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A42893 Miscellanea, or, Serious, useful considerations, moral, historical, theological together with The characters of a true believer, in paradoxes and seeming contradictions, an essay : also, a little box of safe, purgative, and restorative pils, to be constantly taken by Tho. Goddard, Gent. Goddard, Thomas. 1661 (1661) Wing G916; ESTC R7852 164,553 225

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where you will meet with aboundant satisfaction in this particular In short therefore for it 's not my design to be Polemicall herein to me it seems to be a very safe and good rule which g Arist Ethic. lib. 10. c. 3. That rule also of St. Augustine is very sate and good viz. Quod universa tenet ecclesia nec conciliis institutum sed semper retentum est non nisi authoritate apostolica traditum rectissime creditur Aug. Baptis contr Donatist lib. 2. c. 7. Aristotle layes down sc That whatsoever hath been affirmed by almost all should not hastily be denyed by any because h Vincent ●yrinensis Quod ubique quod semper quod ab omnibus tenetur Ecclestis id demum Catholicum 'T is a Merldian shining truth that all new waies are false waies and therefore they must be carefully declined by all those that really desire to walk in that good old way of life that leads to blisse and glory And 't is as true that they must needs wander stumble and fall that resolve to walk in crooked uneven blind and slippery foot-paths of their own making The Prayer O LORD it is no less then a signall a singular and a very great Mercy to thy Church and Children that thou hast provided and given them a remedy for Infants against the danger the poyson and the pollution of Originall Sinne wherein they are born and thereby come into the world both defiled and spiritually deformed In that thou hast set open the door of Baptisme for them at which they enter and are admitted to come within the pale of thy visible Church Lord still continue this great Priviledge nnto them And as then and there they are listed under and Covenant with the great the glorious the victorious and invincible Captain of our Salvation to fight under him against the implacable Enemies of their gracious both Saviour and Soveraign and their own immortall Souls the World the Devill and the flesh O let them be conscientiously carefull to pay their Vows to discharge their solemn ingagements and to expresse their fidelity piety and loyalty by continuing Christs faithfull Souldiers and Servants unto death Amen Baptismus janua est Vitae Christianitatis Ostium Regenerationis Sacramentum XVIII Of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper T Is the Souls Banqnet 'T is one of those * Certainly then those Ministers are very not only unkind but cruel and injurious to their flocks and people that either cut off this breast by absolutely ●●susing or dry it up by deferring and neglecting to administer this necessity food this holy and comfortable Sacrament unto them Breasts wherewith our Mother the Church nurseth and nourisheth the Children of Christ 'T is both the food and fewell of Grace Jesus Christ is in this necessary Holy Sacrament a Pelican in deed and reality for he feeds his faithfull ones with his own Bloud 'T is a lively representation of Christ crucified to the eye of faith 'T is spirituall glue which joynes and cements Christians one to another in Love and Unity 'T is a Christians commemoration-day of his best and greatest Benefactor 'T is the last Will and Testament of Jesus Christ whereby he bequeathed the precious ineftimiable everlasting Treasures comforts and blessing of his Death and passion to all worthy Receivers I acknowledg the Sacrament of the Body and Bloud of Christ administred according to Christs institution to be one of the greatest treasures and comforts that he left us upon the earth a Fox B of Marty 5 vol. 3. p. 556. col 1. Those Ministers then do rob defraud wrong their people that either take away or keep from them this precious treasure faith Mr. Philpot. 'T is a deed of Guift A Conveyance from Jesus Christ of himself and all his merits both sealed and delivered with livery and seisin to all true Beleevers whereby they have a just right an unquestionable title unto and a saving interest in the Lord Jesus and all the sweet blessed and glorious benefits of his death resurrection and intercession b Camerar lib. 1. p. 64. Darius King of Persia had in his Bedchamber a vine all of Gold which was inriched with precious stones and did bear grapes made of pearl of an inestimable value And yet this Vine was but a barren figstree and its orient Gemms but dry and withered leaves compared with that * Jo●n 15. 1. true vine Jesus Christ and the most precious fruit thereof For if all the Gold Jewells rarities and wealth of the whole world were put into one scale of the ballance and but one drop of that invaluable bloud which flowed from this vine when it was cut when Christ was crucified upon the cross in the other Scale all those would be but feathers chaffe or mosse light vain and worthlesse things in respect of the excellency and necessity of this Since 't is only the bloud of Christ that cleanses us from fin and makes the soul beautifull in the eyes of God and redeemeth it from eternall damnation For it is not in the power either of all the glorious Angels and blessed Saints in Heaven or of all the Christians upon earth to satisfie the Justice of God for one Soul much lesse then can stones or clay reconcile an angry God and free a sinner from everlasting misery To neglect this holy Sacrament then wherein this precious bloud of Christ is freely offered to us to purge and save us is both dangerous and sinfull to contemne it without repentance damnable Si qui Sacramentorum usum ac si opus iis non 〈◊〉 erent aspernarentur non modo arrogantiae summae sed etiam impietatis in Deum merito damnari debent quum non suae tantum infi●mitatis subsidia sed et Deum ipsorum authorem contemnant ipsius gratiam respuant et spiritum quantum in ipsis est extinguant saith one c ●●akwel Apolog p. 417. Aesops Son at a Feast which he made dissolved Pearls in Vinegar and gave to each guest one to drink And yet his bounty was but parsimony his pearls below pebbles compared with the love and excellency of this true Magarite this pearl of infinite price and value the Lord Jesus Christ which every rightly qualified and prepared communicant both drinks and eateth also at this Supper of the Lamb. And Cleopatras draught when she swallowed an Exchequer and drunk an Indies was but puddle muddy water to those pure refreshing life-preserving streams which flow into the Soul from that Rock of living-water Jesus Christ through the golden conduit-pipe of this blessed Sacrament ●on Anthory de Guevara Dial of Princ. Fol. 417. d When the feast of the God Janus was celebrated in Rome none were suffered to go into his Temple but those that had new apparell That day also the Emperor put on his imperiall Robes and all the Captives who could with their hand touch them were delivered prisoners for debt were discharged
penitent And let O Lord all thy chastisements be so sanctified unto us that our understandings may be enlightened our judgements rectified our souls humbled our corruptions mortified our consciences purified our lives reformed that thy dreadful wrath may be appeased thy unsupportable judgements removed thy tender mercies evidenced and thy loving kindnesse which is better then life vouchsafed and continued unto us Grant this O Lord for Christ his sake Amen Afflictio illuminat decet purgat eurat XVI Of Patience PAtience 't is a * Job 1. 21. Job blessing God for the losse of blessings an * 1 Sam. 3. 18. Eli kissing the Rod that drew bloud from him with that sharp lash that heavy stroke the threatned ruine of his house and posterity with the mouth of submission saying It is the Lord let him do what seemeth him good a Cedrenus in vit Mauritii Camerar It 's a holy good Mauritius who when he was not only deposed from his Empire and succeeded by one of the worst yea basest of all his subjects Phocas but also compelled to be a sad and mournfull Spectator of the bloudy butchery of all his five sweet innocent Children he meekly and joyfully kissed the hand that beat him saying Righteous art thou O Lord and just are thy Judgments 'T is a Lamb that will be both shorn and killed without crying It 's a grace that keeps the soul in a calm holy contented frame in every condition 'T is an Isaac bound and ready to be sacrificed without murmuring A stone-wall that both blunts and repels the piled arrows of the sharpest sufferings 'T is a fountain without mud and clear though stirred or troubled with the hand and rod of affliction A face without a srown and peevish tear in the greatest pain disappointment grief torment 'T is a writ of restitution when distrust frowardnesse discontentment or rash anger have ejected a man out of his right mind and Christian behaviour whereby he is again peaceably and quietly restored unto himself In your patience possesse your Souls 'T is a stream that keeps within the banks of † Psalm 39. 9. silence with David and * Philip. 4. 11. 12. an holy contentation of mind with Paul when the stormy impetuous winds of affliction poverty sicknesse or persecution doe blow upon it 'T is cooling Physick that preserves the soul from falling into the dangerous fever of an angry murmuring against Gods crossing providences 'T is one like the Camell kneeling down to take up his burden It makes a man like wheat fall down in a silent submission and a willing resignation of himself to the will and pleasure of God when he 's winnowed with the fan of adversity 'T is a clear Skie in the worst weather An Anvile unbroken with the hardest strokes of injury calamity or Tyranny b Et non sentire mala sua non est hominis et non ferre non est vir Seneca 'T is the golden meane betwixt the extreams of stupidity and repining 'T is Jonah in a Whales belly without fretting 'T is the Cradle wherein passion is rockt asleep 'T is the earnest the bond of a liberall remuneration c Hug. Grocius of the Law of War and peace ex Ter●ul For so bounteous a rewarder of patience is God that if you commit your injury to him he is a revenger if you grief an healer if your death a reviver How great is the power of patience to have God himself a debtor to it Patience 't is a Joseph relieving maintaining providing for the soul in the Egypt of this world when afflicted with the forest famine 'T is a childe descended of a Royall family being the Daughter of that Queen mother Meeknesse 'T is an Abraham prepared resolved contented to forsake and want all countrey friends land if God will have it so 'T is a Dove without Gall A tree without knots A spirit even and planed A fresh spring and sweet water in the saltest sea of tribulation A But that receives all darts without pain hurt and death A bush burning yet not consumed Patience 't will make a man like * Esay 39. 8. Hezekiah willingly consent and as it were set his hand to Gods Deed of gift of all his yea and his posterities temporal mercies to enemies and aliens with a Good is the word and righteous is the work of the Lord. 'T is a Christians Sandale and shooe wherewith he both can and doth tread upon the nettles and bryers of injuries and reproaches without either smart or hurt and also wherewith he walks upon Gravel and thistles indureth crosses losses and troubles without fainting * Prov. 3. 15. fretting or † tyring The Prayer O LORD if thou wert as prone to revenge as we are to rebell Or if thou shouldest be as ready to destroy us as we are forward to displease and dishonour thee showers of Fire and Fury instead of dews of Grace and Mercy would daily yea hourly fall from Heaven upon our heads But such O thou God of Patience though thou art angry with the wicked every day is thy wonderfull Long-suffering towards us though we daily vex and grieve thee that thou art graciously pleased to warn us to wait on us to wooe us to strive with us and to offer both favour and forgivenesse to us O let us resolve and indeavour to learn of Christ to imitate him and to transcribe into our own actions and behaviour that Golden Copy which our blessed Saviour hath set us by being like him meek and lowly in heart And since thy holy Word assures us that a froward mouth and heart are hatefull and abominable unto thee O let us never give thee any rest till thou hast adorned us with the precious the glorious Ornament of a meek and quiet spirit That so we may lie silently under thine angry hand when corrected bear injuries affronts revilings petiently and Christianly when they are done or offered unto us wait without fretting contentedly the Lords own time and leisure for comfort and deliverance when we are afflicted distressed oppressed And though we should be wrongfully or suddainly deprived either of all our sublunary mercies or of those which we most value affect and desire that so we may possesse our souls in patience and not be angry or froward at Gods sharpest dealings with us because how great or many soever our miseries are or may be they are lesse and fewer then our iniquities deserve Grant this O Lord for Christ his sake Amen Patientia tacet adjuvat exonerat XVII Of Baptism 'T Is a Moses leading and carrying Infants out of Egypt into the Canaan of Gods true Church It 's the hand that ingrafts them into the true Vine Jesus Christ that so they may become living and fruitfull Branches and escape everlasting burning 'T is their Matriculation in the Acadamy of Christianity The Oath of Allegiance which they take to be loyall Subjects to the King of peace and righteousnesse
all transgressions pardoned and exiled persons were recalled Whoever cometh to this holy Sacrament clothed with the new and rich apparell of Christs righteousnesse and can with the hand of a justifying faith touch Jesus Christ shall be sure to find and receive comfort favor acceptance a discharge from the debt of sin liberty and inlargement from the slavery of his own Lusts and from the captivity of Satan communion with Christ here and admission into the Kingdome of Heaven out of which man was justly excluded exiled for sin and Rebellion hereafter For when by death a true Christian doth put off the Rags of his mortality God will invest him with the Robes of Glory to all Eternity The Prayer EVer blessed God such are thy tender mercies unspeakeable Love and matchlesse Bounty to thy Children upon earth that as thou hast prepared and provided for them both Mansions and a feast a Supper of Glory with the Lamb in the Kingdome of Heaven so hast thou also provided a spirituall Banquet and furnished thy Table with most exquisite curious precious and delicious dainties to refresh nourish comfort strengthen and unite them in their journey and whilest they are upon their way thither this Blessed Sacrament O Lord let not I beseech thee this Soul-feeding heart-chearing Grace-strengthening and increasing communion and Supper be neglected undervalued contemned or denyed through the corruptions contentions differences carelesnesse or ungrounded scrupulousnesse of Men. ●ut let Ministers O Lord carefully obey thy command and conscientiously discharge their own Duty in rightly and frequently administring of it to their people that thy bitter thy bloudy Death O Blessed Saviour may be constantly and thankfully remembred thy wonderful unparalleled undeserved love pity goodnesse acknowledged and thy great Name praised and glorified And let Christians O Lord come to this Holy Sacrament so qualified and prepared that their Graces may be strengthened their Souls as with marrow and fatnesse satisfied their interest in Christ cleared and confirmed their joyes and comforts multiplied their Affections inseparably united and their mutuall love to one another mightily increased Grant this O Lord for his sake who is both the maker of the Feast and the Feast himself Jesus Christ Amen Coena Domini cibus est Animae alimentum Gratiae Nutrix pietatis solaminis canalis pignus amoris condonationis sigillum et corroborationis Sacramentum XIX Of Preaching THE sacred word of God purely rightly and powerfully preached is that Bethesday wherein Mephibosheths souls lamed in their feet their affections by the fall which they had out of the arms of Adam and Eve are cured and thereby inabled to run the ways of Gods commandements 'T is the * Cantic 4. 16. and 7. 5. Garden the Gallery where Christ meeteth speaks to and walks with his people 'T is the mount of blessings conduit of faith Golden Scepter of mercy and the spirituall seed of Grace and Life 'T is the Chariot in which Christ rideth triumphantly into the Soul 'T is the hammer that breaks open the iron door of the heart the key that unlocks it T is the fire that consumeth all Satans strong holds in the spirit 'T is spirituall eye-salve that gives a blind Bartimeus his sight And 't is the voice that awakens the most drouzy deaf secure sinner a Rainold Orat. 1. p. 41. What the Orator saith de Oratione is true de praedicatione Morbis inquit animi medicinam facere debet praedicatio facit comprimendo quae tument roborando quae languent quae inflammant leniendo coercendo quae diffluunt expurgando quae redundant 'T is an Ark alwaies bringing blessings with it Nathan which wil rouse convince and humble Davids relapsing Saints T is a Peter pricking the hearts of great and grosse sinners to their conversion sanctification Salvation 'T is a messenger sent from God and bringing with it those three wonderfull glorious instimable Jewels and blessings to the soul sense of sin assurance of pardon and a through reformation both of the Heart and life It s the means which God hath promised commanded owned blessed and sanctyfied by the inward powerfull and effectual operation of his holy Spirit speaking home to the conscience stirring those healing waters of the sanctuary and accompanying the outward administration of the word most ordinarily and efficaciously to instruct the ignorant confirm the weak to warm the cold mollifie the hard melt the frozen comfort them that mourn to awaken those that are drowsie resolve those who doubt incourage and quiet such as fear guide them that erre bind up the broken hearted and to quicken those that are dead in trespasses and sins T is a Corn●copia of all those excellent spirituall mercies and comforts 'T is the granary of celestial food and Manna the silver trumpet of peace and the white flag of mercy to a people It 's a Nilus that softens refresheth and fructifieth barren hard and languishing hearts T is a Mary with Christ in the womb of it an Angell instructing a Philip a light in the thickest saddest darknesse and a comfortable seasonable rain in a drought 'T is both meat to the hungry water to the thirsty physick to the diseased milk to the weak a Lamp to them that wander and wine to the sorrowfull In Asia it was a custome that the Child which was not nursed by his mother should not have the goods of his Mother Those who are not nursed by that Mother the true Church of Christ with the breasts of Gods word and ordinances faithfully and duly administred are never like to have God for their Father nor to be heires of the Churches estate I mean the love promises protection grace and blessing of the Lord nor to enjoy the glorious inheritance of her Children eternall felicity hereafter The Prayer O LORD thou art so farre from desiring or delighting in the eternall Damnation of the vilest greatest grossest sinners that thou hast commanded the Gospell of Salvation to be preached to every creature both to Jews and Gentiles Yet since even this word of Life is both a dead and a killing Letter without the quickening sanctifying influence and efficacy of thy holy Spirit Grant blessed God that the Holy Ghost may both teach and speak effectually convincingly convertingly savingly to the ears and hearts of unregenerated Sinners that so the dead may both hear and feel the voice and power of the Son of God and live And be thou pleased most merciful God so to own blesse and prosper thine own Labourers in thy vine-yard that the Consciences of those who are enemies to thine own ordinances and Ministers may be convinced their spirits grieved and humbled their mouths stopped their sin and errours discovered to them hated by them and forsaken of them And that the understandings of those who hear and enjoy them may be savingly enlightened their hearts graciously changed their Lives throughly reformed and their souls everlastingly saved Let him who is the Word Jesus Christ be ushered
false and wicked principles and in hardening them by their examples counsels and doctrines whom they have caused to wander from the way of truth and life Lastly to name no more if God permit such men to get power into their hands they do often if not alwaies persecute with extreamest rigour and remorselesse cruelty those of contrary Judgments though they be most innocent Orthodox and holy Witnesse those scarlet Theaters on which they acted in Germany which are and will be crimson monuments of their fury tyranny and impiety till time shall be no more The Church of God in St. Augustines time before his conversion used to pray Ab Augustini logica libera nos Domine And for my part I am fully perswaded that it is the Duty of Gods people heartily and fervently to joine tog●ther in this Petition to the Lord From a toleration of an indulgence to or a connivence at all or any men that will to make themselves ministers and preachers Good Lord deliver us Because it will be high time for Religion to make her Will for the Gospell to take shipping to land in another Land and for Christians to provide an Arke to save themselves from perishing either in a deluge of superstition profanenesse Atheisme or else in a Red sea of persecution when it may be truly said of such men g When Galba came first to the Empire there was great confusion and licentiousnesse in the State whereupon a Senator said in full Senate It were better to live where nothing is lawfu●l then where all things are lawful Leigh Choice Observat p. 120. Quod libet id licet his c. The Jewes did highly esteem accounting barrennesse a curse and the Romanes did liberally reward those parents who had many Children h Camerar lib. 6. p. 415. And t is said that the chief reason why the Electors chose Rodolph Emperor of Germany was his plenteous off-spring So the Lord doth also both love honour and crown those spirituall fathers pious and rightly ordained Ministers that beget with the immortall seed of the word quickened by the spirit of life Sons and Daughters unto God for they shall * Dan. 12. 3. shine for ever and ever in the firmament of Glory And he doth blesse their labours But as for these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i Luther super Epist ad Galatas see also Jerem 23. 32. Nunquam fortunat Deus laborom eorum qui non sunt vocati quanquam quaedam salutaria afferunt tamen nihil aedificant saith Luther k Perphyr in ●jus vita Pythagoras when any of his Scholars deserted his Schoole in eorum usitatis sedibus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 posuisse dicitur quo significaret eos moraliter obiisse When those who have formerly professed themselves to be the Scholars and Disciples of Christ doe not only desert his School the Temple but also inveigh against and abandon both his ordinances and Ministers their spirituall teachers well may Christians set their Coffins in their seats for it 's much to be feared that they are spiritually departed and dead but however t is most certaine that they are fallen into a dangerous swoon of Apostasie I shall therefore conclude with these hearty and fervent petitions The Prayer EIther convince revive convert and reclaime all such O Lord and suffer them not is keep any longer a splint in their wounds to hinder their cure by adding l Mall●● s●mp●r errarc quam semel errasse vide i. obstinacy to errou● perseverance in evill to ignorance impiety to iniquity or else never suffer most gracious God the wall of thy vineyard Church-Government according to the pattern in the Mount thine own Word and Will to be broken down by fraud or force for Foxes or wild Bores * Pictos agnos adorant vivos devorant Jesuits Apostates Hypocrites Persecutors seducers and temporizers to have free ingresse into it to root up the Vines therein or to pull off the Grapes thereof Nor the door of Christs Garden to be thrown off of those hinges orders and Ordination by the hands of power or policy for wild beasts Hereticks and popish Priests to enter therein to tread down thy Roses and Lillies or to crop or kill thy best fruit-trees Godly Ministers and truly gracious Christians Nor that Crystall pure sweet healing Fountain that spirituall bath and Spaw which cures all the maladies and diseases of the Soul in that Garden the Holy Scriptures to be muddyed defiled corrupted or poysoned by those nor any other unwashed diseased beleapered inven●●d hands or feet till the stream of time shall fall into and lose it self in the boundlesse Ocean of Eternity m Plat●● Timeo And since there are two diseases of the Soul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 madnesse and ignorance and that by wofull experience it 's found that the most of these Leaders and teachers and also their Favourites and followers do labour under and are distempered either with both or one of them be pleas●d blessed God who art the great and good Physitian of the Soul and dost see their waies either to heal them by giving repentance to them and making them wise to Salvation or else according to thine own * 2 Tim. 3. 9. promise let their folly be made known to all men and let them proceed no further that so the banks of truth and piety may never be broken down nor over-flowed by the furious filthy and deadly streams of error idolatry heresie and profanenesse And Lastly since Distraction is the inlet of Destruction Division of Desolation to the greatest richest most flourishing and most prosperous Nation For he that is Wisdome it self Jesus * Matth. 12. 15. Christ hath told us so and the spirit of Truth hath also assured us that their † ●ames 3. 14 ●5 Wisdome who love contention and delight in strife is earthly sensuall devilish So that carnall policy makes such men like Children to stand upon their heads and to kick with their heels against Heaven and also seriously cunningly and unweariedly both to contrive plot and endeavour their own as well as others ruine witnesse Haman Absalom and many others Let O Lord piety for this is the best yea the only reall prudence and policy sit at the Helme of that Royall and impregnable Ship thy truly catholick Church and of this sinfull shaking divided unsetled reeling and rebellious Nation in particular once a beautiful Rachel but since a blear-ey'd Leah once a fair and lovely Sarah but since a foul and leprous Miriam yet still blessed be thy Name a true member thereof Let truth and righteousnesse as her hands guide and steer her by the Compasse of thy Holy Word Let O Lord peace and unity be her sailes and let the sweet and pleasant Gales of brotherly l●ve tranquillity and Christian charity fill them Let whatever Jonas whatever abomination or accursed thing it is that raises the overturning Tempests of thy wrath and fury