Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
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A62326
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Twelve sermons upon several occasions by Samuel Scattergood ...
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Scattergood, Samuel, 1646-1696.
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1700
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Wing S845; ESTC R39513
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116,309
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shewed to S. Peter when he turned and looked upon him after his fall and by that look infused new Grace into his Heart which immediately burst out at his Eyes in tears of repentance Let us not therefore be high minded but let us fear for happy is the Man that feareth alway but he that hardneth his heart shall fall into mischief Proverbs 28.14 Secondly if we will take heed that we fall not from Grace let us take heed that we fall not into Sin especially into presumptuous and willful Sin against the light of our conscience All Sin whatsoever though it be but a Sin of Ignorance or Infirmity tends more or less if it be not speedily repented of to the impairing and diminishing of the Grace of God in our Hearts which is bestowed upon us on purpose to preserve and defend us from the power of Sin that it may not Reign in our mortal Bodies that we should obey it in the lusts thereof But Sins of Presumption and Wilfulness against our knowledge and the checks of our conscience do not only much impair Grace but they totally exstinguish it and bring us into great danger of final Apostacy For there can be no fellowship betwixt Righteousness and Unrighteousness no Communion betwixt Light and Darkness no Concord betwixt Christ and Belial no Agreement nor Cohabitation of the Spirit of God and Satan And therefore David prays most earnestly against such Sins as these Psal 19.13 Keep back thy Servant from presumptuous Sins let them not have domminion over me then shall I be upright and I shall be innocent from the great Transgression And how deadly a wound such Sins make in the conscience God for our instruction that his example might be a warning to us to beware of the like Sins suffered him to find by a sad Experience That premeditated wilful Murder of one of his innocent subjects changed the Man after God's own Heart into one after the Heart of him who was a murderer from the beginning and made him such an one as Satan would have all Men to be if he could prevail It is impossible while he was in this Condition that he should find any comfort in the performance of his Devotions if he did then perform any at all His Hand his Tongue his Heart were all out of tune all unfit for the Celebration of God's Praises in which they were wo … continually to be imployed Even his own sacred Hymns and Anthems were nauseous to him and the sweet Psalmist of Israel was become a stranger to the songs of Sion Grace was then lost and Sin reigned in him the Spirit of God had for that Time forsaken him and Satan had taken Possession of his Soul Let us take heed then of presumptuous and wilful Sins and every habitual Sin is a step towards them they wrought a sad change in David but they may work a worse in us God was pleased to raise him again but if we fall after the same manner he may perhaps deny the same Favour to us and then our Case is irrecoverable Thirdly If we will take heed that we fall not from Grace let us endeavour daily to grow in it and improve it So S. Peter exhorts us in the end of his Second Epistle Ye therefore beloved seeing ye know these things before beware lest ye also being led away with the errour of the wicked fall from your own steadfastness But grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ He that thinks he hath Grace enough already hath indeed very little or none at all but blessed are they that hunger and thirst after Righteousness for they shall be filled The path of the just saith Solomon is as the shining Light that shineth more and more unto the perfect Day Prov. 4.18 And our blessed Saviour compares the Kingdom of Heaven by which is meant the Grace of God in our Hearts unto a grain of mustard seed which though it be less than all the seeds that be in the earth yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes a tree So likewise should the Grace of God grow and increase in our Hearts and so it will do if it be not purely by our own fault hindered and stifled That we may not therefore fall from Grace let us be careful to improve that Grace which God hath already bestowed upon us by waiting upon him duly and constantly in all those Ordinances which he hath appointed for the begetting preserving and increasing it in our Souls such as are diligent Reading and Meditating in his Word at home hearing it preached and expounded in his House frequent receiving the Holy Sacrament and praying unto God continually both in private and publick as our Church teaches us that his Grace may always prevent and follow us and make us continually to be given to all good Works He that doth these things in Truth and sincerity shall never fall God will never leave nor forsake such a Man but will be sure to guide him with his Counsel here and afterward receive him to Glory FINIS BOOKS Printed for and Sold by John Hartley over-against Grays-Inn in Holborn A Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris with an Answer to the Objections of the Honourable Charles Boyle Esq By Richard Bentley D. D. Master of Trinity College in Cambridge Chaplain in Ordinary and Library-keeper to His Majesty 8vo Price 6 s. The History and Fate of Sacrilege discover'd by Examples of Scripture of Heathens and of Christians from the beginning of the World continually to this Day By Sir Henry Spelman Kt. Wrote in the Year 1632. A Treatise omitted in the late Edition of his Posthumous Works and now publish'd for the Terrour of Evil Doers To which is added an Historical Account of the beginners of a Monastick Life in Asia Africa and Europe By Sir Roger Twisden Kt. and Baronet Price 4 s. Catalogus Universalis Librorum in omni Facultate Linguaque Graeca praesertim insignium rarissimorum non solum ex Catalogis Bibliothecarum Bodleianae Lugduno-Batavae Ultrajectinae Barberinae Thuanae Cordesianae Tellerianae Slusianae Heinsianae sed etiam ex omnibus fere aliis prelo impressis magno labore sumptu in usum Studiosorum collectus Cura J. H. 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The true Character of the Spirit and Principles of Socinianism drawn out of their Writings With some additional Proofs of the Most Holy Trinity of our Lord's and of the Holy Ghost's Divinity By J. Gailhard Gent. Price 2 s. The Principles of the Christian Religion briefly explain'd together with the Scriptures on which they are grounded By Archbishop Usher Now fully corrected and much enlarged Also a Summary of the same by the incomparable Judge Hale To which is added the Catechism and Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England containing the true Doctrine thereof Very necessary and profitable for all Persons and proper to be given away by such who are charitably enclin'd The Second Edition Price 3 d. per Book and 20 s. for a Hundred Verdicts of the Learned concerning Virgil's and Homer's Heroick Poems Quarto Price 6 d. Regular and Irregular Thoughts in Poets and Orators Quarto Price 6 d. Utopia Written in Latin by Sir Thomas More Chancellor of England Translated into English by Bishop B. Antonii le Grand Dissertatio de Ratione Cognoscendi Appendix de Mutatione Formali cum Castigationibus Errorum Calumniarum Praevaricationum quibus J. S. in duobus Libris quorum prior Methodus sciendi alter Solida Philosophia intitulatur Cartesium Malbranchium Ideistas quos vocat Omnes Immo Aristotelem si non Deum ipsum multa cum Futilitate nec minore Fastu nuperrime adortus est Price 2 s. * ⎠* There is now going to the Press and will be speedily Publish'd Justin's Abridgment of Trogus Pompeius's Universal History With some Geographical and Critical Annotations and a Dissertation about the Author Done into English for the Use of his Highness the Duke of Gloucester By Mr. T. Brown
by us in her Morning Service that so we might be continually put in mind of this duty and be careful always to behave our selves Humbly Reverently and Devoutly in the House of God Thirdly It is necessary that we worship God with our Body for the satisfaction both of Men and Angels It is the peculiar Prerogative of God that he only can discern the secret Thoughts and Intentions of our Hearts and therefore though a private Ejaculation of our Soul wherein our Body is not at all concerned may be very acceptable and well-pleasing in his sight at other times yet in the time of our Publick Devotions in the Church the case is otherwise For there both Men and Angels are Spectators of our Piety neither of which can judge of the Sincerity of it any otherwise than by our outward Behaviour which if it be devout and reverent they will conclude that our Soul is so too and will gladly joyn with us in our publick Worship of that God who is the common Lord and Master of us all But if otherwise not only all good Men will take offence at our Prophaneness but we shall much more offend those blessed Spirits and provoke them to loath and abhorr our Religious Assemblies which delight to frequent them so long as they observe that we behave our selves so that they may plainly discern our inward Piety by our outward Deportment And for this reason St. Paul forbids Men to be covered in the Church and Women to be uncovered because of the Angels 1 Cor. 11. The Angels cannot endure to behold any such indecency and disorder in the Church but are highly displeased at it as a thing that tends much to the dishonour of God and most evidently discovers that such persons as are guilty of it are destitute of true Religion for it cannot be imagined that when every little Passion of our Mind causes more or less some visible alteration in our Body that Religion which is the noblest Passion with which our Soul can be affected and that too at that very time when we come with a pretence to profess it openly before Men and Angels in God's own House should cause no alteration at all but that our Body all this while should sit as unconcerned as one of the Pillars of the Church No certainly if our Soul were truly humbled as it ought to be before the Throne of Grace it would command the Body to humble it self likewise to uncover the Head and bend the Knee to lift up the Eyes and the Hands and to bear it company with a devout and reverent behaviour of all its Members in its Suit and Supplication to the Divine Majesty Therefore as St. James exhorts us to shew our Faith by our Works so likewise let us shew the Devotion of our Soul by that of our Body For as Faith without Works is dead so is inward Piety especially in the time of God's Publick Service in the Church dead also except it be accompanied by bodily Worship Lastly That God is to be worshipped with our Body as well as with our Soul is evident from the universal consent and practice of Mankind in all Ages all Nations and Countries of the World whatsoever Not only Christians but Jews Mahometans Heathens and Pagans all agree in this point that Divine Worship is to be performed by our Body as well as by our Soul And therefore those Men that imagin Bodily Worship to be needless in the Service of God and behave themselves accordingly do in effect render themselves no better than Monsters not only to be wondered at but even to be abhorred in that particular by all the rest of Mankind and certainly an honest Pagan being before acquainted with the Custom of our Country which obliges us to uncover our Heads and to stand bare in the presence of our betters though but mortal Men like our selves should he come into some of our Churches and observe Men sitting irreverently with their Hats on in the House of God even at the very time when they are receiving a Message concerning their everlasting Salvation from the Mouth of his Ambassadour would stand astonished and exclaim against Christianity as the most impious and profane Religion in the World that allowed men to be hail fellow well met with that God whom they pretend to worship shewing him less respect and reverence even in his own House than they ordinarily pay to a Man that is but a little their Superiour either in Estate or Quality And I would fain have those persons that dare be thus impudent in the presence of the Almighty answer me this one Question Whether they would do the same thing in case they should see God visibly sitting upon his Throne of Glory or in case they should see the Lord Jesus coming in the Clouds of Heaven attended with all his Angels If in this case they would fall down and worship as I question not but that they would I know no reason why they should not likewise behave themselves with a profound Reverence and Devotion both of Body and Soul in the Church which is the place of God's special and extraordinary presence and is when we behave our selves in it as we ought a lively emblem and representation of Heaven it self and then surely it is but reasonable that we that sit at God's Foot-stool here on Earth should uncover our Heads and bend our Knees in his presence when we read that the Holy Angels do no less above casting their Crowns and falling down and worshipping before his Throne in Heaven and if we will not follow their Example now it is greatly to be feared that we shall never be admitted to bear them company hereafter But after all this granting which I hope I have sufficiently proved that bodily Worship of God is necessary it may reasonably be demanded wherein this bodily worship chiefly consists and what Gestures and Ceremonies are to be used by us in our performance of it To which I answer that herein we are to be determined by the Custom of the Countrey wherein we live and the appointment of the Church whereof we are Members In general therefore those Gestures and Ceremonies which by the Custom of our Countrey we are obliged to use in token of civil Honour and Respect in our Addresses to men that are much our Superiours as for Example to the King himself we are to use likewise by way of religious Worship to Almighty God If therefore it be an affront to the King for a Subject to be covered in his presence or to offer a petition ro him in any other posture but upon his Knees reason will tell us that it must needs be a much greater affront to God for any man to put his Hat on in his house or to sit irreverently upon his Seat when the Minister is upon his Knees offering up Prayers and Supplications unto the Throne of Grace in the Name of the whole Congregation Persons that thus mis-behave