Selected quad for the lemma: honour_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A66584
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Quaker's false interpretations of Holy Scripture By Thomas Wilson rector of Arrow in Warwick-shire.
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Wilson, Thomas, 17th cent.
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1678
(1678)
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Wing W2935; ESTC R222279
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83,988
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180
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and giving of honour to men are two very different things Wherefore St. James speaking of that respect of persons which the Law did condemn he cannot be understood of that which it did not condemn namely the honouring of men as if he absolutely prohibited it Which we may know further cannot be his meaning in that it is contrary to St. Peter who saith Honour all men And all that I can observe from his whole discourse which we have seen is that he pleads for the due observation of this Precept which is inconsistent with giving honour to the Rich and none to the Poor respecting those and despising these which is the thing he condemns If it had been said If you have respect to the Rich and your friends and kindred and bestow gifts upon them and do them courtesies and receive not the poor and enemies and unallied nor shew them any kindness are you not partial Would this signifie that no such thing ought to be done to our Kindred and Friends and the rich By no means so Yes notwithstanding our Saviour saith When thou makest a dinner call not thy friends nor thy brethren nor thy rich neighbours Luk. 14. 12. So when it is said If you have respect to the rich man and say to him sit thou here in a good place and say to the poor sit thou here under my footstool are ye not partial Neither doth this likewise mean that a Rich man may not be respected honoured and set in a good place I would willingly know since he says to respect persons is to be partial how I am partial if I respect all by putting off my Hat rising up and bowing to all Which respect he that gives to the Rich and denies it to the Poor is the person St. James condemns And truly if a man hath either the fear of God or the love of men or but common civility he will pay his fellow-creature this respect and much more of the same sort how mean soever he be as he doth to his Superiors The refusal of which what doth it argue but pride and contempt Well but you then further say St. James would have no difference made but that one be respected and honoured as much as another the Poor as much as the Rich the meanest as much as the mightiest Not so my Friends for in the same place where it is said Honour all men it is said Honour the King 1 Pet. 2. 17. which denotes something peculiar which is due to him and not to others And it is said again Render to all their dues Tribute to whom Tribute is due Custome to whom Custome Fear to whom Fear Honour to whom Honour Rom. 13. 7. In that it is said Honour to whom Honour is due It denotes here somewhat more than that which is due to all men even as he says the same of Tribute and Custome and Fear which we know are not due to all It is said moreover as for greater Emphasis of a lamentable condition The faces of the Elders were not honoured Lam. 5. 12. And note our Saviours words Luk. 14. 10. When thou art bidden to a Wedding sit down in the lowest room that when he that bad thee cometh he may say unto thee Friend go up higher then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee This is honouring of one more than another and our Saviour allows it You may observe also that God himself hath given Titles of Honour with difference for he styled some Gods Kings Honourable Lords Ladies and doth not call all so nor all these by the same name And that you may know when he thus speaketh it is not as if he said whom the world calls so remember but that one sentence I have said ye are Gods together with our Saviour's words If he called them Gods c. John 10. 34 35. My Friends why let you the poor man stand at your doors and begg for bread and give him a piece only and that of the coursest sort and yet invite the rich man into your house set him at your Table and feast him with the best Is not this respect of persons and are you not partial Yes and when the King suppose feasts with you why do you give him the silver Plate and damask Napkin and provide attendants of the better sort when the poor man must have the wooden Trencher and the hurden Towel and scarce any observance or none at all Do ye offer the King a wooden dish to drink in which yet you give the poor man and for no other reason but because he is so Set you the Beggar down by the Noble Or if he place himself at the head of the Table in such a presence do ye not bid him change his place and come lower and so shame him which also you would not do if it had been among his Fellow-beggars Are not these unrighteous things Is not this partiality And have you not Because of this the Faith of our Lord Jesus with respect of persons Think of it And think again whether thus to do be not as much as to put off the Hat Clark's Description of Prophets p. 26. Mat. 5. Swear not at all But you will say this is meant of ordinary Swearing But whoever thou art by thy earthly carnal wisdom knowest not what Christ meant Is there not Swearing before Magistrates every day in one place or other at Terms Sizes Quarter-Sessions Court-Leets would you have it commoner Thus lies our Saviours words Mat. 5. 33. c. You have heard that it hath been said to them of old time Thou shalt not forswear thy self but shalt perform unto the Lord thine Oaths Though the latter words which belong to promissory Oaths seem to infer that the former whose opposite they are do so too yet I shall understand false assertions as well as non-performance of promises made by Oath to be here forbidden as if it had been said thus Thou shalt not forswear thy self but shalt swear truly or and moreover thou shalt perform unto the Lord thine Oaths which then would plainly have taken in both For I doubt not but those words as they stand in the Law forbid both and no question but as the Jews swore commonly of their own accord in the one sort so they did in the other and our Saviour intends equally to rectifie the fault It follows But I say unto you Swear not at all This must be more than the Law said and therefore prohibits Swearing though the Truth be asserted or the promise performed For as much as the Law it self prohibited false assertions by Oath and non-performance of promises so made But now this Swear not at all denotes a voluntary act and relates to the evil custom of the Jews As if it had been said Swear not at all as you commonly do of your own accord No though you swear truly And therefore it belongs not to the taking of an Oath
am righteous without any corruption I keep the Commandments fulfil the Law answer every demand of Justice without any sin and failing The motions of the flesh do sometimes stir and tempt me to commit sin but they do not at any time prevail so that I commit it I do not any of those things which I ought not to do But if thus thou darest not say of thy self and yet so interpretest St. John's words then must thou likewise conclude from him that thou art not born of God but art of the Devil And if thou wilt say thus of thy self but wilt not affirm the same of every Child of God the newly regenerate and the weakest and the ignorantest then must thou confess that St. John is not so strictly to be understood for he speaks without limitation Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin 1 Joh. 3. 9. And that indeed he is not so to be understood is evident from many places of Scripture which affirm that the regenerate have weakness imperfection corruption and fall into sin and do things which they ought not to do Eccl. 7. 20. There is not a just man upon earth which doth good and sinneth not Mat. 15. 16. Are ye also yet without understanding c. 17. 17. O faithless and perverse generation how long shall I be with you how long shall I suffer you Why could not we cast him out And Jesus said unto them Because of your unbelief Mar. 4. 40. Why are ye so fearful How is it that you have no faith c. 8. 33. He rebuked Peter saying Get thee behind me Satan for thou favourest not the things of God but the things that be of men Luk. 9. 55. He rebuked the Disciples and said ye know not what manner of Spirit you are of c. 22. 24. There was a strife among them which of them should be greatest Ye shall not be so Jam. 3. 2. In many things we offend all 1 Cor. 3. 15. If any mans work shall be burnt he shall suffer loss but he himself shall be saved yet so as by Fire Heb. 5. 12. when for the time ye ought to be Teachers ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the Oracles of God St. John spake his mind plain enough to deliver you from mistake if you would consider his letter and not speak all without Book chap. 2. 29. Every one that doth righteousness is born of him But is every one that doth any one righteous act so born No but as he saith c. 1. 6. If we walk in the light c. Again you may perceive his mind by what he saith a little before the Text in debate v. 3. Every man that hath this hope in him purisieth himself And ver 8. He that committeth sin is of the Devil or which is the same He is a Child of the Devil ver 10. Is every one so that committeth one act of the least sin No but Scripture teacheth us thus They are of their Father the Devil that will do his lusts joh 8. that walk according to that Prince according to the course of this world Eph. 2. that are servants of sin Rom. 6. Again says he after the Text v. 10. Whosoever doth not rightcousness is not of God And c. 5. 19. We know that we are of God and the whole world lieth in wickedness So that St. John by committing sin meaneth such sinning as not to do righteousness not to walk in the light not to purify our selves but to lie in wickedness And as in this aggravated sense we in common speech use the same expression so doth the Scripture most frequently As Heb. 3. 17. VVith whom was he grieved forty years was it not with them that sinned whose carkasses fell in the wilderness You know it means a stubborn people that hardened their hearts for whose great provocations God swore in his wrath that they should not enter into hir rest v. 8. 10 11. I thought every one had known the difference betwixt sinning and sinning sinner and sinner Rom. 2. 9. Tribulation and anguish upon every Soul of man that doth evil v. 12. As many as have sinned without Law shall perish without Law Must all be damned that have an evil thought or word or deed No we read what he meaneth when it is thus written immediately before v. 4. 5 8. Despisest thoss the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to Repentance but after thine hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thy self wrath To them that are contentious and do not obey the Truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath Thus again we read Ezek. 18. 20. The Soul that sinneth shall die That is as it follows The wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquity and doth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doth he shall die in his trespass and sin Since no man knoweth how oft he offendeth Psal. 19. Since if we know nothing by our selves yet hereby we are justified but he that justifieth is the Lord 1 Cor. 4. Since he is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things 1 Joh. 3. I advise you to pray always Our Father which art in Heaven forgive us our Trespasses And as the Psalmist Lord cleanse us from our secret faults And since our Saviour hath said Ask and ye shall receive And St. John If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins forbear not asking pardon lest you receive it not confess your sins lest God should not forgive them remembring St. James's word Ye have not because ye ask not And what Solomon says He that covereth his sins shall not prosper And know ye that it is better that men reckon us like others to have failings and not to live altogether so exactly as we ought so that we have pardon than that they look upon us as absolutely pure and perfect and we be thrust away from God without it like proud Pharisees W. M. Lament over England p. 17. We freely give Tribute to whom Tribute is due Custome to whom Custome Fear to whom Fear Honour to whom Honour Rom. 13. 7. Now all this doth not belong to Caesar for Fear belongs to God and therefore we cannot give all to Caesar. Tribute and Custome we give and in that with obedience to all his just commands we honour him But it is written Fear God Yes and so it is written Honour the Lord and yet it is written too Honour the King and you acknowledge Honour due to him and give it him So though it be written Fear God yes and more than that I add Fear not Man yet it is written also Ye shall fear every man his Mother and his Father Lev. 19. 3. And Let the VVife see that she reverence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fear her Husband Eph. 5. 33. 1