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_v	world_n	4,494	5	5.2227	4	false

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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

he might redeem them that were under the Law and that those who were in the condition of Servants before might be set at liberty and receive the adoption of Sons But how did his being made under the Law qualifie him to redeem those who were under the Law Thus By submitting to it himself he shewed that he owned the Authority of it and that he had no malice or enmity against it or as he himself expresses it that he came not to destroy the Law but to fulfill it And being fulfill'd and having serv'd the time and end for which God intended it it expir'd of it self like a Law which is not made for perpetuity but limited to a certain period And our Blessed Saviour who came with greater Authority than Moses and gave greater Testimony of his Divine Authority had sufficient power to declare the expiration of it and by Commissioning his Disciples before and after his death to Preach the Gospel to the whole World he put an end to that particular Law and Dispensation which only concern'd the Jewish Nation by giving a general Law to all Mankind So that from the Death of our Saviour and his Ascension into Heaven upon which followed the general publication of the Gospel the Law of Moses ceased and according to our Saviour's express appointment Proselytes were to be admitted into the Christian Church only by Baptism and not by Circumcision And ●f Circumcision which was the sign of that Covenant was laid aside then the whole Obligation of that Law and Covenant which God had made with the Jews was also ceased It was once indeed the mark of God's chosen and peculiar People but now that God hath revealed himself to the whole World by his Son and offers Salvation to all Mankind Gentiles as well as Jews the wall of separation is broken down and Circumcision which was the mark of distinction between Jews and Gentiles is taken away and therefore he is said to have made peace by his Cross and to have blotted out and taken away the hand-writing of Ordinances nailing it to his Cross that is from the time of his Death to have taken away the obligation of the Law of Moses tho' it was a good while after before the Jews were wholly weaned from the veneration and use of it Nay it was some time before the Apostles were clearly convinc'd that the Gospel was to be preach'd to the Gentiles this being one of those Truths which our Saviour promised after his departure his Spirit should lead them into the perfect knowledge of and then they were fully instructed that the Law of Moses was expir'd and that it was no longer necessary to the Salvation of Men that they should be Circumcised and keep that Law And tho' it was once enjoyn'd by God himself to the Jews and their Obedience to it was necessary to their acceptance with God yet now by Christ Jesus God had offered Salvation to Men upon other Terms and whether they were Circumcised or not was of no moment to their Justification or Salvation one way or other but provided they perform'd the Condition of this New Covenant of the Gospel they were all alike capable of the Divine Favour and Acceptance But I proceed to that which I mainly intended to prosecute from these words and that is the Second Particular in the Text namely that according to the terms of the Gospel and the Christian Religion nothing will avail to our justification and acceptance with God but the real renovation of our Hearts and Lives neither Circumcision nor uncircumcision but a new Creature For the full explication of this I shall do these three Things First Shew what is imply'd in this Phrase of a new Creature Secondly That this is the great Condition of our justification and acceptance with God and that it is the same in substance with Faith perfected by Charity and with keeping the Commandments of God Thirdly That it is very reasonable it should be so 1. What is imply'd in this Phrase of a new Creature It is plain at first sight that it is a Metaphorical expression of that great and thorough change which is made in Men by the Gospel or the Christian Religion The Scripture sets forth to us this Change by great variety of expressions by Conversion and turning from our Iniquities unto God by Repentance which signifies a change of our Mind and Resolution and is in Scripture call'd Repentance from dead works and Repentance unto Life by Regeneration or being born again by Resurrection from the Dead and rising to newness of Life by Sanctification and being wash'd and cleans'd from all filthiness and impurity which three last Metaphors are imply'd in Baptism which is call'd Regeneration Tit. 3. 5. According to his Mercy he saved us by the washing of Regeneration and renewing of the ●oly Ghost and our being born again of Water and the Holy Ghost John 3. 3. Except a Man be born again c. and ver 5. except a Man be born of Water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God and the purifying of our Consciences Heb. 10. 22. having our Hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience and our Bodies wash'd with pure water and the answer of a good Conscience towards God 1 Pet. 3. 21. Baptism doth now save us not the putting away of the filth of the Flesh but the answer of a good Conscience towards God and finally our being Baptiz'd into the Death and Resurrection of Christ Rom. 6. 3 4. Know ye not that so many of us as were Baptized into Jesus Christ were Baptized into his death therefore we are buried with him by Baptism into death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of Life And lastly this Change is set forth to us by Renovation and our being made New Creatures and new Men 2 Cor. 5. 17. Therefore if any Man be in Christ that is professeth himself a Christian he is a new Creature old things are past away behold all things are become new And so likewise Ephes 4. 22 23 24. this great Change is exprest by putting off concerning the former Conversation the old Man which is corrupt according to the lusts of deceit and being renewed in the spirit of our Minds and putting on that new Man which after God is Created in Righteousness and true Holiness The Expression is very emphatical renewed in the spirit of our Minds that is in our very Minds and Spirits to signifie to us that it is a most inward and thorough Change reaching to the very center of our Souls and Spirits And Colos 3. 9 10 11th verses it is represented much after the same manner Seeing ye have put off the old Man with his deeds and have put on the new Man which is renewed in knowledge after the Image of him that Created him where there is neither Greek nor Jew Circumcision nor

cruelty of Devils the severe lashes and stings the raging anguish and horrible despair of their own minds without intermission without pity and without hope of ever seeing an end of that misery which yet is unsupportable for one moment could I represent these things to you according to the terror of them what effect must they have upon us and with what patience could any Man bear to think of plunging himself into this misery and by his own wilful fault and folly to endanger his coming into this place and state of torments Especially if we consider in the Third place that the Gospel hath likewise declared that there is no avoiding of this misery no hopes of impunity if Men go on and continue in their Sins The terms of the Gospel in this are peremptory that except we Repent we shall perish that without holiness no Man shall see the Lord that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God And this is a very pressing Consideration and brings the Matter to a short and plain issue Either we must leave our Sins or die in them either we must Repent of them or be Judged for them either we must ●orsake our Sins and break off that wicked Course which we have lived in or we must quit all hopes of Heaven and Happiness nay we cannot escape the damnation of Hell The clear revelation of a future Judgment is so pressing an Argument to Repentance as no Man can in Reason resist that hath not a mind to be miserable Now saith St. Paul to the Athenians he straightly chargeth all Men every where to Repent because he hath appointed a Day in the which he will judge the World in Righteousness Men may cheat themselves or suffer themselves to be deluded by others about several means and devices of reconciling a wicked Life with the hopes of Heaven and Eternal Salvation as by mingling some pangs of sorrow for Sin and some hot Fits of Devotion with a sinful Life which is only the interruption of a wicked Course without Reformation and amendment of Life but let no Man deceive you with vain words for our Blessed Saviour hath provided no other ways to save Men but upon the terms of Repentance and Obedience Fourthly This Argument takes hold of the most desperate and profligate Sinners and still retains its force upon the Minds of Men when almost all other Considerations fail and have lost their efficacy upon us Many Men are gone so far in an Evil Course that neither shame of their Vices nor the love of God and Virtue nor the hopes of Heaven are of any force with them to reclaim them and bring them to a better Mind but there is one handle yet left whereby to lay hold of them and that is their Fear This is a Passion that lies deep in our Nature being founded in self-preservation and sticks so close to us that we cannot quit our selves of it nor shake it off 〈…〉 may put off ingenuity and 〈…〉 all Obligations of gratitude Men may harden their Foreheads and Conquer all sense of shame but they can never perfectly sti●le and subdue their Fears they can hardly so extinguish the fear of Hell but that some sparks of that Fire will ever and anon be flying about in their Consciences especially when they are made sober and brought to themselves by affliction and by the present apprehensions of Death have a nearer sight of another World And if it was so hard for the Heathen to Conquer these apprehensions how much harder must it be to Christians who have so much greater assurance of these things and to whom the wrath of God is so clearly revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men. Fifthly No Religion in the World ever urged this Argument upon Men with that force and advantage which Christianity does The Philosophy of the Heathen gave Men no steady assurance of the thing the most knowing Persons among them were not agreed about a Future State the greatest part of them spake but doubtfully concerning another Life And besides the natural jealousies and suspicions of Mankind concerning these things they had only some fair probabilities of Reason and the Authority of their Poets who talkt they knew not what about the Elizian Fields and the Infernal Regions and the three Judges of Hell so that the Wisest among them had hardly assurance enough in themselves of the truth of the thing to press it upon others with any great confidence and therefore it was not likely to have any great efficacy upon the generality of Mankind As for the Jewish Religion tho' that supposed and took for granted the Rewards of another World as a Principle of Natural Religion yet in the Law of Moses there was no particular and express Revelation of the Life of the World to come and what was deduced from it was by remote and obscure Consequence Temporal Promises and Threatnings it had many and clear and their Eyes were so dazled with these that it is probable that the generality of them did but little consider a Future State 'till they fell into great temporal Calamities under the Grecian and Roman Empires whereby they were almost necessarily awakened to the Consideration and hopes of a better Life to relieve them under their present Evils and Sufferings and yet even in that time they were divided into two great Factions about this Matter the one affirming and the other as considently denying any Life after this But the Gospel hath brought Life and Immortality ●o light and we are assured from Heaven of the truth and reality of another State and a Future Judgment The Son of God was sent into the World to preach this Doctrine and rose again from the Dead and was taken up into Heaven for a visible demonstration to all Mankind of another Life after this and consequently of a Future Judgment which no Man ever doubted of that did firmly believe a Future State The Sum of all that I have said is this the Gospel hath plainly declared to us that the only way to Salvation is by forsaking our Sins and living a Holy and Virtuous Life and the most effectual Argument in the World to perswade Men to this is the consideration of the infinite danger that a sinful Course exposeth Men to since the wrath of God continually hangs over Sinners and if they continue in their Sins will certainly fall upon them and overwhelm them with Misery and he that is not moved by this Argument is lost to all intents and purposes All that now remains is to urge this Argument upon Men and from the serious Consideration of it to perswade them to Repent and reform their wicked Lives And was there ever Age wherein this was more needful when Iniquity doth not only abound but even rage among us when Infidelity and Profaneness and all manner of Lewdness and Vice appears so boldly and openly and Men commit the greatest Abominations without blushing at them

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