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
A65571	Eight sermons preached on several occasions by Nathanael Whaley ...; Sermons. Selections	Whaley, Nathanael, 1637?-1709.	1675 (1675)	Wing W1532; ESTC R8028	120,489	326

extremely in real Value beyond the injury he suffers And I verily think I now speak the unfeigned sense of his own Mind when he sees his Rival groveling in his Bloud when he reflects upon the sad Trophies of his Killing Honour and has surfeited himself with his unnatural Revenge The Occasions of Duelling are observed for the most part to be either too small and bashful or too shameful and reserv'd to appear in a Court of Judicature But let the Calumny be never so foul or publick or so maliciously contrived Nothing stains like Bloud which consideration alone ought to Restrain every man that is tender of his Honour or Salvation from shedding it upon the highest Provocation that can be given him But more than this there are other ways of healing our Reputation and living in brighter Fame than ever in the esteem of the wisest and best Judges of Honour The Law is open let the Parties Implead one another Or if they must be fighting let thy King and thy Country bind the Lawrels of Victory about thy Head or Embalme thy Memory This is certainly more Honourable then to Kill the worst Man upon Earth in a private Quarrel and makes the Case of Duelling extremely different from that of one mans Killing another when he is forst upon it in his own Defence And after all I hope it is no Affront to be reminded that we are Christians nor any diminution of Honour to adhere to the Rules of our Holy Profession Great Spirits as they are better fitted than others for great and excellent things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so as Plato observes they are Subject to great Failings and Errours They have commonly very quick and piercing Apprehensions and are very lively in the management of the greatest and most difficult Affairs but are not always so happy in their Memories if I may so express it as to forget the injuries that are offered them in Imitation of him who forgave his Enemies who forbid the drawing of the Sword in his own Quarrel and expresly told his Disciples that he came not to destroy Mens Lives but to save them And since the Son of God suffered the contradictions of Sinners Luk. 9 56. why should the Disciple aspire to be above his Master I am sure to Act contrary to the Author of our Religion looks as if we were ashamed of being thought his Disciples And if we are not we cannot think it too great a condescension for his sake and our own To consider 1. That the Pretence of Honour in the present Case is apparently contrary to the Honour of our Blessed Lord and Redeemer and the Rules he has given us to live by If we believe him to be the Son of God we cannot deny but his Laws are of much better Authority than any of those Rules of Honour which some Men prescribe to themselves Now our Saviour was so far from allowing men to Kill one another in a Quarrel that he forbids all Quarrelling and Provocation in Word or Action verse 22. of this Ch. and Represents the Danger of those Liberties which men give to their Passions tho' they proceed no farther than to Reproachful Language to be no less than that of Hell-Fire He also requires us to forgive our Brother Mat. 18.22 Ro. 12.19 as often as he Offends And not to revenge our selves but to give place unto wrath and has taught us to Pray for Forgiveness at Gods hand as we forgive them that Trespass against us Unless therefore to Kill be to forgive and to break Christ's Commandments must go for honouring him no Christian can engage with Honour in a single Combat and I cannot Imagine with what Success he can hope to do it while he Fight against Heaven and graples with one who he knew is infinitely stronger than himself 2. This is to fall greatly Short of the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees which our Saviour tells us in the verse immediately before the Text unless we exceed we shall in no Case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven These men as I observed before never denied but that Killing a man either in Hot or Cod Bloud without Publick Authority was a Notorious Violation of God's Commandment Nay to do this in Hot Boud was in their opinion a Crime worthy of Death as is plain in the Case of Barabbas who by their Law was sentenc'd to dy at the time of our Saviour's Crucifixion Mark 15 7. for commiting Murther in the Insurrection And accordingly there was no Dispute between our Saviour and the Jews concerning this meaning of the Law And I heartily wish our fighting Gallants would consider whose Followers they are and whether they also do not prefer Barabbas before Jesus and under pretence of Revenging their own lay his with their own Honour in the Dust 3. For men to stake their Lives in a Duel is to run the most desperate hazard I mean of dying in a Sin which seldom allows a few moments to Repent of it or of Killing another Person it may be their old dear and confident Friend and perhaps eternally by cutting off his time of Repentance and making his Peace with God He that attempts to Kill his Brother whether he Kills him or not mortally hates him for he would be the Death of him if he could and then I fear he Forfeits something more than his Honour that attemps it 1 Joh. 3 15. For St. John tells us He that hateth his Brother is a Murtherer and we know that no Murtherer hath eternall Life abiding in him And this being the Case of Duellers what a dreadful venture is it to stake two precious Lives and two Immortal Souls upon a mere imaginary point of Honour If this be the Honour of Christians whose Religion as St. James describes it is first pure then peaceable Gentle Jam. 3 17. and easy to be intreated full of mercy and good fruits without wrangling 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and without hypocrisy then let Light and Darkness embrace and the plainest contradictions assume the Names of the brightest Reason and Truth And now I hope it is worthy of a serious thought whether this be not enough to ballance the mighty pretence of Honour I know it is commonly said that a Gentleman and a Man of Honour ought not to put up an Affront when it is in his Power to Revenge it But it is plain that a Christian of the best Rank and Quality ought to do this and that great Men must be Judged by the Gospel whether they will think fit to Live by it or not 2. For the Case of Self-Murther or casting away our own Lives when we are weary of them If we look to the Reason of the Commandment Thou shall not Kill viz. because every man bears the Image of God it is as plain a violation of it to Kill our selves as to Kill any other man And since we are commanded to Love our Neighbour as