Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A67574
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Seven sermons preached by the Right Reverend Father in God, Seth Lord Bishop of Sarum.
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Ward, Seth, 1617-1689.
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1674
(1674)
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Wing W830; ESTC R38484
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145,660
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578
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to reject them for want of such evidence is repugnant to the Reason of mankind I proceed therefore to my second assertion that the Belief of the Divine Authority of the Scriptures is most agreable to reason That the Divine Authority of all the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are undeniably concluded from supposition of the truth of the Relation or History of matters of fact in the New Testament I have already shewn And that the rejection of all History is against the Reason of mankind is evident because all mankind receive some History or other wherefore I shall briefly shew 1. That the History of the New Testament hath all those advantages whereof any History is capable 2. That it hath greater advantages than any other History 1. The Arguments inducing men to the belief of any historical Relation are all of them Either Ab intra Internal from the 1. Credibility and Scibility of the Object 2. The Knowledge and Integrity of the Writers 3. The way and manner of writing Ab extra External from the 1. Reception of it in the world 2. Concurrent testimonies of strangers 3. Concessions of Adversaries and the like In all which particulars no History in the world can justly pretend any advantage above that of the New Testament 1. For the credibility of the Object and Cognoscibility of it 1. To say that instances of supernatural Power and wisdom are impossible is to deny the power of God and his providence in governing the world And to say that such things are incredible as are and have been actually believed in all times and by all sorts of persons Jews and Gentiles Christians and Mahometans a few Atheistical persons only accepted is an absurdity The History that we speak of pretends to no intrigues or Cabalistick Counsels or Myisteries of State but conteins it self within the limits of things Visible and Audible things that were done or spoken so that no History can have advantage over it respectu objecti 2. As for Knowledge in the deliverers I shall shew it by a brief Induction The whole New Testament consists of the Books of the Revelation Epistles Acts of the Apostles and the Gospels The Authors of the Epistles and the Revelation in the Narrative parts of them deliver the things done or spoken to or by themselves and could not be ignorant of their own experiences The Book of the Acts contains some things done by or to the rest of the Apostles but chiefly the concernments of Paul and it was written by Luke who was an individual Companion of Paul and intimately conversant with the rest of the Apostles For the things Related in the Gospel of St. Luke he saith they were delivered to him by those who from the beginning were Eye witnesses of the works and Ministers of the Word and his History agrees with the other Evangelists The Gospel of St. Mark hath nothing which is not in St. Matthew or St. John and was dictated by St. Peter the Head of the Apostles St. Matthew was an Apostle and St. John the Bosom Apostle of Christ. The Apostles were chosen by him for Witnesses of his Words and Actions they were with him from the beginning of his Ministry continued with him till his death couversed with him till his ascension That which they had heard which they had seen with their Eyes which they had looked on which their hands had handled of the word of life that they delivered in writing to the World And more than this no Writer or Relater of History can pretend to 2. For Arguments of their sincerity they have left Precepts of Veracity and prohibitions of lying under pain of Hell torments the Lake that burneth with fire and brimstone They have protested that they did not follow cunningly devised Fables that they did things sincerely as in the sight of God They have appealed to the searcher of hearts The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ knoweth that I lie not The things which I write unto you behold before God I lye not Gal. 1. 20. saith St. Paul They have left behind them various instances of their simplicity and Godly sincerity in representing their failings to the world and of candour and ingenuity in distinguishing the dictates of their own Reason from the inspirations of the Holy Spirit I speak by permission not by commandment of the Lord This say I not the Lord Thus it is according to my judgment c. 1 Cor. 7. But besides all this let the matter be estimated according to common reason If these men did devise a Fable and impose it upon the world what end could they propound to themselves in so doing was there any profit in being destitute of all things or pleasure in being persecuted afflicted and tormented or honour in being counted Fools and Mad-men Before they began to publish the Stories whereof we speak their Master was gone and all worldly hopes were gone away with him If they were not bound in Conscience and in Spirit what obligation had he laid upon them to labour and suffer for his honour as they did To omit the severity of his behaviour to them He called them off from their Vocations Peter and Andrew James and John from their Fishing Mattbew from his Customers place the rest accordingly They forsook their Nets their Ships their Relations and all their interests and followed him And this they did clearly and plainly believing that he was to be a Great Temporal Prince and in hopes of preferment under him In this Expectation they continued to the last minute of his conversation with them upon Earth and he permitted them so to do Their last words to him were delivered in this question Lord wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom unto Israel Of the thing it self they never doubted they only desire to be informed of the time Now after so long expectation Consider his Answer His Answer was this It is not for you to know the times c. but ye shall receive power when the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses of me unto the utmost parts of the earth and immediately he vanished away Was this an answer to their Question or a satisfaction to their expectation Was this an Obligation laid upon them If he had not sent down the Holy Ghost this would have moved them indeed but it would have been to rage and indignation this would have obliged them indeed but it would have been to detest and abhor the name and memory of him that had abused them But for the honour of his name not their own they did and suffered all things and gloried in it An irrefragable argument of their sincerity in the things which they delivered 3. Of the internal Arguments for the belief of History there remains only the Consideration of the way and manner of writing Histories then carry their own credentials in them when the principal parts
the Spirit to preach the Word in Asia II. And for the Conviction of the unbelieving World They had diversities of gifts and different Administrations To one was given the Word of Wisdom to another the Word of Knowledge to another Faith to another the gift of Healing to another Miracles Prophesies Discerning of Spirits The gift of Tongues As it is in the words which I quoted God bare them witness with gifts of the Holy Ghost and with Signs and Wonders and that he did so far that I shall be justified by Christ himself if I shall affirm that the Apostles after his death did greater miracles then he himself did in his life Of the same kind with our Saviours some they performed by means having an appearance of greater strangeness Christ healed by his touch his word his spittle Peter by his Shadow Paul by Handkerchiefs taken from his body But one great thing there was wherein they exceeded The Great and Manifest and frequent Effusions of the Spirit the Reception of it upon themselves the communication of it to others by Prayer Preaching Laying on of Hands By these it was that the unbelieving world was convinced and even Simon Magus himself It is by the power and Vertue of those effusions that we are here met together at this time that the World continues Christian at this day And these are some of those standing means and Arguments whereby the proneness of our hearts to infidelity may be overcome and faith may be begotten confirmed recovered at this day These are therefore to be revolved Exhort one another dayly To come therefore to a Conclusion My text it self is an Application by way of Exhortation Exhortations are enforced by Reasons of Duty and Concernment and these I have hitherto endeavoured to lay before you If indeed there were no Sinfulness in Infidelity Or if in such times as ours it were excusable If there were no danger of falling into it or no means left to remedy or prevent it it would then indeed be to little purpose to Exhort men to beware But if the state of all these things is otherwise if that be plain and evident agreeable to Scripture to Reason and to Experience if the Speaker hath not beaten the Air nor the heaters been careless and inattentive I know not what can be required to enforce and sharpen the exhortation If the time would suffer it and I were speaking to a Common or Injudicious Auditory I might think my self concerned after all that hath been spoken to the understanding to Apply my discourse to your affections I should take unto me the various forms of Application used in this Epistle I would Reprove Rebuke Exhort I would cry aloud and would not spare I would lift up my voice like a Watchmans trumpet warning you from the Lord concerning the Spirit of irreligion and infidelity which is said to have overspread the land I would take to my self a Lamentation yea it should be for a Lamentation for the Professors of Infidelity and the Infidelity of Professors every where But I may not now be permitted to enlarge upon these things I may only pray to God to give you understanding in all things and beseech you earnestly to consider what hath been spoken Concluding in the words of the Text Take heed brethren lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God Exhort one another dayly FINIS Die Jovis 11 o Octobris 1666. ORdered by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled That the thanks of this House be given to the Lord Bishop of Exon. for his Pains in the Service he performed in Preaching a Sermon before the Peers in the Abby-Church at Westminster yesterday being the day appointed by His Majesty for Fasting and Humiliation in consideration of the late Dreadful Fire which wasted the greater part of the City of London And that his Lordship be and is hereby desired to Print and Publish his said Sermon John Browne Cler. Parliam A SERMON Preached before the PEERS IN THE Abby-Church at Westminster October 10 th M. DC LXVI BY SETH then Lord Bishop of EXON LONDON Printed by A. C. for James Collins at the Kings Arms within Ludgate near St. Pauls 1672. A SERMON Preached before the House of Peers AT WEST MINISTER ECCLES xi 9. But know that for all these things God will bring thee to Judgment Rejoyce O young man c. THE great and general design of the Ministry and preaching of the Gospel is to bring men to Christianity not in the outward profession but in the true spirit and power thereof to the end they may be justified and sanctified and finally saved through Christ for ever The Particular design of this Dayes Observation is to humble our selves under the mighty hand of God in Consideration of his Judgments especially that late one in consuming with Fire the Ancient and noble Metropolis of this Nation and to endeavour to appease the wrath of God gone out against us To compass both these designs whereof the later is subordinate to the former I know no better expedient than to reason a while upon that important argument suggested in the Text. Who can think upon the Conflagration of our late Glorious City and not call to mind the great and terrible day of Judgment Who can think seriously of Judgment and not be compelled to come in driven to Christianity that he may be saved from the wrath to come The great Instructor and Example of Christian Preachers he who saith of himself that Christ sent him to preach and not to baptize found no means so powerful to perswade men to Christianity as to reason upon this argument as first to lay before them the terror of Judgment and then whilst that was warm upon their hearts to make them a tender of the Gospel This is the great advantage and use the Apostle makes of the Doctrine of the Text. We must all appear saith he before the Judgment-seat of Christ Knowing therefore the terrour of the Lord we perswade men Upon these Considerations I shall hope for the pardon of this Noble Auditory if without affectation of Science I shall in a practical and familiar way of reasoning indeavour to imitate our Apostle in this particular If in the mean time it will be irksome and unpleasant to hear of the Judgment to come we shall do well to consider what it will be to undergo it we shall do well to reflect upon our Souls and search out the ground of this aversness Is it because we do not believe a Judgment to come or that we our selves shall be brought to Judgment Is it because we never consider who it is before whom me must appear or what things will be charged on our account Is it because we are so far gone in our arrears that it is to no purpose to call these things into our remembrance What ever it be we may perhaps hear of that