Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	evil_a	good_a	overcome_v	2,148	5	9.0851	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26939	How to do good to many, or, The publick good is the Christians life directions and motives to it, intended for an auditory of London citizens, and published for them, for want of leave to preach them / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1682 (1682)	Wing B1283; ESTC R5487	40,184	56

and foresee what is like to come He must not live as if his neighbourhood were all the Land or his Country or his Party were all the Church or all the World He must know what relation all our actions have to other Nations and to all the Church of Christ on earth The want of this Universal prospect involveth many in censorious and dividing Sects who would abhor that way if they knew the case of all the Church and world And we must not look only to a present exigent or advantage but foresee how our Actions will look hereafter and what changes may put them under other judgments and what the fruits may be to posterity Many things cause death which give the Patient present ease 7. He that will do good to many must have Christian fortitude and not be discouraged with difficulties and opposition He must serve God for the good of men with absolute resolution and not with the hypocrites reserves He must be armed with patience against not only the malice of enemies but the ingratitude of friends The follies and quarrels and mutinies and divisions and often the abuses of those that he would do good to must not overcome him He must imitate God and do good to the Evil and bless those that curse him and pray for them that despightfully use him He must not promise himself more success than God hath promised him nor yet despair and turn back discouraged But Conscience must carry him on to the end through all whatever shall befal him 8. Therefore he must look for his reward from God and not expect too much from Man Men are insufficient mutable and uncertain Their interests and many accidents may change them The multitude are of many minds and tempers and if you please some you shall displease others And it is hard to please even one person long Some great ones will not be pleased unless you will prefer their Wills before the Will of God your Countries good and your own Salvation The poor are so many and so indigent that no man can answer their desires If you give twenty pound to twenty of the poor forty or an hundred that expected the like will murmure at you and be displeased What Man ever did so much good in the world as not to be accused by some as if he were a Covetous or a hurtful man Therefore he that will do much good must firmly believe the life to come and must do that he doth as the work of God in obedience to him and look for his reward in Heaven and not as the Hypocrite in the praise of men much less as the worldling in the hope of temporal advantage He must not wonder if he be rewarded as Socrates was at Athens and as Christ and his Apostles were in the world Themistocles likened himself to a great Fruit Tree which Men run for shelter under in a storm and when the storm is over they throw stones and cudgels at it to beat down the fruit Reckon not on a reward from men but from God By what is said you may perceive what are the great impediments of doing good to many which must be overcome I. One and the worst is Malignity which is an Enmity to Spiritual good For who will promote that which he is against II. Another is unbelief of Gods Commands and Promises when men take not themselves to be his Subject and Stewards nor can take his promise for good security for their reward III. Another is the forementioned sin of Selfishness which makes a mans self to be his chiefest love and care and more to him than Christs interest or the Church or Kingdom IV. Another is a false conceit that a man is so obliged to provide for his Children and Kindred that all that he can get how rich soever he be must be left to make them rich except some inconsiderable pittance V. Another is the great neglect of Parents to prepare their Children to be profitable to the Commonwealth but only to live in prosperity to themselves 1. Children should be taught as much as may be to become persons of understanding and such wisdom as may make them useful 2. And especially to be truly Religious For then they will be devoted to do good in love and obedience to God 3. They should be taught what it is to be members of Societies and what duty they owe to Church and State and how great a part of their duty lyeth in careing for the Common good and how sinful and damnable it is to live only to themselves and how much this selfishness is the sum of all iniquity 4. Those Callings should be chosen for them which they are fittest for and in which they may do most publick good VI. And a timerous Cowardly disposition is a great hinderance to publick good For such will be still for the self-saving way and afraid of the dangers that attend the greatest duties If they are called to Liberality they will fear lest they should want themselves In all costly or hazardous duty there will still be a Lyon in their way They cannot trust God and no wonder then if they are not to be trusted themselves VII Lastly Sloth and Idleness are constant Enemies to well doing There are two sorts especially guilty of this one and the better is some Religious people who think that their business is only with God and their own hearts and that if they could spend all their time in Meditation Prayer and such like exercises it would be the best kind of life on Earth Among the Papists multitudes by this conceit turn Fryars and Nun's Among us such spend all their time in hearing Sermons and in Reading and Meditating and Prayer and such like exercises of Religion towards God if they are but rich enough to live without bodily labour And the Example of Mary and Martha they think will make this good I know that this is no common error The wicked are of a far different mind And I know no man can do too much to save his Soul But we may do one sort of our work too much to the neglect of other parts We have Souls in flesh and both parts have their proper necessity and work Mary did somewhat else than hear tho she wisely preferred it in its season And no one is made for himself alone You feel that Religious exercises do you good But what good is it that you do to others I confess a Monks Prayers for others is a good work But God will have Praying and endeavouring go together both for your selves and others Bare Praying God to relieve the Poor and to teach your Children and instruct the ignorant will not excuse you from relieving teaching or instructing them Yea and your own good will best come in by your fullest obedience to God Do what he bids you and he will take care of your Salvation Your own way may seem best but will not prove best It will but

of the name and lineage that proveth worthy There are many other good works by which some rich men may be very profitable to the Common-wealth such as setting all the poor on work and building Hospitals for the Impotent c. But these this City is happily acquainted with already and tho still there be much wanting yet there is much done V. But one more I will presume to name only to you that are Merchants For I am not one who have the ear of Princes who are more able might not somewhat more be done than yet is to further the Gospel in your Factories and in our Plantations Old Mr. Eliots with his helpers in New-England have shewed that somewhat may be done if others were as Charitable and zealous as they The Jesuites and Fryars shewed us in Congo Japan China and other Countries that much might be done with care and diligence Tho the Papal interest was a corrupt end and all the means that they used was not justifiable when I read of their hazards unwearied labours and success I am none of those that would deprive them of their deserved honour but rather wish that we that have better ends and principles might do better than they and not come so far behind them as we do if half be true that Pet. Massoeus and the Jesuites Epistles and many other writers tell us of them I know that they had the advantage of greater helps from Kings and Pope and Prelates and Colledges endued with trained men and copious maintenance But might not somewhat more be done by us than is yet done 1. Is it not possible to send some able zealous Chaplains to those Factories which are in the Countries of Infidels and Heathens Such as thirst for the Conversion of sinners and the enlargment of the Church of Christ and would labour skilfully and diligently therein Is it not possible to get some short Christian books which are fitted for that use to be translated in such languages that Infidels can read and to distribute them among them If it be not possible also to send thither Religious Conscionable Factors who would further the work the case of London is very sad II. Is it not possible at least to help the poor ignorant Armenians Greeks Moscovites and other Christians who have no Printing among them nor much Preaching or knowledge and for want of Printing have very few Bibles even for their Churches or Ministers Could nothing be done to get some Bibles Catechisms and practical books printed in their own tongues and given among them I know there is difficulty in the way But mony and willingness and diligence might do something III. Might not something be done in other Plantations as well as in New-England towards the Conversion of the Natives there Might not some skilful zealous Preachers be sent thither who would both promote serious piety among those of the English that have too little of it and might invite the Americans to learn the Gospel and teach our Planters how to behave themselves Christianly towards them to win them to Christ IV. Is it not possible to do more than hath been done to Convert the Blacks that are our own slaves or servants to the Christian faith Hath not Mr. Goodwin justly reprehended and lamented the neglect yea and resistence of this work in Barbados and the like elsewhere 1. Might not better Teachers be sent thither for that use 2. Is it not an odious crime of Christians to hinder the Conversion of these Infidels lest they lose their service by it and to prefer their gain before mens Souls Is not this to sell Souls for a little mony as Judas did his Lord And whereas the Law manumits them from servitude when they turn Christians that it may invite them to Conversion and this occasioneth wicked Christians to hinder them from knowledge were it not better move the Government therefore to change that Law so far as to allow these Covetous Masters their service for a certain time useing them as free Servants 3. And whereas they are allowed only the Lords day for their own labour and some honest Christians would willingly allow them some other time instead of it that they might spend the Lords day in Learning to know Christ and worship God but they dare not do it lest their wicked Neighbours rise against them for giving their Slaves such an Example might not the Governours be procured to force the whole Plantation to it by a Law even to allow their Infidel Servants so much time on another day and cause some to congregate them for instruction on the Lords days Why should those men be called Christians or have any Christian reputation or priviledges themselves who think both Christianity and Souls to be no more worth than to be thus basely sold for the gain of mens servilest labours And what tho the poor Infidels desire not their own Conversion Their need is the greater and not the less VI. I conclude with this moveing inference The great opposition that is made against doing good by the Devil and his whole Army through all the world and their lamentable success doth call aloud to all true Christians to overdo them O what a Kingdom of Malignants hath Satan doing mischief to mens Souls and bodies through the Earth Hating the Godly oppressing the just corrupting doctrine introducing Lies turning Christs labourers out of his Vineyard forbidding them to Preach in his name the saving word of life hiding or despising the Laws of Christ and setting up their own Wills and Devises in their stead making dividing distracting Engines on pretence of Order Government and Unity Murdering mens bodies and ruining their Estates and slandering their names on pretence of love to the Church and Souls encouraging Prophaneness Blasphemy Perjury Whoredom and Scorning Conscience and fear of sinning What diligence doth Satan use through the very Christian Nations to turn Christs Ordinances of Magistracy and Ministry against himself and to make his own Officers the most mischievous Enemies to his Truth and Kingdom and saving work to tread down his Family and Spiritual worship as if it were by his own Authority and Commission To Preach down Truth and Conscience and real Godliness as in Christs own name and fight against him with his own word and to teach the people to hate his servants as if this pleased the God of Love And alas how dismal is their success In the East the Church is hereby destroyed by barbarous Mahometans the remnants by their Prelates continued in Sects in great ignorancé and dead formality reproaching and anathematizing one another and little hope appearing of recovery In the West a dead Image of Religion and Unity and Order drest up with a multitude of gawds and set up against the Life and Soul of Religion Unity and Order and a War hereupon maintain'd for their destruction with sad success So that usually the more Zealous men are for the Papal and formal humane Image the more zealously they study the extirpation of Worshipping God in Spirit and Truth and thirst after the blood of the most serious Worshippers and cry down them as intolerable Enemies who take their Baptism for an obliging Vow and seriously endeavour to perform it and live in good earnest as Christianity bindeth them and they take it for an unsufferable Crime to prefer Gods Authority before mans and to plead his Law against any thing that men command them In a word he is unworthy to be accounted a Christian with them who will be a Christian indeed and not despise the Laws of Christ and unworthy to have the liberty and usage of a man that will not sin and damn his Soul So much more cruel are they than the Turkish Tyrants who if they send to a man for his head must be obeyed And is the Devil a better Master than Christ and shall his work be done with greater zeal and resolution Will he give his Servants a better reward Should not all this awaken us to do Good with greater diligence than they do evil and to promote Love and Piety more earnestly than they do malignity and iniquity Is not saving Church and State Souls and Bodies better worth resolution and labour than destroying them And the prognosticks are encouraging Certainly Christ and his Kingdom will prevail At last all his Enemies shall be made his footstool yea shall from him receive their doom to the everlasting punishment which rebels against omnipotency goodness and mercy do deserve If God be not God if Christ will not conquer if there be no life to come let them boast of their success But when they are rottenness and dust and their souls with Devils and their names are a reproach Christ will be Christ his promises and threatnings all made good 2 Thes 1. 6. c. He will judg it righteous to recompense tribulation to your troublers when he cometh with his mighty Angels in flaming fire to take vengeance on rebels and to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all true Believers And when that solemn Judgment shall pass on them that did Good and that did Evil described Matth. 25. with a Come ye blessed inherit the Kingdom and go ye Cursed into everlasting fire doing Good and not doing it much more doing mischief will be better distinguished than now they are when they are rendred as the reason of those different dooms FINIS