Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A87543
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The liberty of prayer asserted, and garded [sic] from licentiousness by a minister of the Church of England.
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Jenks, Benjamin, 1646-1724.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing J619A; ESTC R43659
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107,332
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222
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43.3 O send out thy Light and thy Truth Let them Lead me Let them bring me to thy holy Hill and to thy Tabernacles This was the One thing he desired of the Lord and resolved to Seek after That he might dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of his Life to behold the Beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his Temple Psal 27.4 But now alas where shall we find such A man after God's Heart How few such Flaming Lights in these last days to warm the World into better Devotion Our Church doors are Open but the Doors of Mens Hearts are Shut God Bows his Heavens and comes Down But they have somewhat else to do than give him the Meeting A Friend to be Entertained at Home must excuse them for Attending upon the Lord at Church A little Storm of foul Weather can soon Cool all their Zeal Or the very conceit of a small Journey quite Tire out their Devotion The poorest Trifles their very Fancies and Petts as well as Pleasures shall serve turn to stop them from the Church that would not be Enough to keep them from a worse place O how Small a matter will turn such Queasie Stomachs against the Food of their Souls which they have so little Love for And they that are most Behind hand in their Souls Affairs and have the greatest Need of all Men to Watch daily at the Gates and Wait at the Posts of Wisdome's doors use to be the greatest Truants here and the most slack and Listless of any to Frequent the places of their Improvement and duely to attend the Means and Helps that should do their Souls Good Such as can worst afford to be Absent are the most seldom Present They will rather Expose themselves to the devouring Enemy than come under God's Banner and Hide themselves in the Clefts of the Rock that his Goodness may pass before them If they must Worship Christ they will do it so as none but Himself shall take Notice Who does indeed take Notice That they are Ashamed to Own Him Before Men And so He will once Disown them before his Father and all the holy Angels The pretence is They can do the business as well at their own Houses when in truth they are too Stately or too Lazy to come unto God's But you must go to His House if you expect the Blessing to come to your Own For tho' Blessings have their Rise in Heaven they come to us thro' the Church Psal 134.3 The Lord that made Heaven and Earth Bless thee out of Zion They shall appear before Gods Judgment Seat to their Confusion that will not appear at the Mercy-Seat of his Temple in their Devotion And the Enemies of Churches shall once have occasion to Hate them yet more when they shall have another Erection at last and Rise up in the Judgment to Testifie against them And that which they now bear as a Burthen shall eternally load them with a heavy Remorse When instead of catching all Opportunities to Appear before the Lord they are ready to re-assume the hoggish Gergesenes Request and Beseech Christ to Depart out of their Coasts God knows how soon they may be Punished with their own Choice and turn'd out of those Churches which they so Slighted when they had them Yea they that are so Humoursome and Wanton they will not Worship the Lord in the Beauties of Holiness may fear to be for ever excluded that Holy Place Above which this below was to Fit them up for But there are who come to the House of Prayer not indeed to Pray but to Profane the Sacred Place and Affront Him to his Face who there Inhabits Sometime they give the Church their Bodies when Rome or Mammon has their Hearts The Intention of their coming thither is not to Seek and Enjoy the Lord. if they really believ'd Him to be in that Place they would less Care to be there or not be so Careless of ordering themselves when got thither But the Church is their Theatre to See and to be Seen There they can take their Ease and Divert themselves and not only Gaze about but Whisper and Laugh and make a Merry Bout even of that Meeting They Keep not their Foot when they go to the House of God Nor ever put off the Shooes of their carnal Affections when to tread the Holy Ground But carry even as if it were at the Play-House As if they came but to Air a fine Suit or to see how one is Drest Or how another Looks or Acts Which hath the best Face or the gayest Garb and to pick up matter for Tattle and Story Or else to loll and fetch a Nap and so Deceive the Time and cast Contempt on the Service The Church would be a Jayl to them if they did not take the Liberty so to Profane it They can never be Glad in the House of Prayer but when they Mistake the Errand that should bring them thither and find somewhat Gamesome and Ridiculous to make them Sport S. Hierom in an Epistle to one notoriously Scandalous for such Irreverence in God's House crys out Non possum ulterius progredi I want words to reach the Wickedness of this Abuse How then shall I undertake to Express it as it deserves May every one in Gods Fear beware of turning the House of Prayer into such a Den of Thieves where God is robb'd of those Hearts which are the only Sacrifice that he looks after Or to turn the Temple into a Stews where the fire of Lust flames above that of the Altar And impudent Goats are Intregueing for their lewd Amours instead of making their most humble and earnest Court to the Heavenly Bridegroom In God's House let your thoughts be Intent upon God The Market for Traffick the Hall for Noise The Stage for Vanity but as Moses left the Multitude behind him when he went up to the Mount So let all foolish Lusts and youthful Gauds and Worldly Interests be laid aside when you Enter the Gates of the Lord's House And let not the Coming to Church be a Counterfeit but Real Drawing nigh to God Nor only take on you to Serve Him but worship in Spirit and in Truth If you are none of the Scornfull Deserters that help to make the ways of Zion Mourn and her Gates desolate neither be any of the rude Intruders that tempt even the Stones of the Sanctuary to cry out of you coming thither but to Pollute the Habitation of God's Holiness SECT II. Of not Praying in the Family THE Church is the House of Prayer but not the Prison to confine it within those Walls nor the only House where Prayer is to be made It is vain to come unto God's House when you make no Conscience to Pray at your own In the Word God Serves us In our Prayers we Serve Him or rather ourselves upon him And 't is not what men appear Abroad but how they carry the matter at Home that