Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	know_v	speak_v	word_n	2,651	5	4.0464	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65846	A serious exhortation to an holy life, or, A plea for the absolute necessity of inherent righteousness in those that hope to be saved by Tho. Wadsworth.	Wadsworth, Thomas, 1630-1676.	1660 (1660)	Wing W190; ESTC R23587	25,975	74

first make bold to press thee to a revew of the text I say unto you Except your Righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees yee can in no case enter into the Kingdome of Heaven This verse is a part of that Bible that thou and I and all the Christian world do take to bee the word of God which is as free from any lye or falshood as the Sun-beams are from darkness I shall not therefore injure thee so much as if I did mistrust thee to ask whether thou beleevest this portion of Scripture to bee true or false but rather dost thou beleeve that it is so written there as here it is transcribed if thou doubtest take thy Bible and turn to the Chapter and the Verse if thou wilt take it for granted on my word I profess I have not I would not deceive thee for a world The first part of the Text opened I say unto you To you Who are those Why those that were present at that time in which Christ was preaching this Sermon they were his Disciples his followers such as owned him for their Saviour and called him Lord and Christ in a word they were such as thou professest thy self to bee that art my Reader 2 I say unto you who is this I It was he● that preached the Sermon Jesus Christ it was Christ and not Matthew that did record it it was Christ and not I that am about to plead withthee at this time for thy life And now thou knowest the Author I presume the Text will have some authority upon thy heart I hope thou wilt not say of Jesus Christ as the prophane worldlings say of us his Ministers that wee are a company of prating sawcy fellows and they hope that all is not true that wee say and they are confident that God is more merciful than wee Preachers would make them beleeve But think Reader it is not I nor any Minister on earth that is the Preacher in my Text it is Jesus Christ the Master of us all and canst thou hope it is not true that Christ here tells thee were not this all one as to hope Jesus Christ is a lyar and is not this to make thy self a blasphemer or darest thou bee so impudent to say or think that God is more merciful than Christ hath made him what canst thou think thy gracious Saviour would deceive thee or that the Son of God would make false reports of God his Father he tells thee the contrary if thou hast a minde to beleeve him Joh. 12.49 I have not spokex of my self but the Father which sent mee hee gave mee Commandement what I should say and what I should speak And wilt thou dare yet to unsay all his sayings though hee tells thee hee sayes nothing but what God his Father commanded him If hee tells thee plainly Except thy righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees thou shalt in no case enter into the Kingdome of heaven Wilt thou boldly contradict all and say that notwithstanding what ever Jesus Christ hath said I yet hope to bee saved yea though thou hast no righteousness at all or such as falls short of what the Pharisees had wilt thou give the lye both to God the Father and the Son No sinner no I know thou hast not such hard thoughts of the Saviour of the world to think hee is a lyar Thou callest him Jesus Christ and confessest him to bee the Son of God and that it is impossible hee should lye yea I know thou wilt confess hee here speaks true and what hee speaks hee speaks to thee That except thy righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees thou canst by no means bee saved Doest thou beleeve it Answer mee Doest thou verily beleeve That except thou A. B. by name provest a more righteous man or woman than ever any Scribe or Pharisee was thou canst in no case enter into heaven Come Come I know thou beleevest it as thou lovest heaven then and thine own soul I intreat thee pronounce these words after mee but speak them seriously to thine own conscience I A B Who am reading this book do in the presence of God that searcheth my heart and will judge mee at the last day do unfeignedly beleeve that except I am by the power of the Spirit through the preaching of the Word made a more righteous man or woman than ever any Scribe or Pharisee yea and this before I dye I never hope by any means to enter into the Kingdome of heaven but must assuredly as now I am reading within a few dayes bee in everlasting torments where I shall weep and wail and gnash my teeth without all remedy Hast thou confessed so much yea and unfeignedly yea as in the presence of God the searcher of thy heart Yea. Well said Now let mee tell thee thou hast taken one step towards heaven thou art half way there already Ah sinner bee not so much thine own enemy as to withdraw thy foot and recall thy words why shouldest thou repent that step that is taken towards a Kingdome that is so blessed or draw in that breath that hath filled thysails and will make thy voyage to heaven both quick and easie if it continue For know Reader that when thy soul is once throughly convinced of that righteousness that is absolutely necessary to salvation half the work of thy conversion is done the new creature is half formed in thee and thy soul half saved but when that righteousness is attained that is when it is brought down into thy conversation and thou livest righteously then is conversion finished the new creature perfected thy salvation secured and thou art made a blessed man or woman But thou wilt say What am I the nearer for all this if I neither know how righteous these Pharisees were nor what a righteousness it is wherein I must exceed them pray will you tell mee how righteous they were and how much more righteous I must bee than they Answ I will tell thee but if I do I must have another promise from thee and I profess as in the presence of the living God if I thought that thou wouldest not grant it to mee I would not tell thee what those things mean but rather out of pity to thee suffer thee to lie and dye in thy ignorance tell me wilt thou promise God and mee that when I have told thee what the righteousness is that thou must seek wilt thou by the help of God endeavour with all thy soul and strength to live that righteous life this Doctrine will call for But stay sayest thou There is no haste tell mee what it is first Answ What doest thou scruple Art thou afraid I will deceive thee and make it harder than it is Reader to put thee out of doubt from that I protest solemnly as I shall answer it before the Judge of quick and dead before whom I am confident I must give an account of what