Selected quad for the lemma: world_n
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A42887
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God give you joy The hearty wish of a Christian friend to the bridegroom and the bride. A marriage-present for the new-married-couple: containing considerations and advices, in order to perswade young married people to begin the married life in the fear of the Lord. With directions and prayers. With plainness, intended for the meanest understanding. By one that desires to be a true son of the church of Christ, as by the gospel established.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing G906A; ESTC R223684
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39,458
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63
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God give you Joy THE HEARTY WISH OF A CHRISTIAN FRIEND TO THE BRIDEGROOM and the BRIDE A Marriage-Present For the New-Married-Couple Containing Considerations and Advices in order to perswade young Married people to begin the Married life in the fear of the Lord. With Directions and Prayers With plainness intended for the meanest Understanding By one that desires to be a true Son of the Church of Christ as by the Gospel established As being heirs together of the grace of life that your prayers be not hindred 1 Pet. 3.7 Printed in the year 1691. God give you Joy The hearty Wish of a Christian Friend to the Bridegroom and the Bride THE INTRODUCTION IT becomes all that love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity to promote the glory of God the Father and according to their capacities to further that great work for which Christ came into the world by labouring to turn every one from their iniquities that they may obtain salvation through faith in him This is that blessing with which God sent his Son to bless the world and which all should endeavour to bring others to be partakers of And therefore should use all means possible to instruct and perswade all to receive and follow that Grace of God which appears in the Gospel and teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts that we may live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world in every state and condition of life Therefore should we lay hold on every opportunity that may probably be fit for that purpose And I take this as a fit occasion to put you in mind of that duty you are bound to in respect of each other in the married estate that you may glorifie God in helping one anothers Souls that so the prayers and good wishes of your friends may not be in vain but that your Joy may be full true Joy in the Lord. God give you Joy is the usual salutation to new married people and indeed it is what every true Christian friend desires That such may rejoice in the Lord and Joy in the God of Salvation The Love of Christ should constrain us to love others as Christ loved us for the souls good And all that wish well to their Friends and Relations that wish them Joy if they are in earnest and know what they say This is Joy to have the Lords favour that is better than life it self And therefore they should use such means as Gods word teaches to promote that Joy they wish the Joy that God gives But experience shows us that too many are either ignorant or dissemblers in that wish which is turned for the most part into a cold formality and words of course And we also see the ill methods that too many new married folks take to make void such good wishes and oppose their own true joys and real blessings Therefore I put this Paper into your hands as becomes a Christian friend that desires to be a friend to your souls to admonish and intreat you that you make not void the good wishes of your friends by neglecting of God at first nor oppose your own joy by a careless and ungodly life But that you take such care that the beginnings of your mutual love may be seasoned with the Divine love And that your first resolutions on your meeting together in the married state may be so to abide with God and so to live together in his fear that God may live with you here and you with him both here and hereafter However it may have been with you in the single and unmarried state we usually call marriage a changing our condition 'T is my hearty and earnest desire that your change may be for the best and that you may so begin the world together as not to abuse it but in the changed condition you may attend to the Lords service to your souls true comfort and joy In every change of condition we in some sort do begin a new course so that we may justly apply our Saviours precept to all beginnings so to enter on every state of life that in the first place and chiefly we regard the fear of the Lord Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness he joins also a promise to it that outward blessings shall be added Mat. 6.33 Therefore in so great a change as Marriage is it highly concerns you that the married life should be begun in the Lord. Your first and chiefest love should be to him from whom you have your being and on whom you depend for all things both present and to come to whom you should live and who 's glory should be the design of all your actions because his you are and not your own Redeemed to him by the precious blood of his Son Jesus Christ And before that Great Judg you must give up an account of your selves at the last If you have been piously educated then have you need to be careful that the change turn not aside your heart from God But as you have been charged by your Parents Remember to live in the fear of the Lord and abide with God in the married as well as in the single life Remember the Apostles caution 2 Tim 3.14 Change of family and acquaintances and neighbours are great occasions of good or evil as those families relations or kindred acquaintance and neighbours are amongst whom you happen to come If they be ungodly and vain you had need beware they tempt you not to leave off the way of Godly living That which seems pleasant to the flesh is a strong perswasion to bring you to comply with vain worldly ways especially in beginning the married estate they think it strange you will not do as others in worldly vanity and by degrees bring you to think it strange you should not and by degrees to consent to join with them and by unsensible degrees and unperceiv'd methods will they lead you from the good way and you will leave your first love and good practice and fail of the grace of God Therefore you had need beware you change not to the worse Or if there be among them but some ungodly you had need beware you join not with them on worldly accounts rather than with the Godly because poor or on other accounts despised If they are Godly and Religious Friends and Neighbours among whom you come Take heed you do not disgrace your pious education by growing slight and careless after marriage But if your education has not been in the nurture and admonition of the Lord to look after true Godliness then indeed you had need look to it that the condition may be so changed that the married estate may be a state of Godliness Marriage should be in the Lord only in the Lord saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 7.39 'T is this only that makes marriage truly honourable and comfortable And if you have neglected that great thing that one necessary thing till then 't is surely high
or woman whether they prevail or not If you prevail with an ungodly husband or wife to turn from the errour of their ways to do that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord you shall save a Soul from death Jam. 5.20 And cause joy in heaven which is at the conversion of a sinner Luc. 15.10 A comfort in it self Besides the benefit your self enjoy in the holy conversation of one renewed of whose renewing you your self have been the happy instrument thro' Gods Grace in the Lord Jesus But tho' you prevail not indeed that consideration is sad where there is love to a Soul to have spent much labour in vain Yet there is comfor in this that it is not in vain in the Lord. This was the comfort of the great Prophet Isaiah complaining for want of success and may be yours surely your Judgment is with the Lord and your work and reward with God Is 48.4 If the filthy will be filthy still and the ungodly will be ungodly still their blood shall be upon their own head and you that endeavour to perswade with sincerity have delivered your own Soul and shall ever beaâ— in your bosom that comfortable testimony of a good conscience and peace from God that passeth understanding shall keep and comfort your hearts and minds thro' Christ Jesus Pâ—il 4.7 And he that shall come will come quickly and his reward is with him to give to every one according as their work shall be Even so come Lord Jesus The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you Amen An ADVERTISEMENT To such as have been long married 'T IS possible these papers may come to the hands of such as have been long married or at least so long as to be past the title of new-married people and may therefore think that that this does not concern them But I desire such to consider that it concerns them much every way For either they are such as have lived according to Gods holy way or not 1. If they have indeed lived together in that holy love which these papers perswade to then they speak peace to them from God And give them the joy and comfort of all the blessings proposed as motives and advantages And I doubt not but that they have experience of the comforts of an holy heavenly life and must testifie the truth of what is here advanced And doubtless they do find encouragement enough to go on in that way to the end 2. But if they have not so lived together then they find themselves spoken to in every advice and motive especially in the fourth and fifth Section Every line calls more loudly to such in the words of the Apostle Eph 5.15 Awake thou that sleepest and Christ shall give thee light Have you so long neglected so great a blessing and continued under the curse and tempted the Almighty to give you up to hardness of heart O see the goodness and patience and long suffering of God! Give judgment your selves between God and your Souls Have you not neglected the best way too long And shall not his patience lead you to repentance shall not the time past suffice to have lived without God should not the love of Christ constrain you to this holy love of each others Souls Let it do so then now at the last And set about what is here advised to as new married people should and reap at last the too much neglected blessings 'T is never too late to begin to do well Nay you should labour the more earnestly considering how you have blockt up your own way by your sinful neglect Repent therefore and bring forth fruits meet for repentance Prayers for Gods blessing assisting grace to the married couple These first in order taken out of the publick Office and fitted for private use When you are come home on the Wedding-day or at Evening and so for some dayes after read first those Scriptures declaring the mutual duties of man and wife or else some other portion of Scripture with attention And then kneeling down together endeavour to lift up your hearts to the Lord and say O Eternal God creator and preserver of all mankind giver of all Spiritual Grace the author of everlasting life send thy blessing upon us thy servants who have this day consented together in holy marriage and have engaged our word in truth to each other to live together as man and wife according to thy holy word and have received a publick blessing in thy name Bless us O Lord we beseech thee in secret and grant that as Isaac and Rebecca lived faithfully together so we may surely perform and keep the Vow and Covenant betwixt us made and may ever remain in perfect love and peace together and live according to thy Law thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen God the Father God the Son and God the holy Ghost bless preserve and keep us O Lord mercifully with thy grace look upon us and so fill us with all Spiritual benediction and grace that we may so live together in this life that in the world to come we may obtaine life everlasting Amen O God of Abraham God of Isaac God of Jocob bless us thy Servants and sow the seeds of eternal life in our hearts Help us to attend diligently on thy holy word so that we may profit and learn thereby and be doers thereof Look O Lord mercifully upon us from heaven and bless us And as thou didest send thy blessing upon Abraham and Sarah to their great comfort so vouchsafe to send thy blessing upon us thy Servants that we obeying thy will and always being in safety under thy protection may both abide in thy love and in holy Christian love to each other to our lives end thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O God who by thy mighty power hast made all things of nothing who also after other things set in order didst appoint that out of man created after thine own image and similitude woman should take her beginning and knitting them together didst teach that it should never be lawful to put asunder those whom thou by Matrimony hadst made one O God who hast consecrated the state of Matrimony to such an excellent mystery that in it is signified and represented the Spiritual marriage betwixt Christ and his Church look mercifully upon us thy Servants whom thou hast brought to joyn together in the marriage covenant That I may love this my wife according to thy word as Christ doth love his Spouse the Church loving and cherishing her as my own flesh And also that this woman whom thou hast given to be my wife may be loving and amiable faithful and constantly obedient in all Christian love and in all quietness and peace be a follower of holy and godly Matrons O Lord bless us both and grant us to inherit thine everlasting Kingdom through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen O Almighty God who at the beginning didst create our first parents