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book_n	holy_a	scripture_n	teach_v	2,798	5	6.1836	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96524	Two treatises concerning I. God's all-sufficiency, and II. Christ's preciousness Being the substance of some sermons long since preached in the University of Oxford. By Henry Wilkinson, D.D. Then principal of Magdalen-Hall, Oxon.	Wilkinson, Henry, 1616-1690.	1681 (1681)	Wing W2240A; ESTC R230884	231,748	498

Stone of Stumbling and a Rock of Offence 1 Pet. 2. ● even to them which stumble at the Word being disobedient Unbelievers undervalue Christ and reject his Gospel and refuse the Salvation tendered therein These are they that strike at the Root of Religion For they endeavour to make the Gospel no better then a Fable nor Christ any whit better than an Impostor Unbelievers are such high presumptuous Sinners as they presumptuously put the Lie upon God himself 1 John 5. 10. He that Believeth not God hath made him a Lyar because he believes not the Record that God gave of his Son It 's a high affront to put the Lie upon a Man and the giving of the Lie hath oftimes caused sad Quarrals but how much higher an Affront and Indignation is it to give God the Lie and so doth every one who believes not the Gospel of Jesus Christ Farther to aggravate Aggravations of the Sin of Unbelief Aggrav 1. Unbelief binds the hands of God the Sin of Unbelief I shall lay down these Aggravations 1. Unbelief that I may speak with reverence binds the Hands of God and after a sort obstructs his Proceedings for Proof whereof read Matth. 13. 58. And he did not many works there because of their Vnbelief God will not cast away his Mercy upon Unbelievers who undervalue them Christ immediately left the Gadarens assoon as they prefer'd an unanimous Petition for his departure Their Unbelief caused them to put a higher value upon their Swine than upon a Aggrav 2. Unbelief hinders the Efficacy of every Duty Jesus 2. Unbelief obstructs and hinders the efficacy and benefit of every duty we per form For Instance In praying we have no hopes to speed unless we pray in Faith though Prayer is an Ordinance of Gods own appointing yet Prayer obtains no acceptance unless it be put up in Faith The Promise is made only to Believers Matth. 21. 22. And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in Prayer believing ye shall receive And so for hearing Unbelief is the cause of unprofitable hearing Heb. 4. 2. The Word Preached did not profit them not being mixt with Faith in them that heard it In a word nothing is accepted as comeing from an Unbeliever For what ever he doth he spoils in the doing for want of Faith For whatsoever is not of Faith is Rom. 14. 23. Aggrav 2. Infidelity is accompanied with a Fraternity of Sins 1. A theisme is a Companion of Unbelief Sin 3. Infidelity is compared with a fraternity of Sins and Abominations Amongst many I shall only instance in three viz. Atheisme Hardness of Heart and Apostacy 1. For Atheism Unbelief is the cause of it Did Men believe the Word of God they durst not live without God in the World There are two sorts of Atheists There are speculative Atheists such who deny God and his Works of Creation and Providence and the Immortality of the Soul They will believe no farther than sense and yet if they had their senses exercised they would believe that their is a God by a visible demonstration of his Works of Creation and Providence The Book of Nature proves that there is a God but how God is to be Worshipped in Christ this is taught only in the Book of Holy Scriptures When a Man denied a Deity a Philosopher would bid him walk out of doors and look about him For the goodly Expansum of the Heavens and the Earth hanging upon nothing plainly prove that there is a God Psal 19. 1. Job 26. 7. A second sort of Aiheists are Practical who live in all manner of wickedness they neither fear Heaven nor Hell Death nor Judgment they run into all excess of Riot adding Iniquity unto Iniquity and so treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of Wrath. Now unbelief is that Root that brings forth the Gall and Wormewood of speculative and practical Atheism For did Men in serious composed thoughts consider that there is a Holy God before whose Judgment Seat we must all appear and from which there is no appeal they would than abhor all Atheism both in Opinion and Practice What caused Pharoah to answer so Atheistically to Moses but his Unbelief Exod. 5. 2. And Pharoah said who is the Lord that I should obey his Voice to let Israel go I know not the Lord thus Atheistically he spoke Neither will I let them go This is the Language of desperate Unbelievers 2. Infidelity is accompanied with hardness 2. Hardness o● Heart is a Companion of Unbelief of Heart That eminent place mentioned Is 6. 9 10. and cited in all the four Evangelists in the Acts of the Apostles and Epistle to the Romans shews the heavy Judgment of a hard Heart And he said go and tell his People hear ye indeed but understand not and see ye indeed but perceive Intellectui fides aditum aperit infidelit as claudit Aug. ●p 3. not make the heart of this People fat and make their ears heavy and shut their eyes lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted and healed These words the Apostle cites Act. 28. 26. and applyeth them to the Unbelieving Jews 3dly Infidelity is accompanied with 3. Apostacy is the Companion of Unbelief Apostacy Unbelief is the Mother and Apostacy the Daughter And if we would prevent Apostacy we must beware of Unbelief Heb. 3. 12. Take heed Brethren least there be in you a Heart of Vnbelief in departing from the Living God Unbelief causeth Multitudes of Carnal Men to leave Christ's colours and hide themselves under Antichrist that Man of Sin 2 Thess ● 3. What 's the reason that Men make hast to be Rich and with all violence pursue the Riches of this World and stick at no course be it never so unjust and base forgetting worldly wealth it 's because they will not trust God What 's the reason then when Men are in great straights and difficulties they will not wait Gods leisure but wind themselves out by making Breaches upon their Consciences It 's for want of Faith and dependance on God Lastly Unbelief meets with dreadful Aggrav 4. From the Judgments 1. Unbelievers are given over to a Judicial Blindness Judgments 1. Unbelievers are given over to a Judicial blindness what was their Sin is their Judgment 2 Cor. 4. 4. In whom the God of the World hath blinded the minds of them which believe not least the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ which is the Image of God should shine unto them Because when the light of the Gospel breaks in by the Ministry of the Word People shut their eyes and will not see therefore God leaves them to blindness as a dreadful Judgment 2. Unbelievers are given over to Delusions 2. Unbelievers are given over to Delusions 2 Thess 9. 10 11. and to believe Lies For this cause Antichrist shall come with all deceivableness of

lentus iram moderabitur exitum spectans Merc. and will never expect an End but a Man Patient and slow to Anger will moderate his Anger expecting an End By Faith we possess the Head by Love we possess one another by Patience every one possesseth himself wherefore Christs Charge is to be again and again inculcated Luke 21. 19. In your Patience possess ye your Souls The Saints are Recorded for Patterns Non potest accipi dolorum passionum corona nisi praecedat in dolore passione patientia Cyp. de Bono patient●ae of Patience Heb. 6. 12. We are here Commanded to be followers of them Who through Faith and Patience inherit the Promises The Patience of Saints is Commended Rev. 2. 19. Rev. 3. 10. There 's a necessity of Patience Heb. 10. 36. Cyprian that Holy Martyr tells us That we cannot receive the Crown of our Sufferings unless Patience go before And he saith likewise in the same Book which is De Bono patientiae That we are Hoc ipsum quod Christiani sumus fidei Spei res est ut autem spes fides ad fructum sui possint pervenire patienti ●opus est Cyp. de Bono patientiae Christians this is the Matter of our Faith and Hope but that our Faith and Hope may come to any Fruit we have need of Patience This Grace of Patience shines in the Dark and in the Night of Sufferings puts forth it self more Conspicuously For Sufferings are the Tryals of Patience Hence it comes to pass that even in times of a dark Vision when God clouds his Countenance a Spirit endowed with Patience Waits Believes Hopes Prayes and thus is prepared for the reception of Mercy when it comes and for the bearing of Sufferings whilst they continue Lay then aside all querulous murmuring revengeful Thoughts and let it be a Christians Strength to sit still and wait quietly and patiently for the Salvation of God 5. Self-Denial Fifthly Amidst Losses and Sufferings Self-Denial Eminently appears and shews it self When the World Frowns Enemies Rage all Cystern and Creature-Helps are dried up quite or Run very low when Interests fail then to keep a Composed quiet Frame of Spirit and to get the Heart above Envy Hatred and Malice is a rare Frame of Spirit But it 's much more an excellent Frame of Spirit to deny a Man's self in time of Prosperity when one enjoys the World as we say at Will and to be in the Float of Prosperity then to strike Sail and to deny Pleasures Luxury and Excess this is a property of an excellent Spirit Of this Spirit was Moses Heb. 11. 24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Sam. 11. 11. when he liv'd at Court When he came to Years more properly rendred when he became Great refused to be called the Son of Pharaohs Daughter Thus did Uriah in a time of War deny himself Godfry of Bulloyne would not wear a Crown of Gold where Christ was Crucified Abdicare a teipso ne abdiceris a Christo ●epudia te ut recipiaris ● Christo Salv. lib. 5. with a Crown of Thorns This Duty of Self-Denial is frequently Commanded in the Gospel as an Instrumental means to receive Christ. And it 's worth our Observation that as we are Commanded to beg our Dayly Bread Day by Day so we are Commanded to Deny our selves and to take up our Cross Day by Day The same Expression 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vt dies diem sequitur sic crux crucem excipit Beza we have in Luke 9. 23. and Luke 11. 3. For an Ambitious Man to Deny his Honours a Rich Man to Deny his Riches a Voluptuous Man to Deny his Pleasures these are great Acts of Self-Denial Sixthly and Lastly there follows holy 6. Holy Courage Courage a well temper'd and regular Zeal which as Luther used to say When it 's well Temper'd it 's the best gift Ira in suo loco est optimum dei donum Luther of God Here 's a Critical Distinction of Zeal which is of the right Stamp from a private Grudg or distemper'd Passion viz. By being Zealous in the Cause of God and by being meek in a Man 's own private Cause Of this Heroick Spirit was Moses when a Calf was made and there was Dancing about it Moses Transported with singular Zeal threw the Tables out of his Hand and Broke them and Stampt the Calfe to Powder and caus'd Exemplary Justice to be Executed upon the Idolaters Thus Zealous Causa redditur cur Deus injuriam Mosis ul ciscendam crediderit quia ipse in suis injuriis ferendis erat lenissimus Grotius was he for the Cause of God But in his own Cause none more Meek for when Aaron and Miriam chode with him concerning the Aethiopian Woman the Text gives an ample Testimony of his Meekness leaving it upon Record Numb 12. 13. Now this Man Moses was very Meek above all the Men which were upon the Face of the Earth Luther used to say in the Cause of God Hic gero In aliis mansuetus ero in Blasphemiis in Christum non item Zuinglius titulum cedo nulli Though Zuinglius was of a comparative Moderation yet in case of Blasphemies he was a Man of Courage The Courage of Martyrs is renowned in Ecclesiastical Histories Amongst variety that might be named I 'le relate only this following viz. The Si Patibulum crucis inquit Martyr Expavescerem gloriam crucis non predicarem Bern. in vigilias Andreae Coutzen Aulae speculum p. 47. History of Surgius and Bacchus two great Courtiers who being accused for Christians and commanded to Offer unto Idols refused to go to the Temple and gave this answer to the Emperour Nos Imperator sola terrrena militiâ tibi obstricti sumus In animas nullum tibi jus est Illarum Dominus est solus Deus There are two Apostolical Characters of Zeal which if observed we may go on Couragiously and Prosper One is Zeal must be in a good Matter Gal. 4. 18. Saul's Zeal before his Conversion was Predicare Evangelium est derivare in se furoremtoti●us Inferni Satanae Luth. Loc. Com. stark naught And the other is it must be according to Knowledg Rom. 10. 2. Luther used to say That to Preach the Gospel was to bring all the Devils in Hell about his Ears yet he was resolved That if every Tile on the Houses was a Devil he would go to Worms and Preach the Gospel CHAP. IX Containing a Third Reason drawn from the Utility and Benefit accruing from this yielding Submissive Spirit A Third Reason shall be drawn from Reas 3 from the Benefit of a submissive Spirit the Utility and Benefit accruing from this yielding Submissive Spirit The Benefit is exceeding great because hereby the whole Man is set in a right Frame and Order When we can chearfully rely upon God and depend upon his All-Sufficiency then our Thoughts Words Affections and