Selected quad for the lemma: christian_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
christian_n	catholic_n	church_n	communion_n	6,888	5	9.4764	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43697	A sermon preach'd before the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen, June 27, 1680 by Charles Hickman ...	Hickman, Charles, 1648-1713.	1680 (1680)	Wing H1895; ESTC R18596	14,790	42

visits the offence to the third and fourth Generation therefore for the more exact performance of this so important duty we must observe these following rules 1. We must follow the Lord openly with boldness and resolution as being neither afraid nor asham'd to own that truth from whence we expect salvation We must not hide the Word of God in our hearts but make profession thereof with our mouths lest the Scornful and Profane should take our silence for a perfect submission to their cause and the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph lest the unreprov'd transgressors should die in their sins and their blood be required at our hands Why then should we add the guilt of other mens sins to the number of our own why should their iniquity be our ruin Therefore through God our righteousness let us be bold as a Lion and dare to be religious even in a sinful and adulterous generation and let the Prophet in my Text be our great example who alone did withstand the Congregation of the Priests of Baal and brought the whole Assembly of Israel into subjection He cast not in his Lot amongst the prevailing Idolaters nor went forth with the multitude to their fashionable devotions but withstood them to the face and maintain'd the honour of his Church when he was the only Prophet left therein Nothing can excuse the cowardice and falsehood of him who denies or dissembles that faith which he believes and if we are asham'd of Christ and his words before men of us also will the Son of man be asham'd when he cometh in the glory of his Father 2. We must follow the Lord stedfastly with constancy and perseverance not wavering in our belief nor waxing faint in the day of tryal but still pressing forwards in our course and with our faith overcoming all the difficulties in our way O Elijah how wast thou honour'd in thy wondrous works and who may glory like unto thee Such was the assurance of our great Prophet so strong and active was his faith that he made the very laws of nature give place unto it and brought down fire from Heaven to convince the people Through all the difficulties that attend our faith and the dangers that threaten the profession of it we must still look unto God who has promis'd that he will never leave us nor forsake us We must not at any time nor upon any pretence bow down the knee to Baal nor shew any compliance with the worship of a strange god lest our hearts at length should be inclin'd to their folly and God in his anger give us over to follow their abominations And as we must abhor the house of Baal so we must with equal care avoid all false ways of serving the living Lord for it matters very much whether we worship at the Mount in Samaria or the Temple of Jerusalem and a man may Apostatize from the faith with our renouncing his God But 't is much to be fear'd that he who never strains at Heresie and Schism would swallow down infidelity too should his interest command him and from paying God a false worship would soon be brought to worship a false God for how can we expect that God will accept the sacrifice of our hearts when we come unto him with a lye in our mouths How can we sing the Lords song in a strange Land or testifie our penitence to God in a service which is to be repented of if we deny the necessity of living in a constant and publick profession of the whole faith we must deny the honour of Martyrdom to those who have dyed for it we must reform our Kalendar and rase out the names of many who have hitherto enjoy'd that glorious title upon Earth and doubtless the Crown thereof in Heaven But 3. We must follow the Lord with zeal and affection if we are throughly persuaded of our own duty we must also be desirous to see Gods Name glorified by others and that not only with idle hopes and insignificant desires but with active endeavours and a real concern 'T is the glory of the Church of God to spread her arms abroad like our Saviour on the Cross and receive all mankind within its embraces his Blood was a sufficient Atonement for all the world and whosoever neglects the means and opportunity of advancing this faith betrays the honour of Christ his head and the salvation of his Fellow-members he basely suffers that soul for which our Saviour died to perish through unbelief and makes the merits of his death to be ineffectual If the late Martyrs and uninspired Confessors of our faith who planted a Church amongst us with their sweat and water'd it with their blood had given way to principles of compliance and self-preservation our Land had either continued barren to this day in its primitive Paganism or been soon over-run with Heresie and Superstition Had the Prophet in my Text contented himself with a dormant Religion and confin'd his faith to his own bosom he might have enjoy'd his ease and the Jews their Idolatry without the trouble of this fiery tryal Yet such was the zeal of Elijah for the Lord God of Hosts because the Children of Israel had forsaken his Covenants thrown down his Altars and slain his Prophets with the sword that he restor'd his Religion with a mighty hand and return'd that severity upon the Priests of Baal which they had exercis'd against the Servants of the living God And I can never be persuaded but that a complying Christian is a contradiction in the terms till the communion of Saints be blotted out of our Creed and the Catholick Church be demonstrated to consist in the private breast of each particular Saint Nevertheless though a zeal for the Lord be our duty and heroical vertue be most acceptable in the eye both of God and man yet it always happens that where the greatest honour is to be won there is the greatest danger therefore we must be cautious 1. That our zeal be according to knowledg before we engage in the zealous defence of any cause we must be well assur'd that the cause it self be good lest instead of thanks for our diligence we receive a check for our forwardness and it be justly said unto us Who has required these things at your hands for if we have not sufficient authority to warrant the action it is not vertue but rashness to proceed if we take a groundless opinion for our foundation and make not reason our judge in the consult what assistance can we receive from it in the heat of action we have then lost all command of our selves and shall be deaf to all advice our ignorance shall continue but our vehemence and consequently our danger shall increase we shall still follow the same blind guide that first misled our devotion not knowing either how to stop our career or direct our course like one that puts out to Sea without the assistance of either Sails or