Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	day_n	rest_n	rest_v	12,213	5	9.7997	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50491	Solomon's prescription for the removal of the pestilence, or, The discovery of the plague of our hearts, in order to the healing of that in our flesh by M.M.	Mead, Matthew, 1630?-1699.	1665 (1665)	Wing M1557; ESTC R18395	97,443	96

commands not practicable by men of their blood and Spirits Religion now adays is thought to emasculate men and render them tame and cowardly Basely to submit themselves to their own unruly passions with these is Courage To be Bears and Tygers is accounted Gentle and Manly These are the Lordly creatures that are so tender of their Honors that they will rather violate the Laws of the great God than the least Punctilio of it To humour or win a Fantastical Mistresse 't is well they are not in hearing when I call her so they durst venture upon the wrath of their maker For the wall or the way for a wry word or a straw they durst venture their necks to the Halter and their souls to the Devil Are not these the true Sons of Valour Such that even in cold blood and upon sober deliberation dare damn themselves And why because forsooth they are afraid of being call'd Cowards and abus'd by every body else should they have past by one injury They could tell what this was but what the Hell they leapt into was they knew not till they found themselves there and by that time poor wretches how was their courage cool'd And now at length you valiant Fighters wonder not if God himself be stept into the Field against you What do you think you have met with your match yet Nay but he hath not yet appeared with all his strength He hath only sent one of his Warriours Death sitting upon the Pale-Horse but see what a terrible Second there is Hell follow'd after him Rev. 6. 8. But come try your Manhood upon this first The hour he appoints is when he pleaseth the Weapon he now chiefly fights with is the Plague take you what you will the Place is London What Cowards do you turn your backs now Are you afraid to Dye and yet are not afraid to be Damn'd What will you laugh at Hell and now quake at Death and flie from it But think not your heels can secure you nor any place you can flie to sooner or later be sure hee 'l find you out What did you challenge God to the Combat and now do you run for 't Can you deny it What else meant all your open impudent wickednesse but to bid God do his worst For to fin you were resolved let him right himself how he could God threw down his Gauntlet when he said The Soul that sins shall dye You took it up when y ou rush't upon those sins What you miserable Caitiffs you Children of the Devil who is a Murderer must you stand upon your terms and command observance from your Companny and will draw at the least Affront and shall God be carelesse of his Honour Was it not present death for a man to throw a Glasse of Liquor in your face And have you done lesse against God one day after another by pouring down your superfluous Glasses Did the Lye deserve the stab and shall you go Scot-free who have so often given the Lye to God himself speaking to you by his Word and Ministers his Spirit and your own Consciences Nay what you count the most unsufferable Reproach have you not been ready to interpret Gods Patience for Cowardice Well you are wont to call your selves Gentlemen Know then That for these and a multitude of such Affronts God demands Satisfaction and have it he will one way or other Your speedy Repentance and believing recourse to the blood that speaks better things than that of murdered Abel may appease him otherwise when he makes Inquisition for blood hee 'l take the proudest of you by the Throat and cast you to the Tormentors and verily you shall not come thence till you have paid the utmost Farthing 8. Another very heinous sin amongst us is Prophanation of the Lords Day and neglect of the Worship of God How many are idling away their time at home or which is worse sinning it away in Tipling-houses whilest they should be attending the Publick Service of God Or if they afford their bodily presence there for an hour or two how soon after do they betake themselves to their pleasures as if the rest of the day were their own Or as if when they had prayed to God to keep them that day without sin they might boldly commit it As if when they had beg'd of God to teach them to keep amongst the rest the Fourth Commandment they might then take Liberty to break it And by their after-practice one would judge their prayer had been Lord have mercy upon us and give us leave to break this thy Law Some go to their Drunken Companions some to their Sports others to walk idly in the streets or fields and the most to their common vain and worldly discourse To any thing rather than to private meditation or Family-repetition of what they have heard How far are men from spending this day as beseems those who have Immortal Souls to care for and can spare but little time on week-dayes for such employments Oh how exceeding few are there that are willing rightly to inform themselves of the nature use and end of this day and accordingly to improve it As it is a day set apart to commemorate not only the work of Creation but chiefly of Redemption by Christ our Lord and especially his Resurrection that being to him as a kind of rest from his Labours And moreover as it may be to us a Type and a Resemblance of the Eternal Sabbatism we shall enjoy in the Heavens When we shall rest from all sinful troublesom and bodily works and be wholly employ'd in the admiration and praise of that Divine Love which contriv●d and wrought our Redemption and Salvation To have leave thus to spend a day with and for God would be sufficient to engage holy and ingenious Souls with all alacrity and thankfulnesse to embrace the opportunity Such would be asham'd to stand reasoning and enquiring whether they might not halve it with God and rob him and themselves of a good part What a strange tedious thing is it for poor Creatures that know not God nor their own necessities to be obliged to consecrate One day in Seven to spiritual Services for which awakened and experienc't Souls think their whole Life-time little enough How many have we had crying like those Amos 8. 5. When will the New Moon be gone and the Sabbath over That they might again to their pleasures or enjoyments Nay our People have been in more haste than so they could not stay till the Sabbath was over but must to their bargaining their buying and selling How frequent is this with many Shop-keepers in the City when no necessity requires it Well if indeed you are so eagerly bent on your business that you will not keep a Sabbath which God commands you hee 'l force you to another kind of Sabbath than this which you shall have more reason to cry out When will it be over You shall be made to rest from

he must have a good stock of Impudence who shall deny that many of those who have been of late Unserviceable were so accomplish't then I shall easily evidence that hereby God hath been much dishonoured and provoked whosoever the fault hath been which is that I shall briefly inquire into and discover and then give in full evidence of my assertion I know it may so happen that what I write may displease one and another but for that I am indifferent as having resolved to give no allowance to my passion or prejudice but to use the same impartiality and faithfulfulnesse to the utmost of my power that I should do if so soon as ever I had finished my work I was to receive my summons to appear before the just Judge of Heaven and Earth Nor would I willingly speak any thing but what the undoubted Interest of Christ and his Gospel engage me to and will warrant me in And whilst I have the Lord engaged in the whole cause which I undertake and plead I value not a straw at my foot what the most enraged potent malice can do Nay I dare then bespeak all in the words of the King of Egypt to Josiah a little varied 2 Chron. 35. 21. What have I to do with thee Oh man whoever thou art I come not against thee this day but against Sin wherewith I have war for God commanded me to this work Forbear from medling with God who is with me that he Destroy thee not And I think a man may with as much comfort be a Martyr for the Unity and Peace of the Church and advancement of Holinesse as ever any of our Protestants were for the defence of the Reformed Religion and indeed this was more their Cause than Christianity it self if we consider it right yea though he have a sheet of paper pinn'd to his back that shall call him Schismatical and Seditious and as such he be punished as they we know were burnt for Hereticks But to the businesse in hand As to the matter of Fact it s well enough known what Conditions were required of all that would continue in the Ministery and still are exacted of all that will enter upon it which Multitudes not submitting to were Suspended and Silenced and others who both by their Parents and themselves were designed for that Employment and accordingly Educated were prevented of their intentions The ill effects hereof I shall speak something to anon Now that I may deal fairly and plainly this I must needs say That if there have been any of these Dissenters who were convinced in their Consciences that the things commanded were such as all circumstances considered they might lawfully have submitted to but yet out of faction humour obstinacy a desire to gratifie or promote a party or any such carnal principle did refuse such submission they cannot be excused from the guilt of deserting their charges and of the many ill consequences of that desertion What can any man in reason desire more For it is as such they suffer and not meerly as misinformed much lesse sure as invincibly ignorant or as men that would not sin and if they have indeed been guilty of the Crimes for which their Punishments are proportioned I readily joyn with their most forward accusers but oh that the Punishment had stayed till the Crime had been proved and laid on those only that were found guilty But on the other hand if there were any who did use all probable means for their satisfaction being earnestly desirous to have continued in the work of the Lord and after all remained perswaded that they could not comply with what was enjoyned them without wilful sinning against God then they who by their Impositions did necessitate them to forsake their Ministry are liable to the former charge viz. are guilty of their Ejection and of the Effects thereof except they had sufficient reason for so doing Would they have any thing spoke more candidly and gently Now whether there be any of the former sort or not I cannot nor dare expresly affirm and I think till they shall acknowledge or some other way discover it more than I for my part have known them yet do it can be known only to him from whom no secret thoughts are hid but I desire them to deal faithfully with their own hearts and if they are conscious to themselves of any such ill Principles and grounds of their not Conforming to their Rulers Laws to be humbled for and expel them That there are many such ejected and prevented from the Ministery as I described in my latter Supposition I cannot but believe as having for my self the Testimony of my own Conscience in the sight of God and for others such Professions from men that have done nothing that I know to forfeit their credit and such Reasons to make those Professions appear credible that I am little less confident of it then I am that there is such a place as Rome or Paris which I know only by hear-say I say little less confident of this that there are many who yield not a Conformity to what was imposed not out of Hypocrisie or Humour but out of a fear of displeasing God and hurting their own Souls If this then be acknowledged I think those who have cast and kept such out have very great cause to be humbled for their severity toward them according to the measure they were Instrumental herein Except I added they had sufficient reason for their so doing And that I shall grant they had if they manifest either of these two things which are all the grounds I can imagine 1. That there are as good effects of this their Ejection as I can produce ill ones 2. Or that the nature of thethings imposed on them was such that it had been of as dreadful consequence to have dispenst with conformity to them as thus to deal with them for not rendring such a Conformity But till either of these be proved or some other satisfactory reason assigned giving leave soberly to debatethe case I shall for the conviction and humiliation of the guilty mention a very few of the many sad effects of this their exclusion 1. The first is the unreformednesse and wickednesse of multitudes that through Gods blessing upon their endeavours might have been converted and reformed And that this might have been in all probability accomplished we may very reasonably argue from that eminent successe which God gave to many of their publick labours and by some fruits since then of their private endeavours Let none here willfully mistake and say that by Converting men I mean nothing else but to turn them to a party or an opinion for I professe I intend no such thing but the very same that Christ doth when he tells us that except we be Converted we cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven and that the Apostle doth when he speaks of our being turned from darknesse to light and from the power of