Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	adam_n	sin_n	transgression_n	6,929	5	10.8054	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62632	Several discourses viz. Of the great duties of natural religion. Instituted religion not intended to undermine natural. Christianity not destructive; but perfective of the law of Moses. The nature and necessity of regeneration. The danger of all known sin. Knowledge and practice necessary in religion. The sins of men not chargeable on God. By the most reverend Dr. John Tillotson, late lord arch-bishop of Canterbury. Being the fourth volume; published from the originals, by Ralph Barker, D.D. chaplain to his Grace.	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.; Barker, Ralph, 1648-1708.; White, Robert, 1600-1690, engraver.	1697 (1697)	Wing T1261A; ESTC R221745	169,748	495

Fact is committed our Conscience is strangely disquieted at the thoughts of it When a Man does but design to do a bad thing he is guilty to himself as if he had committed it Of this we have a considerable instance in the first violence that was offered to Nature Gen. 4. 6. The Lord said unto Cain why art thou wroth and why is thy countenance fallen The very thought of that Wickedness which he did but then design did disorder his Mind and make a change in his very Countenance Guilt is the natural Concomitant of heinous Crimes which so soon as ever a Man commits his Spirit receives a secret wound which causeth a great deal of smart and anguish For guilt is restless an● puts the Mind of Man into an unnatural working and fermentation never to be settled again but by Repentance The Wicked are like the troubled Sea when it cannot rest which plainly shews that the Mind of Man hath a kind of Natural sense of Good and Evil because when ever we offend against Nature our Consciences are touched to the quick and we receive a sting into our Soul which shoots and pains us when ever we reflect upon what we have done I appeal to that witness which every Man carries in his breast whether this be not true 2. Men are naturally full of hopes and fears according as they follow or go against these natural Dictates A good Conscience is apt to fill Men with confidence and good hopes It does not only give ease but security to the Mind of Man against the dread of Invisible Powers and the fearful apprehensions of a future Judgment Whereas guilt fills Men with dismal apprehensions of danger and continual misgivings concerning their own safety Thus it was with Cain after he had slain his Brother It shall come to pass that every one that findeth me shall s●ay me Nay when a Man hath done a secret fault which none can accuse him of yet then is he haunted with the terrors of his own Mind and cannot be secure in his own apprehensions which plainly shews that Men are conscious to themselves when they do well and when they do amiss and that the same Natural Instinct which prompts Men to their Duty fills them with good hopes when they have done it and with secret fears and apprehensions of danger when they have done contrary to it Secondly God shews Men what is good by Natural Reason and that two ways By the convenience of things to our Nature and by their tendency to our Happiness and Interest First Reason shews us the convenience of things to our Nature and whatever is agreeable to the Primitive design and intention of Nature that we call good whatever is contrary thereto we call evil For Example to honour and love God It is natural to honour great power and perfection and to love goodness wherever it is So likewise gratitude is natural to acknowledge benefits received and to be ready to requite them and the contrary is monstrous and universally abhorred and there is no greater sign that any thing is contrary to Nature than if it be detested by the whole kind It is agreeable also to Nature to be just and to do to others as we would have them do to us for this is to make our own natural inclinations and desires the rule of our dealing with others and to be merciful for no Man that hath not devested himself of humanity can be cruel and hard-hearted to others without feeling a pain in himself Secondly Reason shews us the Tendency of these Things to our Happiness and Interest And indeed the notion of good and evil does commonly refer to the Consequences of things and we call that good which will bring some Benefit and Advantage to us and that evil which is likely to produce some Mischief and Inconvenience and by this rule Reason discovers to us that these Duties are good To begin with Piety towards God Nothing can more evidently tend to our Interest than to make him our Friend upon whose Favour our Happiness depends So likewise for Gratitude it is a Virtue to which if Nature did not prompt us our Interest would direct us for every Man is ready to place Benefits there where he may hope for a thankful Return Temperance does apparently conduce to our Health which next to a good Conscience is the most pleasant and valuable thing in the World whereas the intemperate Man is an open Enemy to himself and continually making Assaults upon his own Life Mercy and Pity are not more welcome to others than they are delightful and beneficial to our selves for we do not only gratifie our own Nature and Bowels by relieving those who are in misery but we provoke Mankind by our Example to the like Tenderness and do prudently bespeak the Commiseration of others towards us when it shall be our Turn to stand in need of it And if we be wise enough our Reason will likewise direct us to be just as the surest Art of thriving in this World It gives a Man a Reputation which is a powerful Advantage in all the Affairs of this World It is the shortest and easiest way of dispatching Business the plainest and least entangled and though it be not so sudden a way of growing rich as Fraud and Oppression yet it is much surer and more lasting and not liable to those terrible Back-blows and after-reckonings to which Estates got by Injustice are And natural Reason does not only shew us that these things are good but that the Lord requires them of us that is that they have the Force and Obligation of Laws For there needs nothing more to make any thing a Law than a sufficient declaration that it is the Will of God and this God hath sufficiently signified to Mankind by the very Frame of our Natures and of those principles and faculties which he hath endued us withall so that whenever we act contrary to these we plainly disobey the Will of him that made us and violate those Laws which he hath Enacted in our Natures and written upon our Hearts And this is all the Law that the greatest part of Mankind were under before the Revelation of the Gospel From Adam to Moses the World was almost solely governed by the Natural Law which seems to be the meaning of that hard Text Rom. 5. 13. For until the Law Sin was in the World that is before the Law of Moses was given Men were capable of offending against some other Law for otherwise Sin could not have been imputed to them for Sin is not imputed wh●re there is no Law And then it follows Nevertheless Death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's Transgression that is during that space from Adam to Moses Men sinned against the natural Law and were liable to Death upon that account though they had not offended against an express Revelation from God as Adam had

done for that the Apostle seems to mean by sinning after the Similitude of Adam 's Transgression Thirdly God hath shewn us what is good by the general Vote and Consent of Mankind Not that all Mankind do agree concerning Virtue and Vice but that as to the greater Duties of Piety Justice Mercy and the like the Exceptions are but few in comparison and not enough to infringe a general Consent And of this I shall offer to you this threefold Evidence 1. That these Virtues are generally praised and held in esteem by Mankind and the contrary Vices generally reproved and evil spoken of Now to praise any thing is to give Testimony to the Goodness of it and to censure any thing is to declare that we believe it to be evil And if we consult the History of all Ages we shall find that the things which are generally praised in the Lives of Men and recommended to the Imitation of Posterity are Piety and Devotion Gratitude and Justice Humanity and Charity and that the contrary to these are marked with Ignominy and Reproach the former are commended even in Enemies and the latter are branded even by those who had a kindness for the Persons that were guilty of them So constant hath Mankind always been in the Commendation of Virtue and in the Censure of Vice Nay we find not only those who are virtuous themselves giving their Testimony and Applause to Virtue but even those who are vicious not out of love to Goodness but from the Conviction of their own Minds and from a secret Reverence they bear to the common Consent and Opinion of Mankind And this is a great Testimony because it is the Testimony of an Enemy extorted by the meer light and force of Truth And on the contrary Nothing is more ordinary than for Vice to reprove Sin and to hear Men condemn the like or the same things in others which they allow in themselves And this is a clear Evidence that Vice is generally condemned by Mankind that many Men condemn it in themselves and those who are so kind as to spare themselves are very quick-sighted to spie a Fault in any body else and will censure a bad Action done by another with as much Freedom and Impartiality as the most virtuous Man in the World And to this consent of Mankind about Virtue and Vice the Scripture frequently appeals As when it commands us to provide things honest in the sight of all Men and by well-doing to put to silence the Ignorance of foolish Men intimating that there are some things so confessedly good and owned to be such by so general a Vote of Mankind that the worst of Men have not the Face to open their Mouths against them And it is made the Character of a virtuous Action if it be lovely and commendable and of good report Philip. 4 8. Whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any Virtue if there be any praise make account of these things intimating to us that Mankind do generally concur in the Praise and Commendation of what is virtuous 2. Men do generally glory and stand upon their Innocency when they do virtuously but are ashamed and out of Countenance when they do the contrary Now Glory and Shame are nothing else but an Appeal to the Judgment of others concerning the good or evil of our Actions There are indeed some such Monsters as are impudent in their Impieties but these are but few in comparison Generally Mankind is modest the greatest part of those who do evil are apt to blush at their own Faults and to confess them in their Countenance which is an Acknowledgment that they are not only guilty to themselves that they have done amiss but that they are apprehensive that others think so For Guilt is a Passion respecting our selves but Shame regards others Now it is sign of Shame that Men love to conceal their Faults from others and commit them secretly in the dark and without Witnesses and are afraid even of a Child or a Fool Or if they be discovered in them they are solicitous to excuse and extenuate them and ready to lay the fault upon any bodyelse and to transfer their Guilt or as much of it as they can upon others All which are certain Tokens that Men are not only naturally guilty to themselves when they commit a Fault but that they are sensible also what Opinions others have of these things And on the contrary Men are apt to stand upon their Justification and to glory when they have done well The Conscience of a Man 's own Virtue and Integrity lifts up his Head and gives him Confidence before others because he is satisfied they have a good Opinion of his Actions What a good Face does a Man naturally set upon a good Deed And how does he sneak when he hath done wickedly being sensible that he is condemned by others as well as by himself No Man is afraid of being upbraided for having dealt honestly or kindly with others nor does account it any Calumny or Reproach to have it reported of him that he is a sober and chast Man No Man blusheth when he meets a Man with whom he hath kept his Word and discharged his Trust but every Man is apt to do so when he meets one with whom he has dealt dishonestly or who knows some notorious Crime by him 3. Vice is generally forbidden and punished by Humane Laws but against the contrary Virtues there never was any Law Some Vices are so manifestly evil in themselves or so mischievous to Humane Society that the Laws of most Nations have taken care to discountenance them by severe Penalties Scarce any Nation was ever so barbarous as not to maintain and vindicate the Honour of their Gods and Religion by publick Laws Murder and Adultery Rebellion and Sedition Perjury and breach of Trust Fraud and Oppression are Vices severely prohibited by the Laws of most Nations A clear Indication what Opinion the generality of Mankind and the Wisdom of Nations have always had of these things But now against the contrary Virtues there never was any Law No Man was ever impeached for living soberly righteously and godly in this present World A plain Acknowledgment that Mankind always thought them good and never were sensible of the Inconvenience of them for had they been so they would have provided against them by Laws This St. Paul takes notice of as a great Commendation of the Christian Virtues The fruit of the Spirit is Love Joy Peace Long-suffering Gentleness Kindness Fidelity Meekness Temperance against such there is no Law the greatest Evidence that could be given that these things are unquestionably good in the Esteem of Mankind against such there is no Law As if he had said turn over the Law of Moses search those of Athens and Sparta and the twelve Tables of the Romans and those innumerable Laws that have been added since and you shall not in any of them