Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	great_a	life_n	write_v	5,211	5	5.2860	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A74993	Certain select discourses on those most important subjects, requisite to be well understood by a catechist in laying the foundation of Christian knowledge in the minds of novitiates viz., First discourses on I. The doctrine of the two covenants both legal and evangelical, II. On faith and justification / by William Allen. Secondly, Discourses on I. The covenant of grace, or baptismal covenant, being chatechetical lectures on the preliminary questions and answers of the Church-Catechism : II. Three catechetical lectures on faith and justification / by Thomas Bray, D.D.	Allen, William, d. 1686.; Bray, Thomas, 1658-1730.	1699 (1699)	Wing A1055A; ESTC R172154	614,412	564

the several Points both Doctrinal and Moral How can it be expected any Minister should sufficiently discharge his Duties by thus instructing them without the Supplies of such Books written on the several Subjects both general and particular No it is not possible out of the mean Profits of most Parishes scarce sufficient to provide the mere Necessaries of Life he should be capable to buy himself such necessary Helps It was for these Reasons thought a great Work of Piety or Charity to the Souls of Men not the least wanted in this Nation where there are more Cures of Souls unprovided of necessary Maintenance than in any Establish'd Church perhaps throughout Christendom to furnish as many as possible with Parochial Libraries Some of which tho' slenderly provided of Books at first may probably in time become well replenish'd And as such Parochial Libraries are form'd in the main Part thereof the Didactical on the Plan of the Doctrine of the Covenant consider'd both in its general Nature and its particular Terms both Mercies on God's Part and Conditions to be perform'd on ours on the Means by which we shall be enabled to perform our Covenant Engagement On the Seals of the Covenant and on Repentance after Breach thereof And the first general Doctrine in such Plan being the Doctrine of the Two Covenants on which Subject Mr. ALLEN having written so judiciously in the following Tracts as not to be omitted in any one Library and is therefore so material an Ingredient in the whole Collection so it was thought not improper here to give some Account thereof and with what View it has been publish'd so as to appear Introductory as it were to all that follows As to the Discourse on Faith annext to his Discourse on the Two Covenants that also has its peculiar Excellency as coming from the Pen of so judicious a Person And being so stated by him as not to exclude Conditions in the Covenant necessary to be perform'd on our Part in order to our Justification through CHRIST is very requisite to be perus'd in order to the better understanding the Covenant it self and was therefore annex'd by the Author himself to his former Discourse on the Two Covenants A DISCOURSE OF THE Nature Ends and Difference OF THE Two Covenants THE mistake of the unbelieving Jews about the true import of God's Promise to Abraham and of the Law of Moses was a principal cause of the rejecting Christ and his Gospel and their own Salvation thereby To rectifie which mistake the Apostle St. Paul used various Reasonings according to the various Errors contained in it In which Reasonings of his there being some things hard to be understood there are others again which probably mistaking the Apostles reasonings against the Jewish Notion of Justification by Works ran into a contrary Extream thinking they might be Saved by Faith without Works as on the conrary the incredulous Jews thought they might be Saved by Works without Faith And if many in our days had not run into somewhat alike Extream through a misunderstanding also of the Apostles Writings labour and pains would not have been so necessary as now they are to rectifie their mistake and to prevent it in others To the end therefore that the plain Truth may the better appear touching God's Promise to Abraham touching the Law of Moses and the Apostles arguings about these I shall very briefly endeavour these seven Things I. To open the Nature and Design of God's Promise to Abraham And to shew II. For what end the Law was added to the Promise III. By what Faith and Practice the Iews under the Law were saved IV. That the Law contained a Covenant different from that with Abraham V. The grand mistakes of the unbelieving Iews and St. Paul's counter-arguings touching both the Law and the Promise VI. The Mistake of some pretended Christians in the Apostles days Touching the Doctrine of Justification by Faith without Works VII That the Doctrine of St. Paul and St. James about Faith and Works in reference to Justification do not differ I shall begin with the first of these CHAP. I. The Nature and Design of God's Promise to Abraham I Shall endeavour to open the Nature and Design of God's Promise to Abraham Which Promise is also called the Covenant Act. 3.25 Gal. 3.17 In doing of which these eight things will come under consideration 1. What the Nature of this Promise is in general 2. What the Design of it is 3. What are the special Benefits promised 4. What the Extent of it is 5. The Security given by God for the performance of it 6. That this Promise was Conditional 7. What the Condition of it was 8. What we are to understand by God's accounting Abraham's Faith to him for Righteousness Sect. 1. Of the Nature of it in general This Promise I take to be of the same nature with that which in the Gospel is called the New-Covenant It 's true indeed they greatly differ in the Administration the one being but general implicite and obscure and the other more particular express and perspicuous But though in this they differ yet in their general nature they agree in one and are the same For 1. This Covenant as delivered to Abraham was confirmed in Christ as well as the Gospel afterwards Gal. 3.17 and that 's a Character of the New-Covenant Mat. 26.28 2. The Gospel is said to have been Preached to Abraham in the Promise that was made him Gal. 3.8 3. He was justified by Faith which he could not have been but by vertue of a New-Covenant And it was by Faith in the Promise made to him by God by which he was justified Which two things supposed it necessarily follows That that Promise was of the Nature of the New-Covenant 4. St. Paul argues against the erroneous Jews in his Epistles to the Romans and Galatians the necessity of Evangelical Faith unto Justification now under the Gospel from Abraham's being justified by Faith and from God's setting him forth for a Pattern and Example to all after-Ages of his justifying both Jews and Gentiles upon the Condition of Believing The strength of which arguing seems to depend upon this supposition That the Promise by the belief of which Abraham was then justified and the Promise in the Gospel by the belief of which Men are now justified do both agree and are one in the general nature of them And upon these grounds and under this notion of the Promise to Abraham I intend to discourse of it But when I consider for what reason he that is least in the Kingdom of God is said to be greater than John the Baptist though not Abraham himself nor any of the Prophets were greater than he and when I consider likewise how ignorant the Apostles were for a time touching the necessity of the Death and Resurrection of Christ notwithstanding the many plainer Revelations thereof in the Prophets than we find Abraham had I cannot I confess think that Abraham had or

Flames whom his ill Example or vicious Conversation or base and corrupting Flatteries in wicked Courses or Discouragements to Vertue or Encouragements to Sin have sent there never to be Retriev'd It is an Injury to men's Souls in some Cases hardly ever in others impossible to be Repair'd It is an Injury to Men's Souls in some Cases hardly ever in others impossible to be Repair'd If his Temptations have been of that sort as to reach no farthar than he was Known or was Conversant a very Eminent and very signal Repentance may in some measure put a stop to the Contagion thereof so that they spread no farther tho' not that altogether for some perhaps whom he has Corrupted will never be Reclaim'd tho' he be never so great a Penitent and Labour himself never so much their Conversion But if his Temptations have been of that more spreading and lasting Kind now spoke and he has been One that has Wrote Ill Books been a Broacher of Pestilent Heresies an Author of lewd Plays or wanton and prophane Verse the Mischief and Poyson of such Temptations do fly beyond his Recalling and tho' he may Burn 'em with his own Hands yet others will Rake 'em out of the Ashes And it is the Opinion of some of the Ancients that such Temptations as these will affect his Happiness even in Heaven it self insomuch that according as the Mischief thereof does daily spread and more do continue to be Damn'd thereby proportionably such a One will still fall thereupon lower and lower in Glory I know nothing in Reason or Religion that contradicts this Opinion However it be certainly it is the highest Misfortune can befal any One that he is or ever has been amongst that Rank of Sinners whom the Scripture does so peculiarly Stile the Wicked and that because of their so near Resemblance to the Tempter himself These are the Persons by whom Offences come and it is a terrible Threatning that of our Saviour's Matth. 18.6 to such Who so shall offend one of these little Ones which believe in me that is any-wise Tempt Gall Discourage drive from the Faith and Practice of a Christian any the meanest Person that comes to me whoso shall do this It were better for him that a Mill-stone were hanged about his Neck and he were cast into the midst of the Sea So that of all things in the World it concerns you to take care ye never become Tempters of others to Sin and either to omit that which is Good or to commit that which is Evil. Secondly Nor does it less concern you to refuse Conforming your selves to wicked Men when they shall Tempt you II. We must refuse to Conform our selves to wicked Men when they shall Tempt us viz. which they will do when either First by their ill Examples they shall Influence you or Secondly by falling into their Company they shall Entice you or Thirdly by their Flatteries they shall Corrupt you or Fourthly by their Discouragements to Vertue and Encouragements to Sin they shall Engage you or Fifthly by their Perswasions they would Prevail upon you or Lastly by their Customs would Constrain you to Sin And I will shew you how by all means you must Renounce or Refuse to Conform your selves unto their evil Ways in any of these Cases And First That you must renounce I. By their evil Examples or refuse to Conform your selves to the evil Examples of wicked Men which would Influence you to Sin It has been ever observ'd that Examples have a much greater Influence than Precepts Examples have the greatest Influence upon us especially and that most are readier to do what they see than what they hear More particularly there is a great Inclination in us to follow the Examples of Sin especially if many if the Examples of those for whom we have an high Esteem and of whom we do stand in great Awe And First We are especially inclin'd to follow the Examples of Sin I. If Examples of Sin For Sin is what our Corrupt Nature is of it self dispos'd to and if moreover Examples do come in to help us forward these will highten our Desires and silence our Consciences and give us some plausible Pretence to Sin It looks like some Act of Modesty and Self-denial to deny our own private Judgment and to go along with the Croud when our Flesh is craving and our Lusts are up it is a strange Encouragement to us to Sin in Company and fulfil ' em This heartens us against our Fears and abates the Dread of Punishment which would follow the Satisfaction of our Lusts Now if we are punisht for 'em it will not be we alone and it is a Comfort to have Fellows in Miseries and a Man dares both do and suffer many things in Company which he would have been dis-hearten'd to have ventur'd on singly But Secondly We are still more hearten'd to Sin if the Examples thereof are Common and Many II. If common and many For why Besides that there is a great deal of Proneness and Propension in all our Natures to Vice and Wickedness the only Restraint upon our Inclinations that we break not out suddenly into all Exorbitancy of Ungodliness is as inwardly from the Innate Turpitude and Baseness of Sin So outwardly from the burning and shining Lights and glorious Examples of Vertue that are abroad in the World Now our inward sense of the Filthiness of Sin soon ceases when we see it Practic'd by the most and those as shrew'd and as wise Persons as our selves and from without there can be no upbraiding and ill Report in giving swing to our naughty Desires if Vice has once got its Multitudes of Followers and the Generality of Men of its side Thirdly But farther yet Examples of Sin are very Contagious if they are the Examples of such for whom we have a great Esteem III. If of such for whom we have a great Esteem Persons of all Sects and Parties in Religion fix upon some in their own way as very excellent Persons and exact Patterns fit to be imitated in all they do as if Men were not Men still and the Best were not subject to Mistake and Failing whatever Duty of Christianity these Men whom they particularly Admire seem to have but a small regard to they do not think it at all necessary because such a Good Man would not if it were be wanting in it they think And so as to any sinful Practice on the other side Why should I scruple to do so and so thou wilt say when such a One and I am sure he understands what he does sticks not to do the like He is a wise Man a good Man nay and a Scholar and yet does so and so nor does he fear going to Heaven for all that Fourthly But above all the Examples of Sin are the most prevalent when they are backt with the Authority of those whom we stand in awe of IV. If of