Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A37316
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A Check to debauchery, and other crying sins of these times with several useful rules for the attaining the contrary virtue : to which are annexed some directions and heads for meditation and prayer, taken out of Holy Scripture ... Oct. 26. 92 ...
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L. D.
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1692
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Wing D51; ESTC R23020
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47,625
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168
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written and allowed of by the Ancient Fathers and the whole Church of God in all Ages And then as to the necessity of Prayer if we consider our many wants Temporal and Spiritual to be relieved many sins wherein we still offend God to be pardoned many Temptations and Dangers from which to be preserved many Benefits and Assistances received and all these with a respect also to our Fellow Christians we cannot but acknowledge every moment of our Lives had we no other necessary Duties too little to be spent in this one Great Duty of Continual Prayer 1 Thess 5.17 Our good Lord assist us by his Holy Spirit in the diligent and sincere performance thereof The other Chief Means of our obtaining Divine Assistances against our Lusts is 2ly Frequen Communicating as many good Christians now do and the Primitive Christians did almost every day I do not intend here to treat largely of this Holy Sacrament there being many good Books Written designedly on that Subject but only recommend to the Reader without medling with God's power therein which transcends all Humane Conception and Comprehension the Immense Benefit of this Holy Mystery to each worthy Communicant in reference to his particular Necessities For obtaining Remission of this or that Sin a Remedy of this or that Infirmity a Deliverance from this or that Affliction for receiving a Benefit or giving thanks for a Benefit received for helping our Neighbour for encreasing the Holy Spirit and Love of God in us Because as by one Spirit in Baptism We are made one Mystical Body of Christ 1 Cor. 12.13 so likewise in the Eucharist are we made to drink into the partaking of one Spirit The Blessed Eucharist being as necessary for the continuing and encreasing as Baptism for the first receiving the Holy Spirit Because also this is that particular Nourishment instituted by Christ for the preserving our Body and Soul to Everlasting Life that particular Pledge and Assurance of our Resurrection that true Bread from Heaven which mystically also Incorporates us into Christ and makes us continue and grow up into perfect Members of his Body that so thus partaking of the Nature and Spirit of the Second Adam the Heir of all things we may become with him Sons of God Heirs of Eternal Life as we were by the First Adam of Eternal Death That true Heavenly Bread lastly so Exalting and Assimulating our Nature into Christ when worthily Communicating as to make us one with him as he and the Father are one According to our Saviour's Prayer when he was Instituting this Blessed Sacrament I pray thee Father John 17. that they may be one as we are one O Blessed Union between poor Man and his Maker O happy those Souls who here worthily feed on this Heavenly Bread the only true Nourishment of the Life of Grace enabling them in the Strength thereof to walk even to the Mount of God the Life of Glory The Conclusion THE Summ of this Discourse is The Sins of the Flesh are most dangerous because most natural to us And by reason of their filthiness most loathsome to Almighty God and most severely punished by him For not only those of the greater magnitude Fornication Adultery Incest Sodomy Beastiality are followed with God's most Tremendous Judgments but also we find in Scripture Vncleanness and Laciviousness Gal. 5.19 Eph. 5.3 destinct from the foregoing and of a less denomination every where joyned with such Sins as exclude the Practisers thereof from the Kingdom of Heaven The way to prevent such Sins and to avoid the punishment of them is To mortify our Passions our Memory and Imagination to beware of impure Suggestions cheirsh Holy Inspirations and avoid all the occasions of such Sins to Improve lastly the Grace of God in us by Assiduous Prayer daily Examination of our selves perfect Repentance frequent Communicating and all other holy means pressing still farther to higher and higher Gifts particularly to the attaining that most excellent Gift of Charity which makes us love God above all things and our Neighbour as our selves hate even our own Lives for love of Him who first loved us undergoing the the greatest sufferings with Thankfulness and Complacency performing all our Actions on purpose to please him referring them to his Honour offering them up to his Praise and Glory To whom Father Son and Holy Ghost be all Honour Praise and Glory to all Eternity Amen God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth Joh. 4.24 Grace and Truth i. e. means of Salvation came by Jesus Christ Joh. 1.17 God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts that they that live should not henceforth live unto themselves but to him who dyed for them Gal. 4.6 2 Cor. 5.15 Wretched is that man who is all for the good things of this Life a good House good Apparel good Provision c. and is content to have a bad Soul Int. Christ Some Short Directions and Heads of Meditation for the Persons Concerned in the Preceeding Discourse CHAP. I. Of Meditation it's Requisites and how it differs from Contemplation MEditation is called the first Essential part of Prayer leading to Contemplation Thanksgiving Petition c. in which all the Principal Faculties of the Soul the Memory Vnderstanding Will and Affections are severally employed The Memory recollects the matter to be Meditated upon and also placeth the Soul in the Divine Presence The Vnderstanding judgeth of the Subject and its Vertues and accordingly proposeth it to the Will The Will excites in us divers Acts and Affections either of Love Affiance Gratitude c. towards God Or of Hatred Compunction desire of doing better c. towards our selves which is indeed the main Scope and end of Meditation Then follows our Praying and representing to Almighty God our Miseries Necessities Temptations which we most earnestly beg him to redress for his own Love and Compassion's sake and the Merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ But when the Faculties of the Soul are unactive or slow in their Operations as it often happens they are to be excited by the help of good Books which ought always to be at hand when we Meditate and in all such holy exercise we are to approach the Divine Presence with our greatest Reverence and Humiliation And it is also necessary before every Meditation to make a strict Examen of Conscience 1. What Benefits we have received that day from Almighty God for which we are to return Thanks 2. What Sins we have that day committed running through every hour in thought word and deed for which we are to beg pardon 3. We are to resolve upon an amendment in every particular by the Grace of God After such strict Examination of all our Thoughts Desires Words and Works judging our selves that we be not judged of the Lord and Confessing our Sins in the bitterness of our Soul as the Church requires and taking also
revenge of our selves according to the Example of St. Paul's Penitent amongst the Corinthians we shall by such fifting our Consciences be the better able to sever the Wheat from the Chaff and know also what is fittest to offer to Almighty God what to pray for and what also to meditate upon In which particular Examen of our Consciences wherein we are to endeavour to produce Acts of Contrition Self-confusion Humility Resolutions of amendment Resignation c. we must observe to what Vice we are most inclined and be sure to bend all our Forces against it for that Captain-Imperfection being Conquered the rest will easily submit And in the next Examen we must Impartially enquire whether our relapses in that kind are as frequent as formerly and so continue on the Fight with new Fervour Vigour and Constancy till it shall please God to give us the Victory Now the difference between Meditation and Contemplation is said by holy Men to be as follows 1. We Meditate when by the help of the Vnderstanding we seek and cast about and at length fix our thoughts upon such Truths and Reasons as are in our present Circumstances most apt to move and affectionate the Will to the embracing the Love of God Christian Vertues Works of Piety c. but sometimes the Inclinations of the Will the Holy Spirit operating more principally in that by Love than in the Vnderstanding by Illumination preceed the Acts of the Vnderstanding tho' most commonly it is the other way the Will and Passions not easily moving without the Reasoning of the Vnderstanding to excite them 2. We Contemplate when we steadfastly and unmovably behold God by Faith believing that he is really with us and within us as he truly is and so leaving all other Objects Idea's and Discourses we Internally look on him as present love him in silence and feed on his All-satiating Sweetness And this Contemplation is either by the help of Sensible Idea's or Intelligible or surmounts them both which is the highest sort of Prayer But this is not my business at present I intending only some short Meditations such as the Reader may easily carry about with him even in his Memory CHAP. II. Of the Subject of Meditation with Heads for the first Week THE Matter and Subject of Meditation may be any thing whatsoever Divinely revealed or that any way conduceth to our Salvation But most commonly it is adapted to the Three Degrees of Christians the lower the middle and the highest Some Learned Men recommend the method of the Church in her Liturgies beginning with Advent Nativity of our Saviour and so on to his Preaching Passion Resurrection Ascension sending the Holy Spirit taking in the Epistles and Gospels of all the Dominica's and Holy-Days This Rule is Chiefly observed by the Clergy Others advise the Selecting some certain number of pious Subjects for every day in the Week and keeping to them only and this seems also a very useful way of Meditation Heads of Meditation for the first Week Monday Of the Chief end of Man Consider 1. Why he was Created namely to praise and glorifie God 2 How far this is observed or transgressed by us and how far the ample means offorded thereunto abused Reflexion 1. Give God Thanks 2. Ask Pardon 3. Promise Amendment in every particular as need requires Tuesday Of God's Benefits Consider our Being from God Preservation Redemption Sanctification Spiritual Gifts and Graces the Holy Sacraments Eternal Life c. All that God gives is freely out of his own Goodness not for his own but our profit Reflex 1. Give great Thanks with all possible Humility 2. Offer up your self all your Thoughts Words Actions and Affections to God to be sincerely directed to his Glory only Wednesday Of your Sins Consider 1. Who it is you have offended viz. God most Munificent who hath done so many and so great things for you and promised more and greater 2. God Omniscient who sees all things most clearly 3. God Omnipotent who can destroy you in a moment and none is able to resist him 4. God most Pure who abhors all sin and for that Reason threw the fallen Angels out of Heaven for one single Sin Adam out of Paradise and condemned him to above 900 Years Pennance for one single disobedience Reflect What then will become of Impenitent Sinners And how great Reason to Fear and Tremble at so great Power and Justice of God! Consider 2. Who thou art that offend'st and resistest so great a God A most vile inconsiderable Worm The whole World in God's sight is but as a drop of the morning dew Sapient 11. What is man then so minute a Particle of that Drop Who is indeed nothing of himself and compared to Infinity bears no Proportion Reflect How great the Clemency of God in bearing so long with so great Sinners and your self the Chief and very greatest of all Consider 3. For what Cause you offended God For some very vile thing some vain Honour some beastly pleasure and that knowingly and wilfully not out of Ignorance or Infirmity Reflect Detest thy Foolishness before God Acknowledge thy Fault Beg mercy Thursday Of Death Consider 1. The certainty of it and the uncertainty of the time Recollect all the suddain Deaths you have ever seen heard or read of and conclude it the greatest madness and folly in the World to live on in such a State in which you would not die Reflect You can die but once and if not well your loss is irreparable Consider 2. Of what things Death deprives you Of all External things Riches Pleasures Honours Friends for which and whose sake you have so often offended God And that nothing will accompany you to the other World but your works whether good or bad Reflect Imagine what a wicked man restored to Life from Hell-fire would do and that do you Consider 3. The State of your Body and Soul Your Body for which you have been so Sollicitous will be carryed out to be meat for the Worms your Soul immediately hurri'd to Judgment by the Angels and from thence by an unknown way to an eternal State either of bless or misery according to the Actions done in the Flesh Reflect Use now all possible means by your self and others to make Christ who is to be your Judge become propitious to you And pray to God for Grace that you may now both know and do what upon your Death-bed and at the Judgment Seat you will wish you had done Friday Of the last Judgment Consider 1. The particular Judgment that passeth upon every man at his Death and remains unalterable 2. The dreadfulness of the last general day when the Heavens will be rouled together as a Scrol the Sun it self darkened the Moon not give her light the Stars fall from their Orbs the Earth quake the Mountains and Islands remove out of their places and Mens hearts fail them for fear 3. An Universal appearance of all the Sons of Adam