Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	call_v	name_n	write_v	6,549	5	5.6975	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29247	Apostolick charity, its nature and excellence consider'd in a discourse upon Dan. 12. 3, preached at St. Pauls, Decemb. 19, 1697 at the ordination of some Protestant missionaries to be sent into the plantations : to which is prefixt, A general view of the English colonies in America, with respect to religion : in order to shew what provision is wanting for the propagation of Christianity in those parts / by Thomas Bray, D. D.	Bray, Thomas, 1658-1730.	1698 (1698)	Wing B4285; ESTC R6508	16,290	44

Charities which directly tending to the Everlasting Happiness of the Souls of Men must be as far beyond what terminate only on this Mortal Life as the Soul is more Excellent than the Body and as an Eternal is to be preferred to a Temporal Felicity But not to insist on this The Advantage of being thus Instrumental in Turning many to Righteousness lies here That it is not only in the present Generation that such are thus serviceable to the Souls of Men but in all Ages to come and when they shall be long dead they will yet speak and so speak as to have a Share in all the Conversions which shall be made by Vertue and through the Assistance of that Stock which they have laid up for the Promoting of Religion and Learning And especially the Erecting of Libraries of necessary and useful Books in Divinity is of all others a necessary Provision for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge For why The Priests Lips should preserve Knowledge because the People are to seek the Law at his Mouth Mal. ii 7. And the Measures of Knowledge a Minister is to be Master of must be necessarily such as shall enable him to give his People an entire View of the whole Scheme of Christian Doctrine in that Connexion wherein one part of it depends upon another and for want of which the Generality of Christians are so ignorant of the true Nature and Design of Christianity Farther a Pastor must throughly understand the Nature Terms and Conditions of the Covenant of Grace and the Nature of Christ's Mediation through which it was obtain'd More particulary yet he must be able clearly to explain and fully to prove each Article of his Christian Faith many of which not being obvious to our Natural Reason but capable of Proof only from the Scriptures he must be well vers'd in the Language and Manner of Speaking of the Holy Pen-Men before they can be so explain'd and prov'd And he must be able to state exactly the Nature and Extent of Christian Duties which Knowledge depending upon a right Understanding of the Nature and different Obligations of all those many sorts of Laws Natural Divine and Humane which regulate and direct our Duties This is a part of Knowledge as extensive as it is necessary All which Premises being duly consider'd and withall that we cannot now work Miracles and that Inspiration is no part of our Talent but that we are left to the Ordinary means of Converting the World namely the Common Measures of God's Holy Spirit accompanying our hard Study It must therefore clearly follow that those Persons will be reputed to have no small share in this Blessed Work who shall lay such a Foundation of Christian Knowledge as without which Humanely speaking it is not possible the Pastors of Christ's Church should feed their Flock with necessary Instruction Thirdly And now I am to shew you That it will be found one day the highest pitch of Wisdom to have been Instrumental in this Blessed Work of Turning many to Righteousness It is the part of Wisdom to propose to it self a Good End and then to pursue it by due and proper Means And proportionably as the End is more or less excellent and the Means more or less adapted to carry it on in the same degree is a Man's Wisdom to be judg'd greater or less with relation to it Now here the End is incomparably excellent beyond any other that can be nam'd For why to Turn many to Righteousness is in effect to consult and that in the highest Manner the Honour and Glory of God and the greatest Good and Happiness of Mankind than which nothing can be thought of more Excellent To Turn many to Righteousness you have also seen is to dispossess Satan of an unrighteous Usurpation he has made upon God's Dominion over his own Creatures and it is to reduce them under the Government of their Rightful Lord and Master And can any thing be more glorious than such an Achievement And it is so to rectifie the corrupt and sinful Nature of Men and to bring them under the Direction of such Laws as alone can make them happy And what is it to be a Benefactor if this be not Nor can any Means be more worthy and great and better fitted to the Purposes propos'd than those we have consider'd For let the whole Nation let the Clergy and such as have Wealth and Substance set heartily about it and the Work is done This in short is to be wise to Salvation and alas what is the Wisdom of this World in comparison with this What an Ideot is David's Fool who when he might make to himself Friends in Heaven of the Mammon of Unrighteousness heaps up to himself Riches not knowing who shall gather them And who is wholly solicitous to find out some one from whom he might call his Lands after his own Name fondly thinking that by this means his Houses shall continue for ever and his Dwelling-Places to all Generations When by such Charities to the Souls of Men as have been mentioned he might provide that his Name be written in the Book of Life Which brings me to the last thing propos'd and shews that to Turn many to Righteousness is the highest Wisdom because that Fourthly Such will be the most Gloriously rewarded Besides the Proposing of a Good End and the Prosecuting of it by due and proper Means there is something yet farther wanting to compleat the Wisdom of our Actions and that is to do all in the Prospect of an excellent Reward And here as the End viz. the Glory of God and the Good of Mankind is the most transcendently Glorious and the Means propos'd in order to accomplish it are what do most become Christians in their several Stations and according to their several Abilities so the Reward that will Crown all this is here in my Text spoke to be such as is not in the power of Words to express a greater They that are wise shall shine as the Brightness of the Firmament and they that turn many to Righteousness as the Stars for ever and ever And indeed as of all other Sinners those will be the most exquisitely punish'd who shall any ways corrupt and deprave the Principles and Manners of Mankind So of all the Righteous Servants of God those will be exalted to the highest degrees of Glory who shall be most industrious in the Instruction and Conversion of Men. I say of all other Sinners those will be the most exquisitely punish'd who shall any ways corrupt and deprave the Principles and Manners of Mankind Such as do sow ill Principles and do any ways discourage and discountenance Piety and Vertue are said to put a Stumbling-block and to be an Occasion to fall in their Brother's way Rom. xiv 13. And wo to that Man saith our Saviour by whom the Offence cometh For whoso shall offend one of the meanest of those that believe in him it were better for him that a

Milstone were hanged about his Neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the Sea Matt. xviii 6 7. And a most emphatical Threatning this is to all those wicked Instruments of Uunrighteousness abroad in the World who make it their Business and seem to be intent upon this very thing It is sad enough to have one self done or acted wickedly But whosoever shall not only break tho' it be one of the least Commandments but shall teach Men so he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven Matt. v. 19. that is none at all He shall be cast out of it and punish'd as one of those who are the greatest Enemies to it There is in the Words a vast deal more to be understood than is express'd as is usual both in the Sacred Writings and in profane Authors so that the Case of those Men is most dreadfully and desperately bad who by profane atheistical and lewd Discourse or whatever other evil Communications do corrupt good Principles and Manners But above all others it is a dreadful thing to consider what will be the Doom of those Men who by wicked Books such as both Atheists Deists Socinians and Antinomians do now to the Reproach of our Church and Nation daily publish amongst us It is dreadful I say to consider what will befall such in the End What Evil of this Nature is done only by Discourse is but transciently bad and may ruine the Souls only of some few of their unfortunate Companions But the wicked Principles which are propagated by Books are lasting Mischiefs from whence as from a Pandora's Box fly out those Plagues and Mortal Diseases that can never be recall'd and will spread Destruction and Ruine amongst the Souls of Men to the World's End And indeed it is hard to say what Measures of Repentance may be sufficient for these Men. The Repentance they must come to or be everlastingly and immeasurably Undone must be such as comes not under the ordinary Definitions given that great Condition of our Salvation It is not a private Grief and Sorrow nor barely an Amendment for the future will be sufficient to reconcile such to God But as the Dishonours done to the Great Creator by their means are never likely to end but with the World so the Reparations to be made for these kind of Affronts and Injuries to Christ's Kingdom must be by a Recantation as publick and lasting as the Nature of the Offence is And the exacting of such a Repentance as this I must needs recommend to you my Brethren who are entring to day into the Ministry when-ever you are called to the Sick Bed of any notorious Atheist or Deist whatsoever And this was the Resolution of a very eminent Bishop of our Church in the Case of one of a considerable figure amongst them after he had written his Book de Veritate You are the Stewards of the Mysteries of God so that you cannot with Fidelity to your Great Master dispence the Sacrament of Reconciliation to those who have erected lasting Batteries against his Kingdom till they themselves by a like publick Recantation shall have pull'd them down with their own hands So that you see the very Repentance of those who shall Turn many to Unrighteousness is a hard and fearful Discipline And what then How much beyond the common Measures will the Punishment of those amongst them be who shall remain Impenitent And indeed it is but reasonable to believe that the Case will be vastly different betwixt those who have only in their own Persons transgrest the Laws of God and such who make a Party and fight the Devil's Battels against Him These Men must be supposed to be first at perfect Enmity with Him and their whole Nature must be envenom'd against Him and therefore it cannot be expected but that the Fury of his Wrath and the very Dregs of his Anger will be poured out against such And now if of all other Sinners those will be the most exquisitely punish'd who shall any ways corrupt and deprave the Principles and Manners of Mankind then by parity of Reason of all the Righteous Servants of God those will be exalted to the highest degrees of Glory who shall be most industrious in the Instruction and Conversion of Men or shall lay the Foundation of Christian Knowledge or Contribute toward the Promoting of it For this we need no other Testimony than that remarkable place of St. James v. 20. Know that he which converteth a Sinner from the Error of his Ways shall save a Soul from Death and shall cover a Multitude of Sins These Words speak such a Regard to the Charitable Endeavours of those who do any ways promote or do Labour in the Instruction and Conversion of Sinners that through the Merits and Satisfaction of Christ by which only it is that God becomes propitious to our best Performances this kind of Charity will be had in no mean Consideration when God shall take Cognizance of our Sins and Failures And if the Converting of one Sinner shall be so consider'd what Glories will await those who Turn many to Righteousness I cannot possibly express them in any higher Words than those of my Text in which alone there is a force and lustre like to the Rewards themselves which they bespeak And proportionably as the Assistances given to Turn many to Righteousness shall be most extensive and lasting in the same measure we must suppose the degrees of Glory will be alotted to such Piety And therefore since next to what the Apostles did by their personal Labours and inspir'd Writings to Convert Mankind to God scarcely any thing can be thought of a more direct and immediate Tendency to the same Glorious and Blessed End than to lay up those Magazines of Christian Knowledge on the Confines of Satan's Kingdom out of which the Ministers of God's Word may be constantly supply'd both with the Food of Souls and with that Spiritual Armour wherewith they may carry on the War with Success so as at length to drive that Arch-Rebel out of those vast Territories he now possesses It will therefore follow that those pious Persons will most effectually consult their future Happiness and provide best for an Exalted Glory who shall expend most in fixing Libraries of necessary and useful Books in Divinity in order to the Instruction both of Minister and People Such indeed cannot be said by so doing to hazard their Persons in the Converting of Mankind and so may not be entitled thereby to the Reward of Martyrs and Confessors But however they may be much more instrumental in Turning many to Righteousness even than those who actually labour in the Work it self because that in effect it will be they who shall Preach Catechize and Instruct those Parts of the World as well in future as in the present Age. It is they will be the Fountain we shall be only the Conduit-Pipes through which the Waters of Life will be convey'd to the