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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A64373 A sermon concerning the folly of atheism preached before the Queen at White-Hall, February 22, 1690/91 / by Tho. Tenison ... Tenison, Thomas, 1636-1715. 1691 (1691) Wing T715; ESTC R9856 9,461 38

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in the World It is time in the Third place to think what is fit in this case for those to do who believe in God both first as to themselves and Secondly To those who believe not And first for our selves who believe in God and in Jesus Christ whom he has sent It is necessary to keep our Faith from deadness by the exercises of holy Living The Devils do more than the Atheists for they believe but because they promote infidelity in others and obey not themselves they are Devils still If we own a God it is our duty to glorifie him as God otherwise our Faith is vain and the unfruitfulness of it will be the Aggravation of our sin and if we desire not to retain God in our knowledge and to honour him with the Talent with which he has intrusted us he will deliver us up to those vile Affections over which a Victory is to be obtained by a living Faith But if we adorn our Belief by an agreeable Life that will be a means to save our selves and to gain others at least to put to silence the Ignorance of foolish Men. II. With relation to such 1. All should learn to distrust and to be watchful For what Confidence can be put in a Man that thinks not of a God that will call him to an Account who measures all things by Power and personal Humour or Interest Who if he pursues his Principles must never speak Truth nor do Justice against his private Ends 2. All Persons should pray to God not to work Miracles before Unbelievers not to call up Men from the Dead and send Ghosts to convince them but to give them Grace to attend to the sufficient Means which are offer'd to them in the Gospel 3. All judicious good Men should endeavour to become part of the Means of their Conversion by sound Discourse by exemplary Lives and by bearing not with mean Cowardise but with Courage and Patience their insolent Scorn not answering Fools according to their Folly but shewing them that True Religion can govern those Passions which make them as raging Waves to foam out their own shame 4. It concerns all Masters of Families to defend their Threshold against the Footsteps of the Ungodly who will tempt their Children and their Servants to Lust and Prodigality and to the Supports of them Theft and imbezlement of Goods 5. All Churches should as far as possible discountenance Superstition and loosness of Life 1. They should banish far from them all Frauds abusively call'd Pious all fabulous Legends all feigned Miracles all absurd and superstitious Doctrines and Practices which beget and nourish Atheism for these where they are discover'd blemish Religion in those who are educated in such Societies for they have taken that in which they have been bred for All Religion and rejecting that with it they reject all They distinguish not betwixt the Impostures of Men and the Truths of God the Light of whose Word is taken from them 2. Where there are not such Frauds or they are not discover'd Men who have liv'd loosly and without any Principles not being able to content the Conscience without some Religion will at last run from the extream of Atheism to that of Superstition After having liv'd Infidels they will die Idolaters There is no where so great a Harvest for Romish Missionaries as where Men under the true Light of the Gospel have no Religion at all And a Church that will keep out Popery must as far as it can be done by its Discipline mortify Lewdness and Profaneness 6. It behoveth all Civil Governours to animadvert upon Atheism as that which supplants the Foundation of all Humane Society This Psalm is supposed to have been penned upon occasion of the Conspiracy of Absolom and the general Wickedness of that Generation which gave occasion to it and to the spreading of Atheism It was an Age so corrupt that David seems to compare it to the State of the Old World before the Flood at which time the Earth was filled with Violence and all Flesh had corrupted its Ways We read in Numb 21. That those who spake Evil of God spake Evil of Moses They who will not fear God will not inwardly reverence Man They who scoff at Religion as Priest-Craft will under the Name of Prince-Craft despise Civil Government If such universally prevail'd they would ruin all Kingdoms by taking away all Faith and Trust which is the Ground of Commerce They would make all Publick Pacts and Covenants of none effect by removing Conscience which ties Men to the performance of their Words and Promises when Interest join'd with Power commands all Men that have no Religion to be no longer Slaves to them Atheism supplants all Laws by invalidating the belief of all Evidences and Oaths What judicial proceeding can there be for the preservation of Mens Persons and Properties without Witnesses And how can an Atheist a false Man be a faithful Witness What a Mockery is his deposing upon a Gospel which he does not believe Or his taking up the Name of a Deity of which he says as St. Paul of an Idol that it is Nothing By reason of Atheists the Land mourns they are the greatest Enemies of it And if which God avert it should ever come to pass that there should not be good Men enough to ballance their Impiety we should soon become a Desolation Pray we therefore to the Lord of Heaven and Earth and say Arise O God maintain thine own Cause remember how the foolish Man blasphemeth thee daily And to this King Eternal Immortal Invisible to the only Wise God let us give from our Hearts Glory and Honour for ever and ever Amen FINIS Decam Physiolog p. 130 131 ⸪ Lucret. l. 1. Humana ante ocules faedè cum vita jaceret in terris oppressa gravi sub Rellig one c. a Bythn * Tarq. fatuus insanus * Acts 4. 13 14 15 16 17. Psal. 10. 4. Luke 18. 5. Gen. 6. 11 12.