Selected quad for the lemma: world_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
world_n	love_n	love_v	worldly_a	3,021	5	9.1436	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56694	A sermon preached before the King, on St. Stephen's-day by Sy. Patrick ...	Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707.	1676 (1676)	Wing P839; ESTC R23416	11,988	37

Zealots that threw away their lives for a fancy And all vice and wickedness is a constant manifest scorn and contempt of their Sanctity as the foolish strictness of those who understood not their liberty If we will honour them we must heartily believe and obey that Gospel which they preached and asserted with their blood We must endeavour as one under the name of St. Cyprian speaks Vt tota etiam vita Martyrium hoc est testimonium Deo reddat that our whole life may be a Martyrdom that is a testimony unto God Let it testifie that we own him that we remember him that we fear and reverence him and that we love him and esteem his love and favour more than life it self Let it witness how much we love his will better than our own and what a Grace we think it that he hath taught us to deny ungodliness and wordly lusts and to live soberly righteously and godly in the world Those lusts called worldly because they are so common are the Persecutors which now we are to conflict withal as the Martyrs did with other Enemies Here is now the trial of our Vertue here is the proof our Fidelity these put us to the test whether we will stick to our Lord and Master or yeild to their desires Si deest Tyrannus si tortor si spoliator c. as St. Austin speaks though there be no Tyrant blessed be God in these peaceable days no Tormentor no Plunderer yet evil desires are never wanting to afford daily occasion of Martyrdom For it is a kind of death sine cruore Martyrium in the Phrase of Sulpitius a Martyrdom without blood oecultum Martyrium in the language of St. Ambrose a secret unseen Martyrdom to suppress all desires of sinful pleasures to bear with the unkind censures of the envious and the reproaches of the malicious to forbear revenge when a fair opportunity is offered to stifle all motions of anger and wrath and discontent and hatred and pride vain-glory and ambition when there are constant provocations and strong temptations to them These are the evil affections we must manfully resist and crucifie and when they are dead it will not be hard for us by the Grace of God to dye too if need be for our Saviour's sake III. And now especially which is the last thing let every one of our lives give a testimony to God and do honour to his Religion when we solemnly commemore as we do at this time of the year both the wonderful great Love of our Lord the Eternal Son of God in becoming a man for us and the love also which the Martyrs those rational whole burnt-offerings as Greg. Naz. calls them Oraet XVIII in laud. Cypr. those perfect Sacrifices those acceptable Oblations expressed to him in dying for his Service Let us now carefully avoid all things contrary to our profession all riot and luxury drunkenness and revelling chambering and wantonness foolish that is filthy lascivious talking and jesting For these things saith the Apostle are not convenient do not agree with Christianity but rather giving of thanks for God's inestimable benefits bestowed on us V. Eph. 4. Seccine exprimitur publicum gaudium per publicum dedecus c. as Tertullian speaks of the Pagan Festivities Is this the way to express a publick joy by a publick shame Do those things become our solemn days which are unfit to be done at any time Valde absurdum est to use also the words of St. Hierom velle nimia saturitate honorare Martyrem quem scimus Deo placuisse jejuniis It is extreamly absurd to think to honour the Martyr by excess who we know pleased God by fastings To celebrate his memory meerly with Plays and Sports and Merriment who we know was acceptable to our Lord by devout Prayers Praises and Thanksgivings To keep his day after the Heathenish fashion whose Martyrdom was the destruction of error as the forenamed Greek Father speaks the persecution of Vice the drowning of Sin and the cleansing of the world Not that it is unfit now to Feast and recreate our selves for it is never more seasonable nor more safe to feast and refresh our bodies than when at such solemnities we have feasted our Souls We can never be better disposed nor better understand how to use God's blessings thankfully soberly and charitably than when he is fresh in our thoughts and we have been commemorating his marvellous bounty to us all And therefore after the Psalms and Hymns wherewith they Ad Sanct. Coelum C. 12. anciently praised God for the Martyrs there followed in many places 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the great Constantine speaks most sober feasts of Christian good-fellowship wherein the poor were fed and all enmities buried Nor did they think it an unfit expression of their joy to dance at the Sepulchres of the Martyrs Hom. in Barlaam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with Godly and Religious dances as both St. Basil and his great Friend so often mentioned Carm. 63. expresly tell us And is it not possible for us to separate such innocent things from that intemperance and wantonness which at last robbed the Martyrs of this part of their honour and caused these customs to be abolished Let us but so devoutly attend upon the Divine Service on such days as to carry away a sense of God in our mind and the business is done That will sufficiently secure us and preserve us from danger Whatsoever we do we shall express the Character which Clemens Alexandrinus gives of his wise Christian who he says Strom. L. VII is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at the same time both grave and merry in all things Grave because he remembers God and merry because of the many good things which he enjoys by the favour of God For all which his Holy Name be praised as well as for his Spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus To whom with the Father and the Holy-Ghost be all honour thanksgiving love and faithful service both now and evermore Amen THE END

their Counterfeits The one were meek the other angry and furious The one humble the other haughty The one ready to do good to those by whom they suffer'd the other desirous of revenge The one loved their Enemies the other only contemn'd them The one were forward to excuse their folly the other to aggravate and upbraid them with it The one smiled upon their persecutors and blessed them the other look'd as if they would pour out Anathema's and excommunicate them from all their charitable thoughts Nothing was more peaceable and quiet than the one while the other were tumultuous and violent The Martyrs were submissive and easily govern'd but the other were boisterous and violent It was proper to the former to appear with a modest chearfulness and a humble confidence but the other seemed to be surly rather than well satisfied bold rather than well assured And therefore no wonder that these Holy Souls so mightily prevailed over all the powers of darkness in what shape soever they appeared and that they overcame as St. John writes the Dragon that old Serpent the Devil by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony not loving their lives unto the death And no wonder also they had such a lively hope in God and could look up so stedfastly to Jesus as this blessed Martyr did expecting that he would receive their Spirits with the kindest affection unto himself For they had attained to the Baptism wherewith he the King of glory was Baptized A Baptism as St. Cyprian calls Martyrdom In gratia majus De Exhort Martyrii in potestate sublimius c. In grace greater in power more sublime in honour more precious A Baptism in which the Angels baptize in which God and his Christ rejoyce A baptism after which no man sins which consummates the encrease of our faith and parting us from the world straight-way unites us to God In the baptism of water is received remission of sins but in this of blood the Crown of Virtues And a very noble Crown sure it was that such faithful followers might hope to receive from the hands of so gracious a Master For being so much advanced above the world while they were in it and having done him such eminent Service they could not doubt of his favour in lifting them up to live with himself in exceeding great bliss when his Enemies would not permit them to live here any longer If there were any thrones higher than other in those heavenly places where St. Stephen saw our Saviour they might very well expect to be promoted to them to reign with him there in endless glory and to be honoured here on earth with perpetual praises I. For from all this you cannot but see how sit and just it is that we should make most solemn commemorations of those to whom the Christian world stands so deeply obliged and that the Church should give a kind of first-fruits of them unto this glorious Martyr Orat. XXII whom St. Gregory Naz. calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the first fruits of those who suffered after Christ This the ancient Christians did with so great affection that their Enemies calumniated it and said they worshipped them No says St. Cyril in his VI Book against Julian where he justifies this practice excellently and therefore give me leave to contract a long discourse he hath about it There is no 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Man-worship among Christians For we have not made a God of a Man nor adore one that is not by nature God when we worship Christ himself But acknowledging that man who appeared to be the Word of God by whom all things were made we go to him as God for so he is As for the Martyrs we neither call them Gods nor give them any Divine Worship Yet we cannot but honour them or rather we crown them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the highest honours As those who have generously contended for the truth and resolutely preserved the purity of our Faith and propounded themselves as certain Images of that so much admired fortitude and gallantry to all the world There can be no absurdity in it but rather it is necessary that they who excelled in such famous deeds should be crowned with endless honour Did not common reason teach the ancient Greeks as much For those that hazarded their lives at Marathon for the safety of their Country and those that stoutly opposed the Army of Xerxes in after-times the Athenians were wont meeting together every year at their Graves to crown with their Encomiums and high commendations as men that dyed a glorious death And your Plato says That they who live excellently and dye bravely should be honoured as more than men and their Tombs become venerable It is no wonder then that we account the Holy Martyrs worthy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of all respect and reverence and that we honour their very Monuments making a perpetual never-fading commemoration of them serve in stead of a small recompence of such illustrious vertue Thus He. And it is very well known how in those days their names were solemnly rehearsed in the Publick Liturgies of the Church Which custom though it be not still continued yet their memory is ever precious we honour them with due praise we make mention of their noble deeds with hearty thanksgivings to God for them Laudamus glorificamus admiramur c. to speak in the words of St. Austin or whoever he was that wrote the Book de excidio urbis we praise we glorifie we admire the holy Martyrs we celebrate their days with a pious solemnity we venerate their worth and as far as we can we imitate them and endeavour to do as they did For by their zealous labours and sufferings Infidels were converted lapsed Christians recovered the doubtful confirmed the luke-warm inflamed the fervour of the pious doubled and all Posterity excited both to adore the power of the Divine Grace in them and also to hope in God for the like Grace to help in time of need Those are the two reasons St. Basil gives why those that loved the Martyrs were so unwearied in their commemoration of them In XL. Martyres Because the honour which is given to our pious fellow-servants is a demonstration of our affection to our common Master And he that entertains brave men with due respect will not fail to imitate them on the like occasion II. And that I must needs say is the greatest honour we can do them to propound them always to our selves as our patterns and to follow them in their constant love to God to Religion and to all Mankind whatsoever we suffer for it True Christian Piety and Vertue if we will allow the Martyrs to have had any judgment is the most valuable thing in the whole world for they preferred it before their lives And therefore all Infidelity is a direct reproach to those blessed Souls representing them as a company of rash