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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
friend_n	appear_v	great_a	time_n	915	5	3.1574	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26785	The divinity of the Christian religion, proved by the evidence of reason and divine revelation by William Bates ...	Bates, William, 1625-1699.	1677 (1677)	Wing B1104; ESTC R33149	60,636	228

perfect Humility to the World 'T is the special Character of his Religion that distinguishes it from all other Institutions that it preserves the Divine Glory entire that it makes the profoundest impressions in the hearts of Men of their meanness and vanity and inspires them with an humble sense of their infinit distance from God And for the holiness of his Life I shall produce a Testimony that can be liable to no exception 't is of Porphiry a Platonic Philosopher who excelled as in Learning and Eloquence so in Malignity the most furious Enemies of Christianity yet he was by irresistible evidence compell'd to acknowledge That Jesus Christ was a most pious and Excellent Person and that after his Death he ascended into Heaven And is it credible that the same Person whose Life was a glorious Example of Holiness and Righteousness should be guilty of the most transcendent Wickedness 'T is not possible for an unprejudic'd mind to entertain such a suspicion 4. That the Son of God was here below in a mean state that he was expos'd to the most cruel and ignominious death if we consider the great end of his condescending goodness it will appear to be most worthy of him and that there is no contradiction in the things themselves but in the perverse minds of Infidels For First He was to redeem the World not in the way of Majesty but by humble Obedience and Sufferings Thus it was ordered by Divine Wisdom for the honour of God's Attributes and Government Now if he had appear'd in sensible Glory the design of his coming had been frustrated who would have dared to condemn him to the infamous death of the Cross who would have shed his Blood the price of our Redemption And 't is very observable that our Saviour made no use of his Supernatural Power when the doing a Miracle before Herod would have struck him with the reverence of him as a Divine Man and might have preserved him from Death Nay when the glittering Host of Heaven all the Orders of Angels were in Arms ready upon his least Call to have come swifter than Lightning for his rescue yet he meekly yeelded himself up a bloody Sacrifice to God and an ignominious Spectacle to Men. For thus it became him to fulfil all Righteousness Secondly Another great End of his Coming was to found a Spiritual Eternal Kingdom He was constituted a new Adam to regenerate Men to an holy blessed Life that were condemned in the first Adam to Death and Misery Therefore his Life was a continual exercise of Self-denyal a pattern of Innocence and Patience of doing good and suffering evil Thus he convinces us that nothing is valuable in God's account but Holiness Thus by his own Example he instructs us in the divine Philosophy to despise the good and evil things here in order to our everlasting happiness He ascended to Heaven by the way of sufferings and calls us to follow him The fruit of Blessedness is ingrafted on the thorns of Poverty and Persecution for his Name-sake The Laws of his Kingdom are inscribed on the Body of his Cross and must be copyed in the Hearts of his Subjects And for this Reason when the Apostles who after his Resurrection had some reliques of their carnal conceit that the Kingdom of GOD should come with observation for its external splendor ask'd him Lord wilt thou at this time restore the Kingdom of Israel to raise their Thoughts and Affections above Earthly things he answered The Holy-Ghost shall come upon you and ye shall be Witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in Judea and in Samaria and unto the utmost ends of the Earth Their preaching his Life and Death should be attended with the power of the Spirit to dispense a vigorous Influence into the hearts of Men for his Imitation And certainly his Example is of admirable use and profit For thus he sweetens and makes honourable those Vertues the exercise of which were very difficult and unpleasing either in respect of their quality being contrary to fleshly lusts or as they expose to Contempt in the opinion of the World For who can refuse or be asham'd to practise the most severe Self-denyal when in that he is made a Copy of so Divine an Original as the Son of God Now considering what an influence his Afflicted state has to procure Eternal Happiness for fallen Man and to prepare Man for it was it unbecoming him to descend thus low Is it unbecoming that God loves as God that as infinite Wisdom and Power appear'd in the Creation so Infinite Mercy appears in our Redemption What is more Divine than infinitely to exceed all the Ideas we can frame of Perfect Love To do greater things for his Enemies than Men are willing to do for their dearest Friends and where Sin abounds that Grace superabounds Thus the Eye of Reason clear'd by Revelation sees that the voluntary Humiliation of the Son of God for a time is so far from diminishing that it exalts his Majesty This is the great Argument and Motive of the Adoration and solemn Praise that Reasonable Creatures shall for ever pay unto him wherein his derivative Glory consists From what has been discours'd we may see the just grounds of our firm Assent and perfect Adherence to the Doctrine of the Gospel There are not only sufficient but abundant Motives to induce our belief so that it is an extreme Wonder that any to whom it is revealed should not see the Truth so illustriously visible The only account of such Infidelity is given by the Apostle The God of this World hath blinded the eyes of them which believe not lest the Light of the glorious Gospel of Christ who is the Image of God should shine upon them The love of some Lust fleshly or spiritual render Men averse from receiving it The Mysteries of Godliness are not confin'd to the speculative mind but are for moral ends to regulate our lives From hence it is that the cordial belief of them very much depends on the temper and disposition of the Soul The sincere humble Enquirer has an eminent advantage in the discovery of the truth and spiritual excellencies of the Gospel above those who are over-rul'd by corrupt habits For the carnal heart either wholly turns the mind from thinking on those most sacred and concerning objects or weakens its intention that it does not seriously and duly consider them Men will studiously apply themselves to secular Arts and can discern the truth of abstruse Mathematical Theorems that are not distastful to their evil affections yet though the Principles of Christian Faith are as unquestionable as the clearest Propositions in Geometry they will not ponder those things that may convince and perswade them to believe what is directly opposite to their Lusts. Besides as corrupt humours vitiate the palate and make what is pleasant bitter to the taste so vicious desires darken and deprave the mind and incline it to judge of Doctrines to