Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	church_n	england_n	reform_a	3,931	5	9.9167	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30574	An exposition with practical observations continued upon the eighth, ninth, & tenth chapters of the prophesy of Hosea being first delivered in several lectures at Michaels Cornhil, London / by Jeremiah Burroughs ; being the seventh book published by Thomas Goodwin ... [et al.]	Burroughs, Jeremiah, 1599-1646.; Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.; Cross, Thomas, fl. 1632-1682.	1650 (1650)	Wing B6070B; ESTC R36308	388,238	512

God and we observe the Law of Moses No saith the Lord You have gone a whoring from Me. I but still Why may not we rejoyce as other people to be sure we are not worse Idolaters than they therefore though we may not rejoyce more than others yet why not as others they make Idols to be their gods there is nothing so vile among us as among the Nations about us From whence therefore the Observation is this that God charges them more than others First That a people may be free from the gross evils that there are in other people and may have many good things that other people have not and yet may be in a worse condition than other people You will say How can this be Thus There may be some sins that they have among them that may have greater aggravations than any sins that other people have that may make their condition all things considered worse We here in this Land have much rejoyced heretofore in this that we have had the Doctrine of Religion so pure among us as no people more and certainly except it hath been through some few that of late daies have sought to corrupt it certainly that must be said that the Doctrine hath been kept very pure as the main things of Religion and in some things we have gone beyond other reformed Churches as in the point of the Sabbath a great deal beyond them and so there hath been here in England for Family Duties never had God more honor from any people in the world than he hath had from us in many respects but yet for all this it seems by Gods dealings with us at this day that God is more provoked with us than with other people and the truth is take these one or two things and I think that no people upon the face of the earth can paralel our guilt not only no people that are now but never any people since the world began as that bitterness of spirit in the hatred of the power of godliness and the opposing of it and persecuting of it never was any people so guilty as we have been in other reformed Churches men may be as forward and zealous as they will and they are not persecuted as they are here though they kept the Sabbath more loosly yet they never persecuted men that kept it strictly there was never heard that stopping of the mouth of the faithful Ministry so generally as here in England if there were but any stirring Ministry in any place presently fly upon them and so it may well be said to us at this day Rejoyce not as other people God hath spit in our faces to tell us that our condition is worse than the condition of other people Yea but still If we be Idolaters would the ten Tribes say they are so too Here was one particular aggravation upon Israel that was not among other people and that was this There was no other people would forsake their gods as Israel had forsaken theirs Jer. 2. 10. there was never such a thing as for a Land to change their god the worst people for Kedar was the worst sort of people they were a vile people and yet go to Kedar and see and search diligently whether any Nation hath ever forsaken their Gods But you have forsaken Me. And from thence there may be this Note That to be constant to ill principles is not so great an evil as to be false against good principles I say God accounts it not to be so great an evil for men to be constant to their prin●les though they be evil principles as for men to forsake good principles as now if a man hath been brought up all his daies in superstition and thinks verily this is the right certainly this man is not so guilty before God as another that hath been educated in the true worship of God and hath made profession of the contrary and yet afterward doth apostatize and backslide God had rather that men should keep to their principles though they be evil than entertain good principles and forsake them There are none so vile in Gods eyes as Apostates there is not so much sordidness and baseness of spirit in those men that will keep constant to their principles though they be evil as in such as will betray their principles that are good And then the Principal Observation is this That the sins of Gods People are the greatest sins of all the sins of the Saints are the greatest sins of all and they are to mourn more than any In Amos 3. 2. You only have I known of all the families of the earth therefore will I visit you for your iniquities your sins are greater And that in Rom. 2. 9. Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil of the Jew first and also the Gentile And we have these two excellent texts in Jer. 18. 13. Ask ye now among the Heathen who hath heard such things the Virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing that 's the aggravation that it is the Virgin of Israel that hath done such a horrible thing But especially that text in Jer. 32. 30. For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil from their youth Now Hierom hath such a Note upon this What the children of Israel saith he and Judah only done evil from their youth What hath none done evil but they he gives this answer He that hath the knowledg of God and goes from it he alone sins in the eyes of God as for unbeleevers they sin too but it is as if God saw it not and as if God minded it not as he saith in the Acts that he winks at the daies of their ignorance but they only sin that have had the knowledg of God We reade of this Philistims that they ventured to carry the Ark upon Carts God did not manifest himself provoked against them that carried the Ark so but when the Levites would presume to carry it upon carts the Lord makes a breach upon them and strikes Vzzah with death he did bear with it in the Philistins which was a little before and it may be they presumed and thought the Philistins carried the Ark upon a cart why may not we That which God will beare from others he will not bear from his own their sins are against Covenant and that 's a special thing there hath not been that solemn Covenant between me and other people as between you and me This is a mighty aggravation against the sins of Gods people more than against any people in the world that they are against Covenant Oh! remember this you that do often covenant with God when you are in Prayer Oh! how do you renew your Covenant with God What promises do you make with God in Prayer and yet you grow again loose and false and vile afterwards

upon the place as Hierom goes somewhat too legal so Luther because his heart was much in the Gospel and he brings all Scriptures to the uttermost he can for expressing the Grace of the Gospel he goes somewhat at the furthest the other way Sow in Righteousness what 's the seeds of Righteousness that is saith he The Doctrine of the Gospel tendering the Righteousness of Jesus Christ the attending unto this Doctrine of the Gospel and imbracing this that there is Righteousness in Jesus Christ alone this is sowing in Righteousness for saith he what other Righteousness is there but this When Reason would come to the highest degree of Righteousness what is it that it doth only this to conclude Righteousness to be to depart from evil and do things that are good but what Righteousness is this But the Scripture Righteousness is this for a man to know that he hath no good at all in himself that all his evil is pardoned in Jesus Christ this is the Righteousness of the Gospel and this is the seed the seed of all good works I name this though I can hardly think that this is the scope of the Prophet at this time yet there is a very good meditation from this which I see that useful man in the Church of God Luther goes on in saith he What madness and blindness in the Adversary is there that will urge people to sow and yet they do reject and cast off this seed that they should sow That is the Doctrine of the imputation of the Righteousness of Christ by faith why saith he in all Pulpits there 's crying out to men for good works that they would sow in Righteousness but saith he where have they their seed The thing certainly is an excellent truth that he hath upon the place how vain is it for men to be taught to sow good works till they have got the seed And the seed of all good works is The Righteousness that we have by Jesus Christ and therefore he falls a rebuking those that shall blame the Doctrine of the Gospel as the means of licentiousness saith he there 's a great many when we preach of the Righteousness of Jesus Christ think that we preach licentiousness and that men may live as they list it 's quite contrary when we preach the Righteousness of Jesu Christ we preach the seed of all good works and those that have this seed good works will come out of them But saith he further They would have Righteousness but what they slight the Righteousness of God making the Righteousness of his Son but they must have Righteousness of their own to tender up to God then when they come to good works they wil slight Gods good works and they will be giving to God of their good works the world doth neglect those as light things that is the works of mercy to receive the Saints c. No but they will have other brave works to build Churches and Temples and Monastries and to lavish out gold about them and they are the chief good works they will not come to do the work as it were of a Servant but rather the work of a Benefactor to God for in relieving thy poor brother when none but thy self and God knows it thou dost the work of a servant then but to build brave Temples and Monastries and lavish out Gold upon them this is for you to be a Benefactor to God But thus much for his speech Sow in Righteousness We know that the Prophet though he would lead the People to Christ yet his preaching was most in a Legal way Sow Righteousness that is Go on in the works of Righteousness those works that are right and just and equal such as you may give a good accompt of them before God and man as if he should say Do not you think to put me off meerly with outward services with offering sacrifices and with this kind of pompous worship in this superstitious way I will never accept of these things but let me have Righteousness let there be the works of Righteousness according to the Rules of Righteousness so work And the Jews if they did but perform the the external works of Righteousness they might have external Mercies if so be there were a proportion between one work and another If indeed they did some works of Righteousness and not the other then they could not expect mercy from God but though there were no saving Grace in them yet if they did but perform external works of Righteousness and there was a proportion between one and another there doth seem to be an external Covenant that they were under for outward Mercies that they should have for their outward Righteousness Not but that I think for Heaven there they must have true Grace and Godliness as the Saints must have now but external Mercies were more annexed to external Duties than now among us You will say We have external Promises too Yea but that 's made to Godliness in Christ Jesus Now from the words we may note First That the Actions of men they are Seeds such seeds as wil certainly come up other seeds may die in the ground rot and never come up but there is never an Action that thou performest but it will come up one way or other it will come up to something And secondly It will come up in the same kind the seeds of Tares will not come up to Wheat but it will be a Tare and so the Wheat a Wheat all our actions will come up in the same kind Men neglect their actions and think that when they have done it 's over they forget what they did yesterday or the day before but though you may forget it yet it will come up in the same kind though you think not of it I remember Pliny reports of some parts in Affrica that when they sow their seeds they go away and never look after it for many months together So ●t is in many men they sow but they never mind what they have done and quite forget what they have done till they must come to reap But certainly thy actions there they lie and will grow up to something Thirdly The seed lies in the ground rotting a while but afterwards comes up so it is in our actions they seem as if they were quite forgotten but they will come up yea and good actions they seem as if they were wholly lost many times well though the seed doth rot rot in the ground for a time yet it will come up afterwards Fourthly The seed when it is sown it comes up through the blessing of God upon it it 's no endeavor of the Husbandman can make the seed come up but he must leave it to the blessing of God So the seeds of our Actions must be left to God Gods Justice will make the seeds of the wicked come up and his goodness and mercy