Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heart_n	accuse_v	law_n	nature_n	2,158	5	6.6427	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26753	A sermon at the Warwick-shire meeting, November 25, 1679, at S. Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside, London by William Basset ...	Basset, William, 1644-1695.	1679 (1679)	Wing B1053; ESTC R13214	18,472	35

from those carnal Ordinances to close with the proposals of a more spiritual Law But yet this Text cannot in reason be supposed to exclude the body because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Worshipers and shall worship do come signifies to kiss which implies an act of the Body and the Septuagint uses the same word to express a worship which was for the most part bodily viz. that of Baal 1 King 19.18 I have left me seven thousand in Israel all the knees which have not bowed to Baal and every mouth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that hath not kissed that is that hath not worshiped him and why the same word should in one place signifie a worship which is mostly bodily and in the other place viz. this of S. John should signifie a worship purely spiritual or exclusive of the Body I do not yet understand But it is a common rule in expounding Scripture that that cannot be the meaning of one Text which contradicts another and such is this sense which excludes the Body from acts of worship For in Exod. 20.5 Bowing down the Body being the highest expression of our inward reverence and therefore meetest for the worship of the great God is made an act of Divine Worship and for that very reason is forbid to be paid to the creatures as representations of the Deity Therefore if we must not bow down to the true God then we may bow down to Graven Images and contrariwise if we must not bow down to Graven Images then we must bow down to the true God and the reason is because it is forbid to be paid to the one upon this very account that it is reserved as proper and peculiar to the other and therefore so long as it is forbid to be given to Images so long it remains a debt to God which is for ever this Command being moral and consequently perpetually obliging It must needs therefore be that those men who bow down to neither as they are no Idolaters so they are no Worshipers and because they would not be Redundants will therefore be Defectives in their Religion From this precept have flowed those Exhortations Psal 95.6 O come let us worship and fall down and kneel before the Lord our maker Which are no parts of the Ceremonial Law but streams from this Fountain And since God made redeemed and promised rewards to the Body as well as the Soul it is all the reason in the world he should be worshiped by both from which Topicks that great Apostle argues 1 Cor. 6.20 Ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and your spirit which are Gods Whence we proceed to the fifth part of the Text viz. the meetness and equity of the thing It is your reasonable service That ye present your bodies a living sacrifice holy acceptable to God Which is your reasonable service That is a Service agreeable to the reasons of men and dictates of nature abstracting from her Corruptions And indeed it must needs be so because it is a part of the natural Law For as Cicero saith consensio omnium gentium lex naturae putanda est The consent of all Nations in any one thing must be reputed the law of nature And truly as what nature teaches must needs be known and spread as far as humane nature it self so when we find all Nations agreeing in any one thing we cannot in reason assign any other teacher of that thing but the same nature Now Jew and Gentile Greek and Barbarian did all agree in this according to their several Modes and Capacities that it is a most meet and reasonable thing that we should present our bodies a living sacrifice to God Whence they had their Temples their Priests and Sacreds And in their moral Discourses they taught the necessity and way of rooting out Vice and acquiring Virtue in order to their making themselves holy and acceptable to God Neither can any think me too daring in this part of my Discourse that considers that great and learned men hold there is nothing purely positive in the Gospel but the two Sacraments and some think these in part founded on nature and reason too because they find some shadows and footsteps of them in Gentile Writings as Purification by Water and this before Homer or at least by him mentioned and their making Leagues inter vinum epulas with eating and drinking Though indeed some men are so fansiful that if they perceive any the least likeness between the Notions and Customs of the Jews and Gentiles as especially T. G. in his Court of the Gentiles it must needs pass as a clear Demonstration that therefore the Gentiles had these things mediately or immediately from the Jews By which means I dare undertake to make out to the reasons of men that they may as well make the History of one Nation but an imitation and corruption of the History of another Whereas both Jew and Gentile having the same natural light might be directed thereby to many the same notions and like customs I would ask whether the Gentile by the natural light of the understanding might not hit upon some truth Else to what purpose doth that light serve O what benefit is it to that part of Mankind that had no further Directions Then whether the Jews having the same light together with the farther addition of Revelation might not hit upon the same truths whether it necessarily follows that the Gentiles had this from the Jews Again since each Light directs mankind to the Belief and Worship of the Deity and because there can be no publick Worship without the appointment of persons time and place to that end whence they must descend to many particular Constitutions and Customs as to these grand requisites of Worship whether we can in reason suppose that it is not likely there will be some similitudes as to Persons Habits Sacreds or one thing or other between the worship of each although these two Bodies of Men might never hear or know any thing one of another Whence let reason judge what an irrefragable argument likeness of Notions or Customs is to prove them all of Jewish Original Though indeed moderate and rational Discourses on this Subject may much advance the Glory of Sacred Writings yet to press them so far as some have done robs the greater part of Mankind of their very Reasons detrudes them into lower Species and therefore makes them like the Beasts that perish leaving them without light without any rule of life without Law and consequently without any thing whereby they may be judged at the last day But I know not how any man can deny the point before us to have been discovered by natural light unless he will correct S. Paul who affirms a Law written on our hearts by nature and that Conscience accuses or excuses according as Men have kept or broke it Rom. 1.14 15.

which he speaks expresly of the Gentiles Who being without law viz. that of Revelation do by nature the things contained in the law having the law written on their hearts For the presenting our selves a sacrifice holy and acceptable to God is the whole substance of all the practick part of natural Religion which being taken away we know not where to place such Religion unless in mere notions or speculations and such can be neither a Religion nor a Law which doth not direct and oblige us in matters of good and evil Therefore the subject of and duty pressed by the Text being natural and consequently a reasonable service we have this advantage and incouragement to it viz. When the Gospel proposes and presses this duty upon us Reason steps in and speaks it good and eligible and conducive to our present and future safety This is the main thing that makes his commands as S. John speaks 1 Ep. 5.3 That they are not grievous For when reason can discover no good and necessity in the thing injoyned as it is in pure positives such as be Circumcision Abstinencies from some sorts of Meat and in divers other Mosaick Rights and Customs nature draws back and rejects these Precepts as matters of toil and self-denyal but of no advantage which perhaps is the reason why the breach of some Positives under the Law was more severely threatened than sin in some points that were intrinsecally good and evil Whereas when the matter of a Precept is agreeable to our Reasons we have an argument within even the same reason which presses us to close with the external Precept And that it is so in this case I leave even your selves to judge For what is more just and reasonable than this that we should present our selves a living sacrifice to that God from whom we have received our Bodies our Beings together with all the comforts and blessings of them What more fitting than that we should live to his Glory in whom we live and move What more equitable than that we should obey him to whom we do belong by all the sacred ties of Creation Redemption Dedication and voluntary Resignation of our selves This is so clear and undeniable a thing that all men that have and will use their reason must subscribe to it as our Reasonable Service Therefore if men will not do so the disadvantage lies here that they sin not only against Revelation but nature too And therefore shall be self-condemn'd as well as by that Judge of quick and dead And thence go with shame and silence into those miseries that wait them who know God but will not call upon his name Therefore if there be any Virtue any Praise any Pity and Compassion for your selves let the importunity of so great an Apostle prevail with us in a thing so just and reasonable Ibeseech you brethren by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies which is your reasonable service In fine One great reason why many live no better and do no more good in their generations is this that they worship no more Therefore S. Paul doth press us to the duties of the former Table that is to own and present our selves a sacrifice to God and in case men are sincere in this one point it will most certainly put them upon Sobriety and Righteousness Brotherly-kindness and Charity injoyned by the latter Table that by this means men may be not only a Sacrifice but also holy and acceptable to God For this part of our Religion doth sweetly influence our whole lives For this weakens corruptions restores us more to our selves and inables us to live up to the Rules and Dictates of right reason and therefore disposed to all good Offices And where men are not so much wanting in the thing as mistaken in the ends and motives of it this rectifies all these errours too Therefore it is chiefly from hence that men become truly kind and affable which is not only agreeable to our natures as we are sociable creatures but doth also capacitate us to become the greater Benefactors to our selves and others For by society and converse we come to understand the world and thereby become more capable of advancing our own and other mens interest and therefore by the same means mutually inable and incourage to do good to others as God hath done good to us Which is the great design of this days Assembly as appears not only from the practises of former Stewards of this Company who have yearly set out to Trades as many poor Children of our County of Warwick as there be Stewards of the said Company which be in number eight But also from the generous inclinations of you the present Stewards who seem resolved not to fall short of any that have went before you And indeed as this is one of the first of all the Counties of England that hath met in this nature so you have from year to year in such measures out done them all that you are looked upon as Ensamples to the rest So true is it of your works as S. Paul speaks of the Romans Faith they are famous in the world And since we may say you have run well though I do not fear it this present year it is pity it should ever be said Who hath hindered you For to do good and to communicate in any way is worthy of Men and Christians But this is certainly one of the most generous and best methods of Charity we can think of For to relieve sinking persons and Families is a very good Office and in no wise shall miss its reward but is not likely to prove so advantageous to a Society as this for by such means we keep those persons so relieved from some measures of Distress but they are never likely hereby unless in some rare instance so to rise in the world as to become serviceable to their Generations Whereas this puts poor Children who else might have lay as Vassals unable to help themselves or others into a capacity of becoming men and of making others so Therefore you know not how extensive your Liberalities may prove and what publick Blessings time and industry may make them for who can say what great Traders what large Estates and what considerable Families may spring from these beginnings Therefore as the main end of all Societies is the preservation of the whole which is best done by preserving and advancing particulars you do in this way admirably answer her main intendments And if we look back to former Ages we shall find such publick spirits even in the Gentile World that the Roman Orator lays it down as a common Truth Non nobis nati we are born for the good of others as well as our own Which principle carried some of them so far that they deemed it a happiness when need required Pro patriâ mori To give their lives for the Honour and Safety of that place where they first received them