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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	call_v	law_n	nature_n	1,559	5	5.5282	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63871	A sermon preached before the right honourable the Lord Mayor, and Aldermen of London at the Guild-Hall Chappel, Octob. the 28th 1677 / by Bryan Turner ...	Turner, Bryan, 1634 or 5-1698.	1678 (1678)	Wing T3270; ESTC R1722	13,679	40

best prop of Government and Cement of Societies as Plutarch calls it And therefore amongst intelligent Creatures Religion is the first Law of Nature for that sure must consist in the first Obligation to a Rule that being as I take it the proper notion of a Law And if so Wherein should the first Obligation consist but in respects to that thing wherein Supreme Dominion and all other Original perfections are seated i. e. in God Self-conservation speaking of intelligent Creatures is but a Secondary Law of Nature ty'd up in Religion For is it not all the reason in the world that the first Law of Nature should primarily respect the first Cause and be chiefly terminated upon him in that we call Religion As the Secondary Law of Nature is chiefly terminated upon the Creature which we call the Conservation of it self Therefore so far as Self-conservation may be hazarded for the preservation of Religion we are obliged to prefer this before that Though in truth God has so wisely link't these two together that our Religion to God preserv'd with what hazard soever will insure our Conservation to our selves He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it This Natural Religion or venerable sense of a Deity is but at least in this degenerate state a faint seed till it meet with some farther active principles or dispositions in us to nurse it up and give it Culture And to the best of my apprehension there are but three active Principles capable to receive this seed into their bosoms viz. Love or Fear or Worldly design I mean there are but these three distinct predominant and habitual dispositions capable of it And then 1. Love is the genuine principle of a true and perfect Religion 2. Fear is the proper principle of Superstition 3. Worldly design devoid of either is the root of Hypocrisie and of all things that ever carried the face of Religion I think there are but these three principal sorts for Gentile Idolatry was Superstition call'd Idolatry in respect of the Object which was a false God and Superstition in respect of the Worshipper who was acted chiefly by Fear The roots of Hypocrisie may be as varias worldly designs are such as compliance with prevalent custom vain glory riches and advantage to be the leader of a Party the head of a Sect revenge and malice at others For some preach Christ out of envy Phil. 1. 15. says the Apostle The root of Superstition is only fear or dread I mean a Fear without Love and a dread of harm if the Divine Power or that which is thought to have so were not propitiated by such and such services This brought in so many dreadful sacrifices to the Altar at Tophet and all the Heathen-world over From whence these Three active Principles that nurse up the natural seed of Religion either into beauty or deformity do arise is obvious viz. from the various representations of the object of Worship For if that be apprehended as transcendently good and amiable the great Impression it makes is Love which cherisheth Religion into Perfection Beauty and a cheerful Obedience If it be apprehended as dreadful only and able to do hurt under the Attributes of Soveraign but independent Will and Power Fear is all the temper it gives which ferments the natural seed of Religion into Superstition But if there be few or no apprehensions of Divine Attributes to beget a real Love or Fear the soul of man is at liberty to make use of Religion so far as it serves worldly design and this principles it with Hypocrisie So that hypocrisie is nothing but Atheism dissembled under a veil of Religion and Atheism is nothing but Hypocrisie unmask'd A Lover of God is religious for Gods goodness sake and would be so were there none besides himself in the world his Religion may be defin'd A sacred Friendship 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Superstitious person is religious for fear of harm from what he worships contemplating nothing but Power and Severity but would not be what he is if alone in the world his Religion may be defin'd A flattery of a Divine Power deem'd to be hurtful 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 says Max. Tyrius An Hypocrite is religious for worldly designs only therefore acts his part in more lively measures than the person he represents but would not do so were there no spectators for what he doth is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be seen of men says our Saviour Matt. 23. Hypocrisie is culpable only for want of internal reality 't is a curious painted shew without life it personates what it is not Superstition is culpable not for want of internal reality but regularity 't is truely the off-spring of the heart and mind but 't is illegitimate 't is begot in a rape and fright for such as are acted by it believe Gods Being but wish it were not Fear when it predominates and the true God is the Object may be an initial principle but 't is imperfect if it continues the habitual principle and suffer not Love to cohabit I see not but it must degenerate into Superstition but a fear that is founded in Love is filial and rather to be call'd veneration for a Son fears his Father because he loves him and this is allowable and requisite in the most perfect Religion but 't is a Solitary fear which I intend when I make it the principle of Superstition And now to recollect this part of the discourse If there be a real object of worship i. e. a God doubtless the Religion ought to be real not hypocritical If that Religion be a perfect and acceptable service doubtless it ought to be cheerful not compulsory as Superstition is that proceeds from Fear If Goodness and all perfection be essential Attributes of a Divine Nature i. e. If Power and Soveraign Will be inseparable from goodness and not its over-match as some would think them then that Power is comfortable and not dreadful till goodness be abus'd and offended So that Love is the proper and genuine principle of that Religion which is in its nature perfect and to God most acceptable as is evident from the first and great Commandment Thou shalt love the Lord c. 'T is true indeed the mind that is conscious of offending has its eye blood-shot always with guilt and therefore can behold nothing in God but Power and the Severities of Justice This is the case of the Devils who now can frame no apprehensions of God but what are fearful as appears from their Faith whose only Product is to make 'em tremble A vitiated eye cannot behold the brightness Jam. 2. 19. of the Sun no more can they the Divine Goodness by reason of those chains of darkness in which they are reserv'd to 2 Pet. 2. 4. judgment and those chains of darkness are not so much their local restraints as their guilt For a sinner is held with the Prov. 5. 22.

cords of his sin says Solomon i. e. A guilty offender can naturally arrive at any opinion of God but as powerful and severe in order to punishment unless God in mercy give new grounds of hope for pardon upon repentance as he has to mankind by his Son whom he first promis'd and in due time sent into the world for this very end to save sinners by this way i. e. to principle men afresh with the Love of God which their sin and guilt had extinguish't Which Love of God in this merciful act of Redemption appears more fully to 'em than it did before in Creation and Providence because 't is superadded thereunto and like a second Beam of Light conjoyn'd to a first shines to all eyes with a greater lustre and therefore attracts a warmer affection And this I take to be the Apostles meaning Eph. 3. 17 18. That we being rooted and grounded in love might be able to comprehend with all Saints what is the breadth and length and heighth and depth and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledg i. e. To know the immensity of that Love of God discovered in Christ Jesus superadded to all the other instances of Divine Goodness in Creation and Providence What spirit or frame of mind therefore our Services of God in Christianity ought to proceed from you see according to the Text. And as by this that has been said we may examine our selves in the matter of Fact so we may all those opinions in matter of Faith pretending to frame Religion in men and promote it in the world For 1. No man can be Religious upon this Principle of Love but he that has just and honourable opinions of Gods goodness both in his Nature and his Promises to men and therefore whosoever promotes opinions to render God dreadful to any but impenitent Sinners whatever their aims may be can in effect promote nothing but either Despair or Superstition 2. As all fatal opinions strike at this root of true Religion so none more directly than those of the Leviathan who has swell'd the waters of the Lemon-lake to their full height and not dissembling his consequences has plainly told us in effect that there can be no other Religion but Superstition among men For these are his words in his Book of Man Chap. 12. In these four things an opinion of Ghosts Ignorance in second Causes veneration towards what men fear and taking things casual for prognosticks consist the natural seeds of Religion From whence these inferences are unavoidable 1. That there can be no Religion but what is truely Superstition for these natural seeds as he calls 'em or rather tares can produce no fruit but Fear 2. That the thing call'd Religion is not sit to lodg in a wise-mans breast seeing an idle opinion of Ghosts ignorance in second Causes devotion to what men fear and taking things casual for prognosticks are seed 't is fit a wise man should eradicate out of his breast as soon as he can Had there been any other natural seeds of Religion in his Judgment surely he would have told us when he set himself to treat industriously of their precise number unless he fail'd as much in his Arithmetick as in the rest of his Mathematicks Of the true God or any Sentiments of him he has not said a word as to any of the natural seeds of Religion for by an opinion of Ghosts he means not God but invisible Agents which the Latines call imagines umbrae and thought them spirits i. e. thin aerial bodies as he explains himself in the same Chapter where he adds these words From the like things past men expect the like to come and hope for good or evil luck superstitiously from things that have no part in causing of it This is the humour of taking things casual for prognosticks which he expresly acknowledgeth to create superstitious hopes And he says further That a perpetual fear always accompanies men in the ignorance of second Causes So that we see by his own Explication these seeds can spring into nothing but Fear which alone can fructifie into nothing but direct Superstition I know the Leviathan has in words asserted the Being of a God infinite and omnipotent but by excluding him 't is evident that in his Judgment no natural seed of Religion consists in any Sentiments of him for he expresly distinguisheth betwixt him and Ghosts I know likewise he has in words distinguish't betwixt the Religion of Gentilism and Christianity allowing Christianity a Divine appointment thank the Areopagites for that But I say he has in the inevitable consequence of his Doctrine made Christianity nothing but a Superstition of Divine appointment For these are his words p. 54. These Engl. Edit seeds i. e. an opinion of Ghosts ignorance in second Causes c. have received culture from two sorts of men one who have nourish't and ordered them according to their own invention the other have done it by Gods Commandment and Direction c. Of the former sort were all the Founders of Commonwealths and Law-givers among the Gentiles of the latter sort were Abraham Moses and our blessed Saviour So he From whence it must needs follow that Gentilism and Christianity differ not in the Seeds but in the Culture which may alter the growth but not totally alter the nature of the fruit Therefore according to this Doctrine our Blessed Saviour by Gods Commandment and Direction had only these Four natural seeds of Religion to cultivate an opinion of Ghosts ignorance of second Causes Devotion to what men fear and taking things casual for prognosticks All which can produce nothing but Fear and nothing but Fear can produce nothing but Superstition and consequently Christianity is but a Superstition set up by Divine appointment as Gentilism was by the Invention of men according to this Author What musick this makes in your ears I know not but lest you think him either wittier or wickeder than he deserves I 'le tell you where he learn'd his Notes These natural seeds of Religion grew first in the Garden of Epicurus Lucretius has set 'em down to his hand out of whom he collected 'em into this precise number Lib. 6. de Rer. Nat. p. 140. Amstelodami Epic. Et genus humanum frustra plerumque probavit Volvere curarum tristes in pectore fluctus Nam veluti pueri trepidant atque omnia caecis In tenebris metuunt sic nos in luce timemus Interdum nihilo quae sunt metuenda magis quàm Quae pueri in tenebris pavitant singuntque futura Hunc igitur terrorem animi tenebrasque necesse'st c. Et paulo post Caetera quae fieri in terris coeloque tuentur Mortales pavidis cum pendent mentibu ' saepe Efficiunt animos humiles formidine divûm Depressosque premunt ad terram propterea quod Ignorantia causarum conferre deorum Cogit ad imperium res concedere regnum Quorum operum causas