and compose and weigh every Word and Period before he ventures to speak lest he expose himself by any rude and indigested Expression this would be but a becoming Piece of Respect at least and the want of it be condemn'd as no small Presumption Now in the case before us the reason of the thing is only so much stronger than it can be put in any worldly Concerns as there is so much more of awe due to the Person we are to speak to and the Business we come upon is of far greater Moment than any thing that is meerly Temporal can pretend to You that Fray are but a Worm Dust a Shadow a Bubble Nothing nay worse sinful polluted and abominable He to whom you Pray is the Lord of Heaven and Earth who is able eternally to destroy your Soul and Body in Hell The things you may Pray for are not of an inferiour but of the greatest Moment even the Salvation of your Soul Grace in this Life and Glory in the next And when you have maturely consider'd these things I leave you to make your own Conclusion as to the Preparation now spoken of And whether Reason do's not convince you of its Necessity But if your great Oracle Reason were Dumb in this case yet the Scriptures are plain and express to the purpose They teach you not to come before God without having first fitted your self for so dreadful a Presence And this you may collect from God's Command to Aaron which was that neither he nor his Sons should Enter upon Divine Service till they had wash't their hands and feet in the Laver appointed for that end Exod. 4. A Ceremony that among other things did certainly imply that all ought Piously to compose and order themselves for the Celebration of Religious Doubts and to put away all Filthiness both of Flesh and Spirit e're they did enter upon so Momentous a Solemnity You read in Esay 1. that God would not look upon Israel when they spread out their hands unto him which was an ancient manner of Praying nor hearken when they made many Prayers because their Hands were full of Blood and their Actions full of Injustice But if they would wash and make themselves clean and put away the evil of their doings and retract their faults then he would incline his Ear to their Supplications and be found of them when they sought unto him But till this was done all their Sacrifices Prayers and Oblations were to no purpose Whilst Israel lov'd to wander and would not refrain their feet whilst they continued in their Vices and would not give over their wicked Courses God did not only reject their own Prayers but also the Prayers that others made in their behalf For he positively forbad the Prophet to pray for them Jer. 7.16 and 14.12 11. Declaring that he would not hear their Cry when they Fasted nor accept them when they offer'd Burnt Offerings and Oblations And those Cruel Princes that pluck't the Skin of the People and the Flesh from their Bones who chopt them in pieces for the Pot and as flesh for the Caldron when they cry'd unto the Lord he would not hear them because they were wicked in their doings Mich. 3.2 3 4. Though they cry in mine ears saith the Lord with a loud voice yet I will not hear them Ezek. 8.18 Mine eye shall not spare neither will I have pity You have then no hope that God should accept your Services whilst you continue Impenitent Your Heart must be furnish'd with sincere Piety if you expect your Prayers should be regarded in God's sight or that any other part of Worship should be seasonable and welcom to him Without Repentance all the Religious Acts you can possibly execute are but Illusion and Hypocrisie inward Wickedness hidden under the Cloak and Visard of outward Sanctity Till therefore you give Glory to God by a free Confession of your Sins and by a lively Conversion fly to his Mercy you can neither feel the effects of Pardon nor the acceptation of your Prayers Whilst your Silver is Dross and your Wine mixt with Water whilst your Life and Actions that should be Pure continue Corrupt and Degenerate all you do in Religion in stead of Appeasing will incense the Divine Displeasure CHAP. VII Preparation to Prayer practised by the Jews c. AND what is now spoken concerning this Preparation is no novel or upstart Doctrine but an ancient Orthodox Truth Taught and Practis'd by Men of all Religions and rejected by none but the Lewd and Miscreant And first as to the Antient Jews Aristaeus reports that it was their Custom to Wash before they Pray'd Hist 72. And the modern Jews living in the Eastern Countries observe the same custom of Washing as a Preparative to Prayer and reading the Shemaah And no doubt they do this in imitation of the Priests who enter'd not upon performing any Religious Office in the Sanctuary unless they had first Wash'd And it was with respect to this Custom that David would not come to the Altar till he had washt his Hands in Innocency that is till he had prepared himself to Worship God being well assur'd that he was not worthy to receive the Divine Protection or any gracious Answer to the Prayers wherein he did not joyn Purity to Devotion and had a Heart as clean as the Hands he had washt And that his Thoughts and Actions were as purified as his Body And tho' it was common with the Jews in any solemn Business to wash their Hands in protestation of their Innocency yet this Ceremony was especially used before they said their Prayers Which shew'd the great esteem they had for that Duty and that they thought it of such Holiness and Purity as that it could not be rightly perform'd without a Preparation answerable thereunto And this you may further collect from the several Rules prescrib'd by the Rabbins to be observ'd by the Jews when they come to Pray And 1. The Masters forbad any to enter the Temple with Shooes on their Feet Which Prohibition they founded on those Words of God to Moses Exod. 3.5 Put thy shooes off thy feet for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground which command was also given to Joshua 5.15 by the captain of the Lords host God does not bid them to put off their Shooes as if the Ground whereon they stood were Holy by an internal or perpetual Quality but because of God's Presence which he was pleas'd at that time in that place in a more especial manner to exhibit And from this injunction given to these two Worthies Solomon likely gave that General Rule namely that every one should take heed to his Feet when he enter'd the House of God Which Text the Targum explains thus Thou Son of Man take heed to thy Feet when thou entrest into the Sanctuary to