Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	godliness_n	patience_n	temperance_n	6,856	5	12.1407	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65648	A sermon preach'd at the anniversary meeting of the sons of clergy-men, in the church of St. Mary Le Bow, on Tuesday, Decem. 3, 1695 printed at the desire of the stewards of the feast, to whom it is humbly presented / by Tho. Whincop ...	Whincop, Thomas, d. 1730.	1696 (1696)	Wing W1665; ESTC R34743	10,856	31

our hopes of Happiness and moreover First render our Services more acceptable unto God Are Means Secondly of bringing more Glory to his Name And Thirdly by which we shall be the greatest Gainers and reap most Advantage 1. They render First our Services more acceptable unto God's Purity and Holiness in the Heart before there be or when there is no opportunity to work are in themselves good but when they are demonstrated by godly and charitable Actions then smell they sweet and are Sacrifices well-pleasing Thus Noah's Thankfulness to God for his Preservation from that universal Deluge of all except himself Gen. 8.21 and those with him in the Ark and Abraham's Faith Gen. 22.12 were well known unto God but when the one publickly built an Altar and offered burnt-offerings unto the Lord and the other readily went to sacrifice his only Son the Text tells us that thereupon God smelled a savour of rest and now I know that thou fearest God A Man being inwardly upright towards God harmless and innocent tender and compassionate towards Man may have comfort and satisfaction in himself upon such Reflections but it would be far better to unlock those treasures and disperse them abroad by which they will gain greater Acceptance at God's Hands who is more especially delighted with the fruits of our Faith in the Practice of Piety and Exercise of a Christian Life both towards God and Man 2. By which Secondly God's Name is more glorifi'd which reason is affign'd by our Saviour why our light should shine before men Mat. 5.16 that thereby we may glorifie our father which is in heaven and he is so more particularly either in our selves or in others In our selves by our Obedience to his Commands which were therefore given us not that we might know only but do them Both natural and spiritual Endowments are given us 1 Cor. 12. as St. Paul speaks to profit withal Gifts themselves then cease so to be when their Use and Benefit ceaseth and those are subject to a most severe Account who bury their Talents as well as those that employ them ill A not gaining will condemn as well as a losing and a not doing good as well as doing evil with the unprofitable Servant in the Parable Men will be severely sentenc'd for bringing no Glory to their Maker in not being means of praising him as by their good Works they may In others God is glorifi'd by Mens good Works and truly blasphemed by their evil Ones Our Saviour and his Apostles curing the Impotent healing the Diseased Acts 4.21 and raising the Dead makes the Beholders glorifie God upon the sight of what was done and acknowledg'd Luk 7.16 That a great Prophet was risen among them and that God had visited his people Our Saviour there they took to be but a Man at best a Prophet attribute therefore no more to him but to God who as they thought had given such gifts unto men as upon St. Peter's Relation to the Apostles Acts 11.18 how God by his Preaching had converted the Gentiles when they heard these things they held their peace and glorified God And as good Works do win Glory to God so evil Ones on the contrary do mightily dishonour him and cause his Holy Name to be evil spoken of by those that do not believe This was St. Cyprian's Complaint long since what the unbelieving Heathens said in his time upon like occasion against the Christians Ecce quam jactant se redemptos c. saith he These are the men that boast themselves of their Redemption and Deliverance of their Baptism and Gospel when their whole Life was a Contradiction to it and then presently fall a railing at their Religion and speaking evil of that God whom they worshipped As Nathan could tell David after his Murder and Adultery By this deed saith he thou hast caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme and St. Paul objects the same thing to the Jews Rom. 2.23 24. Thou that gloriest in the law by breaking the law dishonourest thou God For the name of God is dishonoured among the Gentiles through you Which very Argument we find made use of as a principal Incitement to Honesty of Life and Manners 1 Tim 6.1 That the name of God and his doctrine be not evil spoken of for which reason also servants are to count their masters worthy of all honour that the name of God be not blasphemed as a Doctrine of Liberty and a Religion that allows any thing And indeed there is nothing wounds our Religion more or lays a greater Blemish upon it than a Form of Godliness and no Power a ' Semblance of Religion and yet licentious Practices these do more Injury to our Profession and bring more Dishonour to our God than an open Infidel and Pagan that denies both 3. By our good Works Thirdly we shall be the greatest Gainers or Losers in that by them we make our calling and election sure as St. Peter tells us 2 Pet. 1.10 Give all diligence saith he to make your calling and election sure and how this was to be done he directs by adding to their faith vertue to their vertue knowledge to their knowledge temperance to their temperance patience to their patience godliness to their godliness brotherly-kindness and to their brotherly-kindness love The Apostle there lays down a full Catalogue of those Graces which beautifie a Christian's Life and those Works by which a Man comes as it were step by step to a full Perfection in Christ the Foundation of all which is Faith and the Top Love to our Brethren These are the works saith he that assure us of election that if we live in them we shall certainly be saved in the end But 't is to be remembered that whatsoever good Wrok we do is no meritorious Cause of our Election or Salvation but necessary Effects which follow and from whence we may ground an Assurance to ur unutterable Comfort that if we continue in them our End shall be Peace and why Because the Promise of God is sure and stedfast Joh. 5.29 That they which have done good shall come forth of their Graves to the resurrection of life and they that have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation and every Man shall receive his Wages according to his Labour And it is observable God hath often declar'd that those unspeakable Joys in Heaven are therefore prepared by him only as Rewards of Mens well-doing in this World and shall be distributed to each according to the measure and proportion of that Good which they have done in the World Come Matth. 15.34 ye blessed of my Father will our Saviour one day say inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world and the Reason is added I was hungry and ye fed me thirsty and ye gave me drink a stranger and ye took me in in prison and ye visited me Gal. 6 9.

A SERMON Preach'd at the ANNIVERSARY MEETING OF THE SONS of Clergy-Men A SERMON Preach'd at the Anniversary Meeting OF THE SONS of CLERGY-MEN IN THE Church of St. Mary Le Bow On Tuesday Decem. 3. 1695. Printed at the Desire of the STEWARDS of the FEAST To whom it is humbly Presented By THO. WHINCOP D.D. Rector of the United Parishes of St. Mary Ab-Church and St. Lawrence Pountney London LONDON Printed by Tho. Hodgkin for Walter Kettilby at the Bishop's Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1696. St. Paul 's Epist to Titus iii. 8. This is a faithful saying and these things I will that thou affirm constantly that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works these things are good and profitable unto men IT hath been a mistaken Opinion of some and an invidious Objection of others that those who are true Believers need not be solicitous about good Works and whatever they did they could not fall but had a Liberty of doing what they would without Danger or Sin And this hath been improved by the Enemies of our Reformed Church as if we had laid aside all thoughts of Duty towards God or Christian Regard and Compassion of our Neighbour not supposing as they represent us that we make them Articles of our Christian Faith or necessary Terms of our Salvation Since therefore we have hitherto God be thanked out-lived these unjust Reproaches the Church whereof we profess our selves Members strictly requiring not only Duty towards God but a compassionate Sense and helping of our Christian Brother's Indigence and that we are now once more met together Brethren of the same Stock and Linage descended from those who contended earnestly for the Faith and were as zealous for good Works Witness those many charitable Bequests since the Reformation and the Purpose of our Annual Assembly this Day is an Evidence that we do not either discountenance or explode doing Good The Enemy as in the Parable thus scatters his Tares to choak at least if not destroy the Wheat but maugre all the industrious Designs against our Holy Faith we do not forget the Doctrines of our Church or our Fore-fathers Precepts but as we believe in God are careful also to maintain good Works Which Direction of the Apostle's immediately follows other good Advice given unto Titus how he should behave himself in the Church of God of which he was made a Bishop as if he should have said Those things which I have spoken concerning the Love of God our Blessed Saviour to wards Man of his being saved by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the holy Ghost of our being justified by his Grace and made heirs according to the hope of eternal life as in the former Verses are not fabulous doubtful or uncertain things no Philosophical Conjectures of Jewish Traditions but faithful sayings and worthy of all acceptation 1 Tim. 1.15 as elsewhere he so phraseth it and therefore ought to affirm constantly This he directs him to assert and publickly teach all Persons as undoubtedly true by which precious Promises they might be excited to good Works 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that they should be intent and solicitous about remarkable and eminent for them as Captains and Leaders to every Body else both for Doctrine and Example Piety towards God and Charity towards their Neighbour as I take the Word in the largest Sense And that they should be above others so remarkable the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as it is frequently used may properly enough intimate The Summ of this Apostolic Precept is that those who have learned and profess Christ's Doctrine should practise that Obedience it requires and be eminent for all good Actions especially those of Mercy and Charity In pursuance therefore of which Design of the Apostle's and to establish the Truth of which Proposition I do design to shew I. That it is not enough to believe what God hath said to be true and to give our Assents to the Certainty of Divine Revelation unless our Belief doth influence our Hearts and Lives II. That this Practice of good Works in absolutely necessary for all unto Salvation III. And lastly more especially necessary for those that are more particularly acquainted with God's Will and early instructed therein I. First I say It is not enough to believe what God hath said to be true or to give our Assent to the Certainty of Divine Revelation unless our Belief doth influence our Hearts and Lives We cannot suppose Believing to be a bare Notion and a meer Speculation a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Eusebius calls it but an obedient Faith believing the Truth performing the Commands omitting the Prohibitions fearing the Threatnings and embracing all the Promises of God's Word a Faith working by Love a new Creature a keeping the Commandments all which are almost equivalent For God's method of transacting our Redemption by Christ was not only by him receiving a full Satisfaction for our Offences but by him also proposing a more rational way to please him by requiring us to perform as Instances of our Faith all manner of Holiness and Purity as Conditions and Terms on our part of our being accepted thro' Faith in Christ Christ's Laws as well as any other run in this disjunction either Do or Suffer either live Holily or perish Everlastingly nothing is therein promis'd but upon Condition of our Obedience This is the Rule and Spring upon which they all move as Moses spake to Israel Deut. 5.1 that we take heed and hearken and do the commandments and statutes which God commanded us St. James tells us that he who is a doer of the work shall be blessed in his deed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in his working and Practice not in his Knowledge or Believing only for that is but a shadow of Godliness only which hath no Power with those in the Gospel which cry Lord Lord but our Blessed Saviour tells them Mat. 7.21 they shall not enter into the kingdom only they that do the will of his Father which is in heaven Wherein is intimated Knowledge enough having Prophesied in his Name but no Salvation on that Account Every Article of our Creed may be made use of as a proper Argument against Sin in general and a powerful Motive to Obedience in particular the great Design of our Saviour's gospel and our believing in him being to reform the Lives of Men and in order thereunto by Faith in Christ who made himself a sacrifice was a sufficient Atonement and left us an unparalell'd Example of well doing we have an admirable Pattern to do what he did as a reason of our Faith and Hope that we have by him That Gospel which we believe and brings us the glad Tidings of Salvation teaches us not only to believe what he delivers but to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts Tit. 2.12 and live righteously soberly and godly in this present world for such as have given up