Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	pharisee_n	righteousness_n	scribe_n	3,209	5	11.4035	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A55782	Four sermons preached in Oxford by John Price.	Price, John, Master of arts.	1661 (1661)	Wing P3352; ESTC R25593	64,575	154

must not doe because we are not onely men but men of God If we doe to you as ye doe to us what do wee more than others In doing as you doe we are onely you equals but in forgiving you and praying for you we are your superiours And is it possible Are we so odious that we dare not look men in the face Why what is the matter Are we more wicked than others It may be so we are ready to say with holy David pardon our iniquities for they are great With St. Paul we are the chiefest of sinners It is of the Lords mercies that we are not consumed and because his compassions fail not However thus much we can say for our selves with a safe conscience and a great deal of truth And I would you could have said so too we never were the men that swore we would destroy our Countrey that contrived a trayterous seditious antiscriptural engine like Catilines conspiracy for the same purpose Our heads never plotted our Soveraignes ruine our hands were never washed in the bloud Royall we never had the marke of Cain in our foreheads we never obliterated the Holy signe of the Crosse with the signe of the scaffold Nay we were so farre from this that for the prevention of it some of us lost our estates others our liberties others our very lives and some all three and could they have done more I believe they were so loyal they would have done it And when we heard of our Soveraignes unparrallell'd never enough to be lamented death which God knowes we could not hinder or else we would have done it out of a Christian-like Sympathy we did seem not onely to sigh weep sweat bleed but even dye with him You glory in your shame and were it lawful to glory in any thing we would glory in this that we are accounted worthy to suffer as we hope for Christs name sake And now laugh on and enjoy your own follies Egregiam vero laudem spolia ampla refertis So much may suffice for the first Doctrine I proceed to the second which is this that the Disciples of Christ Christians should doe somewhat extraordinary somewhat more than others more than Pharisees Heathens Publicanes or any that say they are Christians whereas their actions tell us they are rather Heathens In the prosecution I shall use this Method first prove it by Scripture secondly by reason thirdly make use 1. That Christians should excell doe more than others doe somewhat extraordinary It is clear from these Scriptures Mat. 5. 20. I say unto you that except you righteousnesse exceed the righteousnesse of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no wife enter into the Kingdome of Heaven Me thinks I hear the Jewes tell me what exceed the Scribes and Pharisees is it possible Surely if any doe goe to Heaven the Scribe must be the one and the Pharisee the other No such matter covetous men gripers oppressours Hypocrites meer outsides painted tombes never goe to Heaven during such However God in his goodness dispose of them afterwards Such were these Scribes and Pharisees which we Christians must exceed or else we shall never enter into the Kingdome of Heaven Amos 3. 2. You onely have I known of all the families of the earth therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities You the Children of Israel which I brought out of the Land of Egypt out of the house of bondage into a Land flowing with Milk and Honey You whom I have known by my judgements which should have taught you righteousnesse you whom I have known by my signal favours mercies you whom I have known by my faithful Prophets rising up early and fitting up late you whom I have known by my soul saving soul searching ordinances I knew you so well and so much that I seemed to know no other Nation unlesse it were to punish it I thought and expected ungrateful Israelites that you should have known the Rock of your salvation I did much for you and I expected that proportionably you should have done much for me but in that you did so little and would not know me I will make you know and that to your sorrow that you onely have I known of all the familes of the earth therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities I will punish you temporally though you doe repent I will punish you eternally if you doe not repent By how much your mercies and advantages have been greater than those of other Nations by so much the greater shall your punishments be There is an excellent place in Luk. 12. 47 48. And that servant which knew his Lords will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes But he that knew it not and comitted things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes For unto whom much is given of him much shall be required and to whom men have committed much of him they will aske the more In this Text we have a Lord and two servants the Lord is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords the two servants they are not Angels but men for their quality the one was knowing and the other not knowing the one knew his Masters will the other did not they both committed things worthy of stripes but the one was more excusable than the other the one had many stripes but the other few and why both being faulty were they not equally punished Because they were not equally faulty the one knew his Masters will the other knew it not and therefore not so blameable Of these just proceedings we have an account given in the subsequent reason for unto whom much is given of him much shall be required Phil. 1. 27. Onely let your conversation be as becometh the Gospel St. Paul writes to Christians to men that had embraced the Gospel and he requires a Gospel-like conversation And what kind of one is that A conversation full of simplicity holinesse peace unity charity not a Pharisaical not a Heathen but a Christian-like becomming conversation such a one as becometh both the Profession and Professours onely let your conversation be such as becometh the Gospel So much may suffice for the proof of it by Scripture 2. Neither is this without reason That Christians should doe somewhat excellent and more than others for 1. They received God hath given them more than others and therefore they should give him more than others doe more than others Luk. 12. 47 48. Unto whom much is given of them much shall be required it is but just and equal that our returnes should be proportionable to our receipts Christians they have God for their Father Christ for their Redeemer the Holy Ghost for their comforter and teacher they are under the continual droppings of the Sanctuary they hear the shrill silver Trumpets of the Temple they are alwayes instructed by good precepts good examples good Sermons good lives tutord by Gods

gnashed on him with their teeth Would you know what things those were you may read verse the 52. They had persecuted the Prophets they themselves had betrayed and murthered the holy one When they heard these things they were cut to the heart gnashed on him with their teeth immediately they stoned him 1 Kings 18. 17. Art thou hee that troubleth Israel the great sin that Ahab and his people were guilty of was the Worshiping of Baal Eliah rebukes them sharply for this sin hereupon they look upon him as an Enemy incendiary and entertain him with this discourteous salutation art thou hee that troubleth Israel pregnant is that place in the 1 of Kings 22. 18. there is yet one Prophet Michaiah the Son of Imlah but I hate him for hee doth not Prophesie good concerning mee but evil In those words there are two things considerable 1. Ahabs hatred of Michaiah but I hate him 2. The ground of it in the latter part for hee Prophesies no good concerning mee so that his hatred was upon the account of his Proyhesy remarkeable is that Text Amos. 5. 10. They hate him that rebuketh in the gate and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly that is they hate their faithful zealous couragious sin rebuking Magistrates that kept their cours of judicature by the gates they connot indure their upright conscientious soul wounding Prophets this is that which Christ tells his Disciples of you shall be hated of all men for my names sake Luk. 21. 17. That is for my truths sake that is they shall hate your Persons hate your Doctrines hate your good lives you shall be the objects of all mens hatred and that for mee and my truth neither is this without reason why bad men should hate them that tell them the truth 1. They are altogether unlike them therefore they hate them as similitude according to the Philosopher is the cause of love so dissimilitude is the cause of hatred as we naturally love those that are like us so we naturally hate those that are unlike us The Wiseman tells us that the righteous man is more excellent then his neighbour more excellent in his judgement more excellent in his thoughts more excellent in his affections more excellent in his principles more excellent in his whole conversation his judgment is more clear discerning his thoughts are more profitable his affections are more heavenly his principles are more Orthodox his whole conversation is more regular conformable to the Divine will The vertues of the good man bid battel to the vices of the wicked his whole life is nothing else but an use of reproof the straightnesse of the one upbraids the crockednesse of the other the one is the subject of the Prince of peace the other Prince of the air the one is of his Father from Heaven the other is of his Father from Hell as our Saviour saith of the Jewes Iohn 8. 44. Ye are of our Father the Divell and his works you will doe he was a murtherer from the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him no wonder then that the Divels Children cannot endure truth nor the Preachers of it 2. We look upon those as our Enemies that tell us the truth because they Preach against our interests crosse our designes meet with our corruptions and lusts fire us out of our sins Interest is the great Diana wee all Worship Interest is the Sun that Persian like wee all adore Interest is the compasse by which the generality of men steer it is no wonder then if they hate those that touch them to the quick contradict their concerning profitable pleasing interests if golden mouthed Chrysostom Preach against the emperresse Eudoxia endeavour to reclaim her from Arrianisme shee will be sure to banish him if couragious bold spirited Luther out of zeal to Gods truth Preach against the Popes Indulgences he will let loose his roaring bulls against him hee will write to all the Neighbouring Princes that they shall neither receive him nor his Doctrine or if they doe they should send him to him that hee might punish him for that capital offence of asserting the truth If Demetrius the silver smith perceive that his craft is in danger to be set at naught hee will accuse St. Paul of troubling all Asia speaking against great Diana why because wee know that by this craft we have our wealth if good Iohn Baptist tell Herod it is unlawfull for him to have Herodias hee will cut of his head If Stephen tell the Jewes that they were the murtherers of Christ they will murther him if truth telling Michaiah tell Ahab that hee shall fall at Ramoth Gilead hee will cast him in to the Prison give him the bread of affliction the good soul piercing Divine tells men they must repent believe deny themselves take up their Crosse and follow Christ shake hands with honours profits pleasures all if need require for the enjoyment of Christ who is all in all he tells the sensual drunkard that he must no more un man himself and vomit up his own shame hee tells the Profane swearer that hee must no more tear in pieces the glorious name of his Maker he tells the coveteous Achan that he must no more deify the Creature he tells the proud man that cannot be content with any thing else but a crown or a mitre that humility is the way to Heaven that that ear of Corn that is fullest wayes most downward that God resisteth the proud and geveth grace to the humble hee tells the revengfull Person of that of our Saviour Father forgive them for they know not what they doe he tells the meer morall man which thinks himself to be good enough for Heaven already that except his righteousness exceede the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees hee shall in no wise enter into it he tells the disputing Socinian that their is a Sunne though he be blind cannot see it that reason must be laid down at the feet of Religion that it is but commendable for it to close it's eye that faith may aime the better he tells the naturalist that sayes out of nothing nothing can be made that out of nothing all things were made Divinity is not to be mesured by the principles of natural Philosophy but it 's own he tells the Heaven de riding Atheist that he must and dye and come to judgement but he would neither dye nor come to judgement he tells all men of their sins lusts therefore they cannot endure him 2 Pet. 3. 3 4. The Apostle sayes they were scoffers men walking after their own lusts that deny the day of judgement and Saviours promise of his coming 2 Timoth. 3. They resist the truth men of corrupt minds and therefore they resists the truth so much for the reasons they use it I shall make of is briefly this Fathers and Brethren you may see in the clear glasse of my