Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	church_n	doctrine_n	time_n	4,041	5	3.7132	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40495	A Friendly letter to all young men shewing the benefit of a religious and friendly reproof, conversation and admonition, and not only to live good lives themselves but to incourage others to do the same : with a letter to masters of families : to which is added a specimen of the rules and orders of the religious societies, as now practiced in the cities of London and Westminster.		1699 (1699)	Wing F2223A; ESTC R26731	24,637	62

the Danger you are Daily subject to for the Strengthning you against all your Temptations for the Pardoning of all your Sins Surely your Daily Wants your Daily Infirmities Daily Dangers your Daily Temptations and your Daily Sins do all call upon you for your Daily Prayers in your Family For your being a Member of that Church I am sure will not excuse the Neglect thereof Besides this I may be bold to affirm That there is no Church this Day in the Christian World that in her Doctrine doth encourage real Goodness more or strive more to keep the Ballance even that God may have the things that are God's and Man the things that are Man's than the Church we now live in And how you will vindicate your self in the last day for this Neglect I cannot tell When you are exhorted in the Church told in the Pulpit that it is your Duty and God threatens the Neglect thereof with not owning you at the last Day if you do not Pray with your Family at Home as well as bring them to Church Why will you profess your self Her Member if you will not obey Her Doctrine What do you go to Church for only to drive away the time or to act the part of a Hypocrite Do you think the Minister is sent to Preach to you in Vain If you think he doth not Preach the Truth why will you go to Hear him If he doth Preach the Truth why will you not set about to Practice what he saith Do you think that God takes no notice of the Neglect or that He will not call you to an Account for it Yes yes God takes Notice of you as He said to the Prophet They came before thee as my People and they hear my Words but will not keep them and what our Saviour saith in Luke 19. 27. to the Vnprofitable Servant may be said here But those mine Enemies which would not that I should Reign over them bring hither and slay them before me Men perhaps cannot see this Neglect but God and Angels see it yes and Devils too which will all be Witnesses against you in the last Day of Account O how will you wish when you come to Die you had performed this Duty more your self instead of Laughing at those that do it as too often I have heard some Men blame the Dissenters for their using Extemporè Prayers in their Families when they themselves use none at all in theirs and think their bare being a Member of the Church of England and going to Church once a Week is a sufficient Service for Almighty God If I am not mistaken this has been your Fault Brother And will not this be an Argument against you in the last Day And will not their using Extemporè Prayers in their Family condemn you for using none at all in yours For while you condemn all those that are of another Perswasion who are only Mistaken or Misled in some Texts of Scripture or false Notions of other Mens you condemn your own Neglect and this all Men will allow That he that is Misled in matter of Judgment is more to be excused than that Man who lives contrary to a known Command for the last is condemned in his own Judgment if he will but take time to consider it And let me tell you Brother you will find it a very beneficial and very easie Duty when Love ingageth the Practice of it for What can there be more easie than to pray to God and to represent our Needs and that we have our Needs supplyed only for asking and desiring passionately and humbly Can we buy any thing cheaper than at the rate of an Humble Prayer Consider how many excellent Promises are made to Prayer and that nothing disposes us more to receive the Grace of God and a Blessing upon our Family than Prayer What can be more pleasant than this Duty of Prayer when Christ unites them to his own and bids us come for Relief and Pardon of our Sins For Prayer can open the Gates of Heaven and shut the Gates of Hell it can open the Treasures of Rain and soften the Iron Rocks till they melt into Tears It is an Act of Grace and the highest Honour that we Dust and Ashes are admitted to speak to the Eternal God to run to Him as to a Father to complain of our Burthens to explicate our Scruples to beg Remedy and Ease Support and Comfort Health and Safety Counsel and Salvation And what can be more unreasonable than to neglect this Duty upon which so many and so great Blessings both upon your self and Family do depend How Unkind are you to your self and not only so but Unkind to all that are about you I mean Unkind to their Souls and extreamly Uncharitable to take no care at all of this Duty for the Neglect of which God often sends great Judgments upon a whole Family either by sore Jer. 10. 25. Affliction or sometimes which is worse Hardness and Blindness of Heart for the Word of God will certainly be fulfilled he hath said That the House of the Wicked shall be overthrown Prov. 14. 11. And may not that be said to be a Wicked House when neither Thou nor thy Wife which should be Lights to the rest nor Children nor Servants make Conscience of this Duty to Worship God by Prayer or if you or they chance to do it when you are in the Bed it is with that Coldness and Sleepiness that I may call it none at all or at least Lip-Service when the Heart is a Sleep and by your Example perhaps your Children and Servants think it not their Duty to go to Prayers at all neither Night nor Morning and so they go to Bed and rise the next Morning like Brutes without Calling upon that God in whom we Live and Move and have our Being Therefore let me intreat you to take courage to set about this Duty your self that you may not have Sins of others to answer for as well as your own take up that brave Resolution of the Prophet Joshua But as for me and my House we will Serve the Lord. As you are a Master of a Family you have a place of Trust committed to you by God who will certainly call you to an Account for it For here you are commanded by God to act the part of a King a Father a Priest and a Judge over your little Common-Wealth the Fourth Commandment tells you that every Master of a Family must take care of his Sons and Daughters his Man-servants and Maid-servants and All within his Gates not only to provide Food and Raiment for them but to take care of their Souls which is the better part And here you are to act for God you have the Charge from Him not only of Bodies but of Souls therefore let not the Dignity of your place make you forget your Duty for God will certainly call you and me to an Account for what Good we have done

with Hezekiah upon a Death-Bed Remember now O Lord how I have walked before thee in Truth and with a perfect Heart and have done that which was right in thine Eyes And you that have already tasted those Joys which arise from a good Conscience and the Pleasures of a Godly Life and Conversation fall not from your own Stedfastness and since you see Wicked Men take such Pains to serve their Lusts to please their Senses and gratifie their Appetites be you at some Pains also to serve your God to advance his Glory yea and to encourage others likewise to do the same And if there be but Two in a Street that intend really to serve God to frequent the Sacrament and the Prayers of the Church let them make it their Business to perswade Two more to do the same and let your Prayers be frequent and fervent to God that He would increase the Number of true Believers and that it would please Him to bring into the Way of Truth all such as have erred and are deceived This would be one great Means to mend the World and without this it will hardly be done it is not good Books nor good Preaching that will reclaim a Prophane and Profligate Wretch for such Persons will neither read good Books nor hear Sermons they are out of the reach of all other Methods except Counsel Advice and Exhortation and oftentimes they refuse that too But when good Men are as Bold as evil Men are Impudent and as openly Good as others are Bad when Piety has Authority in it and frowns Prophaneness out of Countenance then the World will mend and if not grow Devout yet at least grow Modester and Civiller toward Religion when Virtuous Men give good Evidence that they do believe in good Earnest by endeavouring the Punishment of all vicious and open Offenders as the Law directs And altho Piety is now-a-days laugh'd at and Religion out of Fashion yet that I may now shew you how to Practise what I have been hitherto Recommending I mean a Christian Conversation and Society I must tell you that there are some Christians in this Barren Age and those of considerable Rank and Quality who think it is so far from unbecoming them that nothing is more acceptable to them than Pious Discourse and the Company of such Men as endeavour to make the Word of God their Rule to walk by And I have both known heard of some Numbers of Religious Men in this City who Meet at one anothers Houses usually every Week or as often as Occasions permit and there make it their Business to inforce upon one anothers Minds the great Principles of Christianity to live up to the Doctrines of our Church to frequent the Holy Sacrament every Lord's-Day and the Publick Prayers every Day they having a quick sense of Piety and a great concern upon them for another World they endeavour to preserve this Temper in themselves and to propagate it to others and many good Rules they have among them and by their frequent Meetings they take Notice of each others Virtues and so they strive to imitate each other In one there abounds the Grace of Meekness in another is a great Christian Courage and Zeal to stand up for God's Glory in another Patience in another Self-denial and Mortification in another a Zeal for Peace-making and this makes them the more to desire each other's Company as being Monitors to one another by their Example And this is one of their Rules Never to speak Ill of one another and if at any time they hear Ill of one another or of any other good Christian they first go and see if it be true what envious Men do report of him rightly considering that as one Man may do amiss so may another more easily speak amiss that being the Sin that does so easily beset every Man and also that as Society is the Excellency and great Blessing of Mankind so Slander and Reproach Censuring and Evil-speaking poysons and destroys all Love and Charity in the World But if it prove true that such an one has been overtaken in a Fault they take the Apostle's Advice and restore him in the Spirit of Meekness considering themselves also may be Tempted At these Meetings there is no Discourse of News nor Trade nor Worldly Business or Controversie in Religion but they take care that all their Speech be season'd with Grace and to the use of Edifying and may minister Grace to the Hearers And therefore they apply themselves to the constant Reading and Studying of the Holy Scriptures that the Word of Christ may dwell richly in them that so out of the abundance of the Heart the Mouth may speak They do often at these times confer about the State of their Souls they do examine into the Growth and Decay of Piety in general and also particularly among themselves and each shews what does most affect and influence him and every one does frequently inculcate and stir up to Perfection Those that were Gentlemen and had Leisure made it their Business to order their Conversation so as to adorn the Gospel and publickly to discountenance Vice by the Promoting the Making of good Laws and the Putting of them in Execution knowing that their Example was necessary to influence Trades-Men to be Sober to be Religious and to be Just in all their Dealings and to imitate their Burning and Shining Lights Those that were Masters of Families acted in their Stations like Men that believed in good earnest that there was a Judgment to come a Heaven and a Hell and that God would call all Men to an Account what Good they have done in their Generation This made them never to omit going to Prayers in their Families and telling their Children and Servants what a Benefit it will be to them to live in the Fear of God and serve Him in their tender Years Those that were Officers in the Parishes they lived in would suffer no Disorder in the Streets nor no Night-Walker no Drunkard no Swearer no Prophaner of the Lord's Day to go Unpunished And this was one end of joyning themselves into Neighbourly Societies to consult upon Methods whereby to put a stop to Vice and bring Men to a Sence of their Duty to God and Man And thus they acted like Honest Men in their Offices without Bribes or Feasting upon the Parish Charge There was likewise another Sort of Religious Societies and those were of Young-Men that were Apprentices Servants and Journy-Men and these strived to out-do the rest in Zeal and Piety being not engaged in the World they endeavour to Dedicate themselves to God in their tender Years To this end they joyned themselves into Societies and there met once a Week perhaps in some Upper Room to excite and stir up one another to avoid the Sins of the Age they liv'd in and to imprint likewise upon other Mens Minds a Sence of Religion to this end they set up on the Lord's-Day