Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	new_a	old_a	testament_n	18,420	5	8.4579	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59467	The great law of nature, or, Self-preservation examined, asserted and vindicated from Mr. Hobbes his abuses in a small discourse, part moral, part political and part religious.	Shafte, J.	1673 (1673)	Wing S2888; ESTC R21245	35,879	106

that whatsoever is by a clear consequence contrary is directly contrary to reason and even according to Mr. Hobbes the Subject in this case is necessarily to be Judge himself whether the thing be directly contrary to reason or not which is commanded And whereas Mr. Hobbes saith That no man before the Constitution of a Civil Government had the right to deny honour due to God and therefore could not transfer such right upon the Civil Magistrate and therefore may deny obedience I have likewise already proved that before the Constitution of a Civil Government these Laws of Nature Justice Charity and Temperance were obligatory and no man had any right to break them or dispence with them and therefore neither in these cases could transfer any such right upon the Civil Magistrate But sure Mr. Hobbes had forgot his definition of the Law of Nature when he said We must not obey the Prince if he command us to dishonour God For a Prince may command such a thing on penalty of life and then the very Law of Nature gives us a right to save our lives which is with him Suprema Lex Having thus spoke to the concerns of men in respect of this life let us look a little or rather a great way further that is to his concerns after this life is ended to all Eternity and by the same principle whereby actions relating to our present estate are guided and directed by the same is that also viz. Philautia self-love or self-preservation taken in a more liberal sense for God himself hath made that the great business of every intelligent rational being as hath been before intimated and by his infinite and gracious wisdom and goodness hath made those actions which most conduce to that end of self-preservation to be the same with what his own Eternal and also late Laws have appointed and directed to be done So that insisting in that path and closely pursuing that end we shall infallibly please our great Creator and do those things which are consonant and agreeable to his will and his very Nature and Essence as we ought to believe for seeing he is good infinitely and wise infinitely out of his infinite goodness and wisdom he hath conjoyned our interest with our duty for certainly we could never have thought that goodness in God according to the notion we necessarily frame to our selves of goodness which should have made our interest inconsistent with his will and where in endeavouring our own felicity we should have crossed his Laws Therefore as hath been said we ought to believe that God out of his wisdom and goodness hath closely conjoyned and united our interest happiness and felicity to all Eternity with his own glory his good will and pleasure his own Eternal Laws of goodness and wisdom which then we shall be sure most closely to pursue and follow when we most closely pursue our own interest our own real happiness and felicity and this being granted confirms and establishes those fore-mentioned Laws of Justice Charity and Temperance c. without which it is impossible for men to live securely or comfortably in this life without which there can be no Civil Society and without which the Generation of Mankinde must of necessity in short time be destroyed and perish from off the earth Therefore it ought to be concluded by all that Justice Charity and Temperance c. are things in themselves absolutely good because absolutely requisite and necessary both to our well being and the very being of all future Generations and so strictly to be observed even according to the Law of Nature and whatsoever Religion or Opinion crosses or impugnes these Laws confutes it self This being proved before let 's consider what Religion ought to be established in a Common wealth for though Justice Charity and Temperance and some other Vertues be granted to make a necessary part of it yet may other matters be admitted no less necessary in some respects so as they be not inconsistent with these and herein are men at a great loss and a mighty stir is made in the world and not without reason for seeing Religion is that which respects our eternal happiness and well being no wise man but will think himself therein more concern'd then in all the comforts and conveniencies of this short life so as he will rather chuse to lose all those benefits and advantages together with life it self then lose himself eternally Now certainly that Religion which hath the best foundation in Reason and Authority to ground it selt upon ●●●ght by any reasonable man to be chosen and that the Christian Religion is such hath sufficiently been proved by the Learned Pens and Arguments of many great and wise men and that it is not only consistent with but strictly injoyns the observation of those great Laws of Justice Charity and Temperance c. we all know and acknowledge And that the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Books wherein this Religion of ours is fully comprehended and taught or at least that all that is in them comprehended is true and authentick is generally agreed to by most that profess Christianity only the several Comments upon the Text the various Expositions of men who differ in their Opinions and Judgments is the great occasion of that confusion that is amongst us and the great differences about Religions all pretending to ground their Tenents upon equal Authorities of Scripture for where it is agreed on all hands that the concerns of the life which is to come are to be preferred before this present as being of infinite greater and larger consequence because relating to our eternal good or bad estate Hence it is most clear and evident that according to the Laws and Rules of Self-love or Self-preservation every man is obliged to do those things that may assure or secure unto him his future everlasting happiness and for no consideration regard or respect of any temporary or transitory pain penalty pleasure or profit to lose or hazard the loss of himself as to his future estate And although according to the same Laws he ought only to pursue those steps that lead directly towards this end of a future eternal happiness without treading awry or erring to the right hand or the left yet because no man is infallible but each one subject to many failings and errours in point of judgment as well as otherwise all that can be done is only for every man to do that which in his own judgment and reason he shall conceive the aptest means to this end praying Gods assistance and to him referring the event and the dictates and determinations of this judgment and reason of his is that which he calls his Conscience which though certainly in many things erronious and mistaken yet seeing that to him it appears otherwise he must needs think himself obliged to observe and pursue the resolutions thereof and therefore looking still upon the End Eternal