Selected quad for the lemma: world_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
world_n	pure_a	religion_n	undefiled_a	1,985	5	11.7434	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50478	An appendix to Solomon's prescription for the removal of the pestilence enforcing the same from a consideration of the late dreadful judgement by fire : together with some perswasions to all, especially suffering Christians, to exercise and maintain faith and patience, courage and comfort, in this dark and cloudy day / by M.M.	Mead, Matthew, 1630?-1699.	1667 (1667)	Wing M1544; ESTC R19176	113,221	168

for all that 's gone from you And can you not over-look that inch of time betwixt you and approaching death Forethink moreover how less than nothing these now so terrible things will appear when you are got safe into heaven what is it to Lazarus in Abraham's bosome that once he lay at Dives his gate And will it be any thing to you what a loss you had in 1666. when you are lodg'd in Eternitie Why then should that be so much to you now which will shortlie be as if it had never been To conclude when all you are plac't so advantageouslie in that higher state whence you may take a view of the whole Series of Providence and the several means whereby the good of the Church and your own particular Salvation were carried on and shall see what a tendencie those Dispensations had to this end which here seemed most dark and amazing how will you be rais'd to the admiration of his Wisdome and Power who sate at the Stern and by all these strange transactions fulfilled the counsel of his own most blessed will And the fore-thoughts of this should now beget in you the like frame whilst you believe that which yet you cannot see From all that hath been said is farther manifest what a vast difference there is betwixt your condition who are Gods peculiar people and theirs who are strangers to him whilst to outward appearance your sufferings are the same and therefore how fit is it that your demeanour should be accordinglie better than theirs It becomes not you to think or speak at the rates they do For a man to have his worldlie interest and all hopes of recovering it quite broken is with them to be utterlie undone so they plainlie speak and such are their verie thoughts But will you judge your selves undone whilst you have God dwelling within you and an heaven where you shall ever dwell with God Undone indeed you would be if your God was gone as theirs is and therefore blame not the poor men if they take on for what have they more But all you the Favourites and Heirs of Heaven Children of the Most High to whom you profess to have whollie given up your selves to you I conclude my Exhortation as I began it that you would not discover any such sorrow or impatience under this Providence as suits not with your Honourable Relation and Profession or as speaks you both unmindful of the many great reasons you have for contentedness and joy and careless of improving them when they are suggested to you Two more Objections which may here probably be started I would willinglie remove Object 1. Some may say yes indeed if we had assurance of the love of God that we are his children and should for ever live with him in glory we could comfortably bear all that he hath laid upon us as proceeding from love But how can we when we have reason to fear the contrary and to regard his judgements as tokens of his displeasure against us for our sins To the several things in this Objection I shall frame an answer in two or three particulars very brieslie 1. If indeed you want assurance of Gods love whereby I mean such well-grounded hopes and comfortable apprehensions thereof as ordinarilie prevail over your doubts and fears and enable you chearfullie to expect death and judgement If I say you have not this is it not your wisest course diligentlie to set your selves to attain it in the use of those means that are prescribed to that purpose rather than to si● still and faintlie give way to your despondencies and thereby aggravate all other troubles into an intollerable weight Would this assurance be so profitable as you your selves acknowledge and so fortifie your spirits against all assaults whatever and will you not be quickned to look after it Since in that measure I have mention'd it may be got and kept by diligent humble watchful Christians The method you can hardlie be ignorant of it being so plain and so frequentlie prest upon you viz. That you should studie well the terms of the Covenant of Grace and examine whether you are willing to come up to those terms that you should search the Scripture what manner of persons it tells you shall be saved and then search your own hearts whether you be such and if you are not without any more delay to do what in you lies to become such And not to digress now to the laying down of marks and signs let me onlie wish you to consider what I have before intimated That your patient bearing of Gods hand is a singular evidence of your sincerity For since the principal effect of true Religion is to subject the soul to the Will of God then a subjection to such instances of it as are so cross to our carnal inclinations is a good discovery of a truly Religious man He that keeps himself so unspotted from the world that he is neither polluted with inordinate love to it whilst in his hands nor muddied with foul and turbulent passions when it s taken out of them his Religion is pure and undefiled before God To bridle these motions of the heart as well as of the tongue shew our Religion not to be vain But take heed of perverting this to your farther trouble crying out that you then perceive your condition worse than ever since you are so far from this temper of mind but rather be engag'd to greater industry with your hearts now at length to bring them thereto since when you have done this from this patience and meekness may flow that assurance which hitherto you have sought in vain for by the exercise of Grace the being and truth of it is best discovered 2. If you judge that it is for your sins you now suffer and Conscience tells you plainlie and trulie what those sins are your onlie way is humblie to acknowledge them before God to repent of and speedilie set against them that hereby you may get a pardon and the sense of it and so may attain to satisfaction and comfort 3. And know farther this sincere and ingenuous repentance which God requires at your hands is no way inconsistent with that quiet frame of spirit which I advise you to He calls for no unprofitable perplexing grief but for that alone which may be for your good which may bring you more thorowlie from the love of sin and so be a means to joy it self And easilie may you conceive that this godlie sorrow for sin may well consist with patience under suffering for cannot a man whose excess hath brought him into a Surfeit at the same time be griev'd for that folly which procur'd his sickness and yet content with the bitter Physick which may cure him of it 4. Furthermore Need I tell you what an unsound argument it is to conclude from your afflictions that you are not in favour with God Do you think it reasonable or safe to argue from our

I do earnestlie desire you to labour for the most awakened apprehensions of Gods dealings with us and the design of them that you may be suitablie affected therewith and meet him in the way of his judgements rightlie behaving your selves under the same But all this may be done without slavish dejections and terrours which onlie I plead against 2. Yea furthermore as to what evils may be yet hanging over us my counsel also is that you would so far apprehend and expect them as may put you upon the use of those means which are likeliest to prevent them or as may tend to prepare you for them whilst your fears have no worse effects than to quicken you to dailie earnest strivings with God on the behalf of this poor Nation and to a careful Reformation of your selves and families and a serious endeavour according to your place and capacitie that others should do the like in order to the removal of what judgements we feel and the prevention of those we fear this while I condemn them not Moreover whilst you are so representing to your selves the worst that can in all likelihood happen that you may not be surpriz'd thereby but may get furnisht with suitable strength and comfort you act wiselie But this is a different thing from entertaining such misgiving ghastlie fore-thoughts thereof as onlie weaken and torment you Hath not Christ bid his servants when they hear of wars and rumors of wars to see they be not troubled And in all the calamities that came upon the Jews God would still have the Remnant that was faithful spoke comfortablie to In those great and astonishing changes which God makes in the world rooting up Kingdomes for the wickedness of the Inhabitants translating the Gospel from one Nation to another we performing our dutie must lay our hands on our mouths stand on the Lords side and acknowledge he is righteous in all his waies as remembring it is not our work to govern the world but to submit to him that does 3. The same again may be said as to those disorders which you complain of at home or abroad so far as your trouble hath a tendencie toward their removal or any other good end it is a dutie but no farther I 'le joyn with you a little in complaining and acknowledge that its sad to think how great a part of the world lies buried in Heathenish darkness idolatrie and infidelitie and how little is done by Christians toward their relief especiallie that the Princes of Christendome do no more imploy their interests to that purpose as if the pettie temporal concerns of their Crown and Kingdome were of greater moment Sad also it is to see Christendome it self so wofullie divided and crumbled into Parties and Factions through the carnal designs of ambitious covetous men under the gilded pretences of Catholick peace and unitie and how great a part of it by this means is over-spread with ignorance impietie and idolatrie to the disgrace of our profession and hindrance of the Conversion of Jews and Heathens It s sad to observe what a cruel raging thirst there is in these false Christians after the utter ruine and destruction of all that crouch not to them but value the Gospel above their rotten Traditions and sensless sapless Superstitions And sad it is that in our own and other Reformed Churches the divisions should be so great about matters of little moment whilst the Common Enemie threatens to swallow them up that the power of Godliness and all such means as may promote it are no more set up and encouraged that profaneness lukewarmness mutual heart-burnings and discontents should so universallie possess us These are all very sad considerations But what then Must we therefore sit down over-weigh'd with the burdensome sense of all these evils and spend our daies in weeping and wailing because the World we live in is so much out of order By this means Christians should all turn Disciples of Heraclitus his School But certainlie the Precepts of Jesus Christ put us upon no such course who would have us live free from all anxious corroding cares and the verie office of whose Spirit it is to be the Comforter of his people Mourners in Zion we may be but disconsolate self-tormentors we must not The same Paul that took care of all the Churches rejoyc't in hope of the glorie of God and did alwayes triumph in Christ All those evils which I have mention'd may in one word be reduc't to this that there is so much wickedness in the world and so little true Religion and fear of God And this I grant must needs be matter of lamentation to all good men that love their Maker and their Fellow-creatures and I wish that all our hearts were more kindlie affected herewith But how is it we should manifest our selves thus well-affected Truly most of all by endeavouring all that in us lies that the world may be amended and so far as our prayers examples or instructions may do any thing to that end let us faithfullie apply our selves thereto But such a grief as hurts our selves and offers nothing to the good of others ought to be avoided We should not in such an unprofitable manner mourn for our own sins surelie then not for other mens It would go but hardly with us if the comfort of our lives depended upon such things as are no way in our power to accomplish It is indeed well-beseeming a dutiful Son to be grieved for the disobedience of his Brethren but yet not so far as to hinder the pleasure he ought to take in his Fathers love and the performance of his own duty to him But this pure and unfeigned sorrow for the wickedness of the world and the dishonors done to God therein speaks so much ingenuity of soul and is so very rare that I need say little to dehort you from the excess of it rather I may exhort you to it to be yet more possest with a bitter hatred of sin and pitty to poor sinners but not in the least I beseech you with hatred or envie of the most prosperous and flourishing of them and be very watchful over your selves that no worldlie trouble not your losses nor straits your want of trading nor heavy payments lie nearer to your heart than the Interest of Christ 4. But if by the low estate of the Church you mean chiefly the Persecution which it is any where under or which you feel your selves or apprehend to be coming upon us I may well say there is far less cause of sadness upon this account than the former If God see it good to have his Church purified and refined by bringing it through the fire who are we that we should contradict it Need I mention to you the many benefits that are hereby wont to accrue to Christians to whom it is appointed as their common Road to heaven Do you not know that Christ hath bid you then especially to rejoyce and be exceeding