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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	day_n	rest_n	sabbath_n	16,566	5	10.2403	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42813	Essays on several important subjects in philosophy and religion by Joseph Glanvill ...	Glanvill, Joseph, 1636-1680.	1676 (1676)	Wing G809; ESTC R22979	236,661	346

Chron. 16. 25. We are to offer him the Sacrifice of Praise Heb. 13. 15. And are encouraged to do so because It is good to sing Praises and praise is comely for the upright Psal. 1. 47. and Psalm 33. To recite all the particular recommendations and commands of this duty were endless I only mention the next to my thoughts and add That Nature saith the same That Praise is the Tribute that is due to the Author of our Beings And we can offer him nothing less and in a manner nothing else All the World have been unanimous in this and the rudest part of Mankind have owned the dueness of Praise and devout Acknowledgment And II. the other Branch is as clear That God is to be praised particularly for his Works For in these we have very full discoveries of his Perfections and his Mercies the most proper Subjects for our Praises But here I must be more large and therefore propose the following things to be consider'd 1. When God himself would represent his own Magnificence and Glory he directs us to his Works He illustrates his Greatness to Job by instancing the Wonders of his Creatures Among whom we are sent to the Earth and Ocean to the Clouds and Rain●… to the Light and heavenly influence to Behemoth and Leviathan to the Ostrich and the Eagle and the other Furniture of Land and Air and Seas in the four last Chapters of that Book in all these are the marks of his Glory and his Greatness and they are no less so of his Wisdom and his Goodness For in Wisdom he hath made them all Psalm 104. and the Earth is full of his goodness Psalm 119. 54. And again 2. when devout and holy Men would quicken their own Souls and those of others to praise him they use the same method and send abroad their Thoughts among the Creatures to gather instances of acknowledgment Thus Elihu in Job magnifieth his Power by the Lightning and Thunder by the Snow and Rain by the Whirlwinds of the North and Cold of the South and calls upon his afflicted Friend to remember to magnifie his Works that Men behold and again bids him stand still and consider the wondrous Works of God Job 36 and 37 Chapters And the Psalmist upon the same account urgeth his Soul to bless his Maker for his Majesty and Honour disclosed in the natural Wonders of the Heavens and Earth the Winds and Waters the Springs and Grass the Trees and Hills Psalm 104. throughout and he gives particular thanks again Psalm 136. for the discoveries of the Divine Wisdom and Mercy in the same instances of his Providence and Power which he further celebrates by calling upon the noblest of inanimates to praise him Psal. 148. Praise him Sun and Moon praise him O ye Stars and Light which Creatures of his though they are not able to sing Hallelujahs and vocally to rehearse his praise yet they afford glorious Matter for grateful and triumphant Songs and by their beauty and their order excite those that study and observe them to adore and glorifie their Maker And therefore the Prophet runs on further into an aggregation of more Particulars of Fire and Hail Storms and Vapours Mountains and Cedars Beasts and Fouls and creeping Things all which in the same Divine Canticle are summon'd to praise him that is we are required to use them as the Matter and Occasions of Holy Eucharist and Thanksgiving To these I add 2. That God was pleased to sanctifie a solemn Day for the celebration of his Works He appointed a Sabbath for rest and contemplation to himself and for praise and acknowledgment to us and his making Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is is intimated as the reason of the consecration of that Day which was observed upon that account among the Jews and the devout Christians of eldest times kept the same in memory of God's Creation after the institution of the other Sabbath This I take to be enough for the first Proposition viz. That God is to be praised for his Works I descend to the second which is II. That his Works are to be studied by those that would praise him for them We are commanded to sing Praises with understanding Psal. 40. 7. and the Offering he requires is that of a reasonable service His Works receive but little glory from the rude wonder of the ignorant and there is no wise Man that values the applauses of a blind admiration No one can give God the Glory of his Providence that lets the Particulars of it pass by him unobserv'd nor can he render due acknowledgments to his Word that doth not search the Scriptures 'T is equally impossible to praise the Almighty as we ought for his Works while we carelesly consider them We are commanded to search for Wisdom as for hidden Treasure It lies not exposed in the common ways and the chief wonders of Divine Art and Goodness are not on the surface of things layed open to every careless eye The Tribute of praise that we owe our Maker is not a formal slight confession that his Works are wonderful and glorious but such an acknowledgment as proceeds from deep Observation and acquaintance with them And though our profoundest Study and Inquiries cannot unfold all the Mysteries of Nature yet do they still discover new Motives to devout admiration and new Objects for our loudest Praises Thus briefly of the second Proposition also viz. That God's Works are to be studied by those that would praise him for them From these I now advance to the Third which will require more thoughts and it is this III. That the study of Nature and God's Works is very serviceable to Religion We commonly believe that the glory of God is the end of this we say 't is his and we know 't is ours and the Divine Glory is writ upon the Creatures the more we study them the better we understand those Characters the better we read his Glory and the more fit are we to celebrate and proclaim it Thus the knowledge of God's Works promotes the end of Religion And it disposeth us to it by keeping the Soul under a continual sense of God He that converseth with his Works finds in all things the clear stamps of infinite Benignity and Wisdom he perceives the Divine Art in all the turnings and varieties of Nature and Divine Goodness in that He observes God in the colour of every Flower in every fibre of a Plant in every particle of an Insect in every drop of Dew He meets him in all things and sees all things are his and hath an advantage hereby to be instructed how to use them as our Makers not ours with reverence and thanksgiving with an eye to his Glory and an aim at his Enjoyment This is the tendency of the knowledge of Nature if it be abused to different and contrary Purposes natural Wisdom is not in fault but he that turns this excellent Instrument of

desired either not to know at all or not in comparison with the plain Doctrines of the Gospel Or if any should take the words in the largest sense then all sorts of Humane Learning and all Arts and Trades are set at nought by the Apostle And if so the meaning can be no more than this That he preferred the Knowledge of Christ before these For 't is ridiculous to think that he absolutely slighted all other Science The Knowledge of Christ is indeed the chiefest and most valuable Wisdom but the Knowledge of the Works of God hath its place also and ought not quite to be excluded and despised Or if Philosophy be to be slighted by this Text all other Knowledge whatsoever must be condemn'd by it But it will be urged 2. That there is a particular Caution given by the Apostle against Philosophy Col. 2. 8. Beware lest any one spoil you through Philosophy To this I have said elsewhere That the Apostle there means either the pretended Knowledge of the Gnosticks the Genealogies of the Jews or the disputing Learning of the Greeks and perhaps he might have a respect to all those sorts of Science falsly so call'd That the Disputing Philosophy of the Greeks is concerned in the Caution will appear very probable if we consider That much of it was built on meer Notion that occasioned division into manifold Sects which managed their Matters by Sophistry and Disputations full of nicity and mazes of Wit and aimed at little but the pride of mysterious talk of things that were not really understood Such a Philosophy the Apostle might justly condemn and all Wise Men do the same because 't is very injurious to Religion Real Knowledge and the Peace of Men. But what is this to that which modestly inquires into the Creatures of God as they are That collects the History of his Works raising Observations from them for the Discovery of Causes and Invention of Arts and Helps for the benefit of Mankind What vanity what prejudice to Religion can be supposed in this Is this think we that Philosophy that Wisdom of this World which the great Apostle censures and condemns He is bold that saith it speaks a thing he knows not and might if he pleased know the contrary Since the Method of Philosophy I vindicate which proceeds by Observation and Experiment to Works and uses of Life was not if at all the way of those Times in which the Apostles liv'd nor did it begin to shew it self in many Ages after and therefore cannot be concerned in St. Paul's Caution to his Colossians nor in his smartness against worldly Wisdom elsewhere for by that we are to understand the Fetches of Policy the Nicities of Wit and Strains of Rhetorick that were then engaged against the progress of the Gospel But what is all this to the Philosophy of God's Works which illustrates the Divine Glory and comments upon his Perfections and promotes the great Design of Christianity which is doing good and in its proper Nature tends to the disposing of Mens Minds to Vertue and Religion But 3. If Philosophy be so excellent an Instrument to Religion it may be askt and the Question will have the force of an Objection why the Disciples and first Preachers of the Gospel were not instructed in it They were plain illiterate Men altogether unacquainted with those Sublimities God chose the foolish things of this World to confound the wise So that it seems he did not shew this kind of Wisdom that respect which according to our Discourse is due unto it I answer That this choice the Divine Wisdom made of the Publishers of the Glad Tydings of Salvation is no more prejudice or discredit to Philosophy than it is to other sorts of Learning and indeed 't is none at all to any For the special Reasons of God's making this Election seem such as these viz. That his Power might more evidently appear in the wonderful propagation of the Religion of Christ Jesus by such seemingly unqualified Instruments That the World might not suspect it to be the contrivance of Wit Subtilty and Art when there was so much plainness and simplicity in its first Promoters And perhaps too it was done in contempt of the vain and pretended knowledge of the Jews and Greeks over which the plainness of the Gospel was made gloriously to triumph To which I add this It might be to shew That God values Simplicity and Integrity above all Natural Perfectious how excellent soever So that there being such special Reasons for the chusing plain Men to set this grand Affair on foot in the World it can be no disparagement to the Knowledge of Nature that it was not begun by Philosophers And to counter-argue this Topick we may consider That The Patriarchs and Holy Men of Ancient Times that were most in the Divine Favour were well instructed in the Knowledge of God's Works and contributed to the good of Men by their useful Discoveries and Inventions Adam was acquainted with the Nature of the Creatures Noah a Planter of Vineyards Abraham as Grotius collects from Ancient History a great Mystes in the Knowledge of the Stars Isaac prosperous in Georgicks Jacob blessed in his Philosophical Stratagem of the speckled Rods. Moses a great Man in all kinds of Natural Knowledge Bezaleel and Aholiab inspired in Architecture Solomon a deep Naturalist and a Composer of a voluminous History of Plants Daniel Hananiah Mishael and Azariab skilled in all Learning and Wisdom Ten times better saith the Text than the Magicians and Astrologers in Nebuchadnezzar's Realm And to accumulate no more Instances the Philosophers of the East made the first Addresses to the Infant Saviour CONCLUSION WE see upon the whole That there is no shadow of Reason why we should discourage or oppose modest Inquiries into the Works of Nature and whatsoever ignorant Zeal may prompt the common sort to me-thinks those of generous Education should not be of so perverse a frame Especially it becomes not any that minister at the Altar to do so great a disservice to Religion as to promote so unjust a Conceit as that of Philosophy's being an Enemy unto it The Philosophers were the Priests among the Egyptians and several other Nations in Ancient Times and there was never more need that the Priests should be Philosophers than in ours For we are liable every day to be called out to make good our Foundations against the Atheist the Sadduce and Enthusiast And 't is the Knowledge of God in his Works that must furnish us with some of the most proper Weapons of Defence Hard Names and damning Sentences the Arrows of bitter words and raging passions will not defeat those Sons of Anak these are not fit Weapons for our Warfare No they must be met by a Reason instructed in the knowledge of Things and fought in their own Quarters and their Arms must be turned upon themselves This may be done and the advantage is all ours We have Steel and