Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	day_n	place_n	time_n	1,574	5	3.3545	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61269	A sermon preached at the temple, the Svnday after the church was opened being then newly repaird, adorned and beautified at the joynt expense of the two honorable societies / by John Standish.	Standish, John, d. 1686.	1683 (1683)	Wing S5219; ESTC R33852	11,999	33

own Reverend Name Psal 111.9 who hath signally approved the pious bounty of such as loved our Nation St. Luke 7.5 and built us Synagogues by driving those zealous Mony-changers out of his Temple and restoring the Holy Place to that Primitive use those sacred Offices for which it was at first designed and set apart by solemn Dedication Now from these words of the Evangelist I shall endeavour to resolve these three Enquiries 1. What Feast of Dedication is here spoken of 2. By what warrant the Jews did of old and Christians do since Dedicate Places to Gods Service 3. How far forth and in what sence places thus Dedicated are to be esteemed Holy I. I begin with the first What Feast of Dedication is here spoken of the reason of the doubt is because we read of three several feasts of Dedication kept by the Jews at divers times and different occasions The first was at the dedication of Solomons Temple the solemnity magnificence whereof you may see at large 1 Kin. 8. The 2d was of the second Temple rebuilt out of the Ruines of the first by Zerubbabel after the Jews return from their Captivity at Babylon the story whereof is recorded Ezra ch 6. and then besides those we read of a third Dedication of the Temple and Altar by Judas the Maccabee after Antiochus Epiphanes had defiled and prophaned them with Idoll-sacrifices and all uncleanness 1 Maccab. c. 4. Now that the Feast of Dedication here spoken of was the last of these that by Judas is most evident by these two Reasons 1. It no where appeares that either of the two former Feasts were annually renewed or observed any more then once but of the last we find expresly that Judas and his Brethren ordained that the days of the dedication of the Altar should be kept in their season 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from year to year by the space of eight days 1 Macc. 4.59 2. Admitting though vve need not that the dedication of the first or second Temple or both might be commemorated by an annual feast notwithstanding all records are silent in the case yet that this Feast here spoken of must needs be meant of the dedication of the Altar is further evident from the circumstance of time not omitted by our Evangelist And it was Winter Which punctually accords with the first Institution hereof in the forecited place 1 Macc. 4. where it is said to be in the Moneth Casleu their ninth Month answering to our December whereas Solomon's Temple was dedicated in Autumn in the Moneth Ethanim near our September 1 Kings 8. And the second Temple in the Spring in their twelfth Month called Adar as we read 1 Esdras 7.5 that is about our March The first and least material Enquiry being t●●s briefly and fully resolved I proceed to the Second II. By what Warrant the Jews did of old and Christians do since Dedicate places to Gods service And in order to our resolution hereof it will not be amiss to premise and observe that both Jews and Christians did and have all along de facto erected and dedicated certain Places for GODS Publick Worship 1. It is without dispute and generally acknowledged that the Jews had many other places dedicated to Gods service besides the Temple which from their religious Assemblies there held they commonly called Synagogues Of these their owne Writers tell us there were 480 in Jerusalem and as many with proportion in other Cities The Temple was as it were the Cathedral or Mother-Church Synagogues much like our Parish-Churches or Chappell 's of Ease and this only difference is to be noted between them that the Ceremonial Service of God by Sacrifice Oblations c. was confined to the Temple and unlawfull any where else but his Morall service was common to all Synagouges as well as the Temple For there the Law was solemnly read and expounded to the People and the Peoples prayers offered unto God The only mention made of Synagogues in the old Testament Ps 74.7 8 84.13 is in the Psalmes where they are styled Sanctuaries though the Talmud-Doctors extend that Precept to them also Levit. 19.30 Ye shall observe my Sabbaths and reverence my Sanctuary Whereupon Philo calls them places of secondary holiness to wit in respect of the Temple by vertue and in imitation whereof they were set apart and dedicated to an holy use But then the new Testament is so plain and frequent in telling us that they had divers Synagogues in all their Cities and daily paid their reverence thereto as also of our Saviour's often resorting thither to expound the Law and teach the people that it were superfluous to enlarge further on this Particular Whether in imitation of the Jews or from a Principle of their own natural Law teaching them that whatever God they worshipped they must have some convenient place to do it in is uncertain but this is most certain that the very Heathen themselves did generally erect Magnificent Temples and Altars not only at Rome Ephesus and Athens where one we find inscribed TO THE VNKNOWN GOD and other famous Cities but almost every where throughout the World Only some wandering Scythians are said to have none the reason was because they had no Houses of their own but like salvage creatures rambled daily from one place to another And of all other Sects of Philosophers only the Stoicks forbad building of Temples either out of derision of that vulgar error that Deities were kept prisoners and confined within those Walls or else out of the singular dissenting humor of that Sect whereby they counted the general practice of others a laudable and sufficient ground for their contrary opinion But then 2. The practice of Christians is most clear from the best Historians that they built and separated places for Gods publick Service from time to time when the persecutions of the Age did not restrain them Saint Luke observes that in the Apostles days they broke Bread Acts 2. that is celebrated the Holy Sacrament from house to house Beza may be my Author that He there means Houses set apart to that purpose And yet Dr. Hammond hath more probably conjectured that the Phrase 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is no more than 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the House that is the House of God the Temple where the same Saint Luke had said before they were continually St. Luke 24. and that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or upper room where the Apostles were assembled Acts 1.13 was one of those Chambers belonging to the Temple spoken of in 1 Chron. 28.11 which they devoted to the publick exercise of their Religion till the Jews maliciously turned them out However it is reasonable to believe that those vast summes of money laid down at the Apostles feet were not so wholly expended upon the poor Acts 4.35 but a competent part was reserved to maintain the Decency of Gods Service in the Sanctuary It