Selected quad for the lemma: grace_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
grace_n	deny_v	teach_v	ungodliness_n	4,302	5	11.7286	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96538	A word in season, for a warning to England: or a prophecy of perillous times open'd and apply'd. Wherein the signes of bad times, and the means of making the times good, are represented as the great concernment of all good Christians in this present age. First exhibited in a sermon preached in the Abby at Westminster, July 5. 1659. and since enlarged and published. / By Thomas VVilles, M.A. minister of the Gospel, in the city of London.	Willis, Thomas, 1619 or 20-1692.	1659 (1659)	Wing W2308; Thomason E1734_1; ESTC R7862	218,037	465

Godlinesse that you may with comfort look for the coming of Christ and with confidence hast to the Judgement day Remember that the † Tit. 2.11 12 13. Grace of God reveal'd in the Gospel which brings salvation to you teaches you that denying ungodlinesse and worldly Lusts you should live soberly righteously and godly in this present World So looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appea ing of the great God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ Let Prayer and Piety then be your daily Exercise during Life that though you live in perillous Times you may finish your Daies in Peace Be diligent in doing of good and * 1 Thes 5.22 23. Abstaine from all appearance of Evil. And the very God of Peace sanctifie you wholly and I pray God your whole Spirit and Soul and Body be preserved blamelesse unto the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ † Jude 24 25 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultlesse before the presence of his Glory with exceeding Joy to the onely wise God our Saviour be Glory and Majesty Dominion and Power now and ever Amen FINIS The Authour's Advertisem●nt REader thou art now come to the End of this Book let me tell thee what was the End of the Author in publishing it God in the Scripture tells us that evil Dayes perillous Times shall come This is doubtlesse written for our Instruction It 's then surely the Duty of a Minister of the Gospel to give People WARNING of these perillous Times and after the Example of the Prophets and faithful Preachers of the Word in all Ages to give in his WITNES against the evil of the Dayes This out of Faithfulness to the great Interests of the Glory of God and the Salvation of souls The Author upon this Ground readily embraced what he judged his fittest Opportunity for the discharge of this Duty that so he might have a good conscience both towards God and towards men Moreover the Author observing with Griefe how the generality of men perceiving their Danger in such perillous Times are wont to study their safety by carnall Compliances with every rising Party whereby when a wicked Party prevailes it strengthens it selfe mightily to the carrying on and Accomplishment of those Designes which are destructive to the whole Nation in the Safety or Ruine whereof particular Persons and Societies must needs stand or fall Thus the Trees submit themselves to the scratching Bramble and put their Trust under its shadow till at length Fire coming forth from it to devoure the Noble Cedars consumes the whole Forrest Such is the Folly of men that oft-times by that very meanes whereby they seek for Safety they runne themselves into the greater Danger I judg'd it my Duty therefore to endeavour a Discovery of a more excellent Way Doubtlesse here lies our greatest Danger in our provoking God by our sins to punish us and the whole Land by his Judgements If he become our Enemy they are not men be they never so great and mighty in Power that can help or save us And by sinful compliances how soone may the whole Nation be involv'd in the guilt of those horrid Perjuries injurious Incroachments fearful Enormities and God-provoking Abominations which may pluck down the sorest Plagues and Punishments upon all the People of the Land Our onely safety then lies in making our Peace with God by humbling our selves for all our sinnes and turning to him with our whole Hearts and so in walking humbly with him in his holy wayes and keeping our selves cleare from the Evils and Abominations of the Times For if God be with us who can be against us If he that is Mighty to save be our Friend we need not care who are our Enemies nor feare what man can do unto us Now this is the Scope and Drift of the present Treatise and to give a timely Warning of this Danger and a seasonable Admonition of this Duty was the Designe and is the Desire of the Author For this Reason and end therefore was this Sermon first preached and afterwards by the Advice of many of his Reverend Brethren the Ministers of the Gospel in the City of London was this Discourse published If thou desirest to know what was at the first preached in the Sermon and hath been since added in the Discourse which hath swelled it to this Bignesse take this Account The Sermon mainly consisted of these two things the Symptomes of perillous Times and the Duty of the Saints in such Dayes of Danger For the former those seven Symptomes were laid down which according to the Order wherein now thou findest them are the third fourth fift sixt eighth ninth and last For the latter the first and second Duties onely were prest and therein principally the fift Branch of the second Duty Almost all the rest with sundry illustrative Enlargements of these are added in this Treatise that it might by the Blessing of God become of more General Usefulnesse This Advertisement I have added for thy satisfaction which I shall conclude with this Caution Take heed thou art not one of them that make the Times perillous By a serious Perusal of the fore-going Discourse and a Religious Reflexion upon thy selfe thou mayest come to know whether thou art on Gods side or against him But see thou do thy self no Hurt by what 's meant for thy Good Harden not thy selfe against the Admonitions given thee in the Name of the Lord. For Know the BOOK in thy hand however buried in Contempt will rise up in Judgement against many Great Ones many Guilty Ones in this Nation at the last Day whose guilt will be aggravated by their slighting of this timely Warning given them by A poor unworthy Servant of the Lord Jesus in the Ministry of his glorious Gospel THO. WILLES London Aug. 15. 1659. The Book commended to Gods Blessing GLORIOUS GOD This poor thing which thy unworthy servant hath finish't in thy strength is now prest for thy service And behold I have here brought it before thy Majesty that it may receive thy Blessing Thou who art the great God delightest to do great things by weak Means that thy Power may appear and thy Name may have the Glory O that it would please thee to make use of this poor thing as an Instrument in thine own hand for the Glory of thy great Name and the good of thy People in this sinful Nation Oh let not the Weaknesses and Infirmities of thy servant that herein disclose themselves hinder the success of this small service which he desires hereby to do thy distracted Church Lord own and accept what is Good in it for it is thine own but what is Evil pardon and cover as proceeding from the weaknesse of a poor Creature that would willingly do thee much better service and yet is willing to submit to thy Will though Thou shouldest subject him to the meanest employment And give O Lord so much

more taken with the sweetnesse of honey then with the Royal Eagle that Embleme of Noblenesse with the Brightnesse of the Sun God is the * Summum Bonum Chiefest Good the most Amiable Object to an Intellectual Eye and yet more Amiable to a Spiritual Eye as he discloses his Beauties in the Face of Christ Sensual Pleasure is a soon vanishing smile a tickling of the Senses causing † Eccl. 7.6 the Laughter of Fools What Fools are those that prefer a vanishing shadow before a never fading Beauty And besides these transitory Pleasures thus inordinately pursu'd end in eternal Paines Momentaneum quod delectat Aeternum quod cruciat The Delight of an Epicure like the † Job 20.5 joy of an hypocrite is but for a moment but his torment is everlasting And yet do these foolish Epicureans love their pleasures more then God as appears in this that they forsake God to follow their pleasures and while they are taken up with the entertainment of their pleasures they say to God depart from us we care not for the knowledge of thy Wayes * Job 21.10 11. Such are they of whom the Prophet speaks † Amos 6.4 5 6. That lie upon Beds of Ivory and stretch themselves upon their couches and eat the Lambs out of the Flock and the calves out of the midst of the Stall That chant to the sound of the Vial and invent to themselves Instruments of Musick like David That drink Wine in Bowles and anoint themselves with the chief oyntments but they are not grieved for the Affliction of Joseph They banish sorrow from their hearts and sink in downy Delights They regard not the State of the Church nor care for the Commands of God They live in a Paradise of Pleasures and so pass into a Purgatory of Paines a place where their Flowers are all faded and where that Fire is kindled which shall burne for ever Thus the Apostle James reproves the Rich men of his Dayes who were great Oppressors of the Poore * Jam 5.1 4 5 Ye have lived in Pleasure saith he on the earth and been wanton ye have nourisht your hearts as in a Day of slaughter The words in the Orignal are more Elegant and Emphatical 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ye have been luxurious and lascivious But what 's the end of these irreligious and wanton Epicures They are but fatted with the swine to the slaughter A Voluptuous man cannot be a Virtuous man Vertue can finde no Place much lesse hope for Preferment in the Kingdom of Pleasure In the Deluge of Pleasure the Dove of Piety can finde no place where to set the sole of her Foot But punishment will take place where Piety can finde none The nineteenth Character 19. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Habentes speciem quidem Pietatis Virtutem autem ejus abnegantes † Vetus Vel habentes Formam Pietatis sed qui Vim ejus abnegarint * Beza Vel quibus est species Reverentiae Dei a Virtute Dei longe discedunt † Syr. Interp Trem. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 autem significat inane Pietatis simulacrum * Bez. in loc 19. Having a form of godlinesse but denying the power thereof These are Hypocritical Professours of Religion who make a faire shew outwardly but there 's no substance there 's nothing but Emptynesse within They set up an Image of godliness which was never enlivened with Grace They make a shew of Devotion without any Truth of Affection They have an outward Forme but they want that inward F●rvour which should give Life and Heate to all their exercises of Religion and godlinesse The † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Word here used signifies not an Essential but an Accidental form the Visor or Mask not the Beauty or Lineaments of true godlinesse They weare Christs Livery but never learn that Lesson which he taught his Disciples * Mat. 10.38 Luk. 9.23 To deny themselves to take up their Crosse and follow Christ. They are like those that weare anothers Picture when they care not for his Person They content themselves with the shell of Religion without the Kernel the shadow without the Substance the forme without the Power They deny the power of godlinesse that is they are utterly void of it altogether strangers to it They neither feel nor exercise the Vigour and Life of true Godlinesse solid Christianity They do not experiment the Efficacy of it upon their Hearts nor expresse the Beauty of it in their Lives They are acquainted it may be with the Letter but strangers to the Spirit of the Gospel They are as so many Bull-rushes growing in the waters of the Sanctuary smooth without but spungy and non-substantial within Their Religion is but a Body without a Soul a Cage without a Bird a painted Cabinet without the Jewel a very Picture without Life strength or motion They are in a word no better then painted Pageants of pretended Piety To compleat the number of these Characters we shall draw one more from the thirteenth Verse of this Chapter where these Persons before so largely describ'd by their several Properties are further called The twentieth Character 20. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mali homines seductores † Vetus Vel Improbi homines Impostores * Beza 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dictus significat aliquid amplius quam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nempe eum qui sit in omni scelere exercitatus ad injuriam cuivis inferendam totus comparatus † Bez. in Mat. 5.37 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 est homo de industria malus malignus ad male agendum exercitatus * Cornel. a Lap. Diabolus per quandam Antonomasiam vocatur 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 † Drus Obs Sac. l. 13. c. 16. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Praestigiatorem seu Prestigiis Incantatione Imposturis fallentem apud Veteres * Platonem sc Herodot Alios Graecos significat 20. Evil men and Seducers Sinne and Seduction go hand in hand together These two fitly concur to make up one Character of a wicked man The greater sinner a man is the sooner will he become a Seducer The greater the sinner the nearer to Satan the nearer to Satan the sooner a Seducer Now they are called evil men from their setting themselves to work wickednesse so the word imports Hence they are elsewhere called * Psal 6.8 Mat. 7.23 Workers of iniquity They are such as are desperately determinately wicked thoroughly exercised in wicked works They are such as trouble and vex the truly godly by their wickednesse They are such as being made up of mischief do make a Trade yea a Sport of sin It is saith the Wise man † Prov. 10.23 a sport to a Foole to do mischief Hence is the Devil whose onely Delight is in sin and Mischief sometimes in Scripture called by this very Name * Mat. 13.19 1 Joh.