Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	law_n	sin_n	sinner_n	2,820	5	9.3094	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65594	One and twenty sermons preach'd in Lambeth Chapel Before the Most Reverend Father in God Dr. William Sancroft, late Lord Arch-bishop of Canterbury. In the years MDCLXXXIX. MDCXC. By the learned Henry Wharton, M.A. chaplain to His Grace. Being the second and last volume.	Wharton, Henry, 1664-1695.; White, Robert, 1645-1703, engraver.	1698 (1698)	Wing W1566; ESTC R218467	236,899	602

Repentance they cease to be sinners If the Repentance be true perfect and serious the Sinner thereby cleanseth his Soul and in that Moment may be truly said to lift up holy Hands in Prayer If not so an imperfect or a feigned Repentance will no more promote the Efficacy of Prayer than if the Supplicant had still continued in the open Practice of his Sins Nor ought this to be any Disswasion from early and constant Innocence that the same Promises of Audience and Favour are annexed to the Prayers of penitent Sinners as to those of holy Men who need no Repentance that is no total Change of their Life and Actions That was indeed objected by the envious Labourers in the Vineyard against the good Housholder who rewarded the late-comers into his Vineyard equally with those who had born the Heat and Burden of the Day as an Act of Injustice and unequal Distribution To this it may be sufficient to answer what that good Housholder representing God in the Parable replied Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own Is thine Eye evil because mine is good That is in a strict Sense a Man Pious from his Infancy without any notorious Sin deserveth no more from God than a penitent Sinner newly return'd to Obedience yet to assert both the exactness of the Divine Justice and to inforce a constant Holiness from the Motive arising from this Consideration I will proceed in it a little further It is most true that God hath promised pardon and Favour to the Petitions of repenting Sinners that he will blot out their Iniquities take away their Guilt and remove the Punishment of their Sins This he did to Manasseh to the Ninevites to many both under the Old and the New Testament But we find neither Promise nor Example of any extraordinary Favour beside Pardon conferred immediately at the Prayers of Penitents such as miraculous Deliverance from Enemies Prolongation of Life Communication of Benefits to others for their sakes Effusion of eminent Graces and the like All which seem to have been Rewards reserved to Persons of more illustrious and more constant Piety who by a long Obedience gave undoubted Proofs of their Devotion to the Service of God and were in their times as shining Lights in the World such as Abraham Moses and Daniel the Prophets and Apostles who were never defiled with any notorious Habit of Sin And therefore as they distinguished themselves from the World by remarkable Acts and uninterrupted habits of Piety so they were distinguished by God by visible and extraordinary Benefits and Graces consequent to their Prayers Their Piety Patience and Obedience were raised far above the Standard of latter times No wonder then that we who have so far degenerated from their Example find not the same Effect of Prayer and that we even dare not to ask those things which were so easily vouchsafed to them Many indeed of those extraordinary Benefits granted at the Prayers of ancient Saints were intended as so many miraculous Proofs of the Doctrine which they professed and under the Law were the only promised Reward and under the Gospel were at first necessary to confirm the Faith yet still we may be assured that the Efficacy of Prayer doth at this Day decrease with the Excellency of Piety and may be raised with it A second Reason of the Necessity of lifting up holy Hands in Prayer is taken from the Nature and chief Design of it which as I before largely proved is the Worship of God in that it acknowledgeth his Dominion over Mankind his Justice his Power his Goodness and his Omniscience In praying to God man declareth his Belief of all these Divine Attributes but without lifting up holy Hands at the same time he affronts them all defeats the End and Design of Prayer and far from worshipping God in it denieth his Perfections and overthroweth what otherwise he might be supposed to do This we shall soon be convinced of if we pass through all the Reasons upon the Account of which Prayer is an Act of Divine Worship If it be considered as a Testimony of Obedience because the Practice of a Duty enjoyned by God no less is that concomitant Purity commanded for which we now plead The same Authority which requireth Prayer willeth withal that it be offer'd up with Innocence and Purity of Mind To perform the Act and withhold the Condition is then no other than to confess an Obligation and immediately to deny it If Prayer includeth a Confession of our Wants and Imperfection and Dependance upon God continuance in Sin argueth that we have no Sense of that Imperfection that we affect to be independent from God and exempted from his Government If in that Man professeth Subjection to him by not purging his Mind from Sin he makes his Profession to be no other than a Protestation against plain Fact If there he implyeth a Belief of the Justice and Goodness of God here he manifests by his practice that he thinks it not just to be deprived by his Laws the satisfaction of his beloved Lusts. If by addressing himself to God he confesseth him to know all things and to be every where present by his Sins he pretends to escape his Knowledge and retire from his Presence If in the one he publisheth a Belief of his Almighty Power in the other he defieth the Execution of it He boweth his Knee indeed and prostrates his Body in Honour of God but at the same time he giveth up the Government of his nobler part the Soul to the Adversary of God the Devil Thus a Sinner willfully continuing in sin destroyeth that Adoration which by Prayer he pretendeth to pay to God Nor is that the only Consequence attending Sin in Prayer that it defeateth the Act of Adoration and obstructeth the Rewards annexed to it It farther involveth the Soul of Man in a most horrid Crime in that he therein affronteth all those Perfections of God which in praying to him he professeth to believe The guilt of Perjury consisteth in commiting the Fact after a solemn and deliberate Invocation of the Divine Presence and the guilt of Blasphemy in reviling the Attributes of God after a particular mention and profession of them Both these and many more Crimes are Acted as often as a Love or Resolution of sinning is retained with Prayer So that if the mind of Man were not depraved to a most deplorable Degree it would fear to approach to God in Prayer without a perfect Innocence that is either Conscience of having committed no sin or unfeigned Sorrow for it If we joyn all the Aggravations of sins in one we still shall not conceive a greater than to fall down and worship God professing his supreme Dominion and at the same time proceed to violate the ●aws which he hath founded to call him by the Glorious name of God and acknowledge his Power yet neither to revere his Majesty nor to fear his Punishments to celebrate

uncontrouled Tyranny in the World He had withdrawn the far greatest part of Mankind from the worship of the true God and caused the worship of himself to become the publick Religion of all Nations except the Jews Even the Jews he had often seduced to Idolatry and Disobedience to the Divine Commands and had newly instigated them to imbrue their hands in the Blood of their Messias All these enormous Crimes this continued Rebellion against God and particularly the last and greatest the Death of Christ did require from the Judge of all the World a severe Punishment which is therefore called Judgment in the Text because a Sentence proceeding from the Rules of Justice This Sentence was to be executed under the Gospel of Christ as we are told above in the XII 31. Now is the judgment of this world now shall the prince of this world be cast out The Execution of it was to be performed by the Preaching of the Gospel which should destroy the Powers of Hell free Men from the Captivity of Sin and withdraw the World from the Worship of Devils This to those proud Spirits was the sharpest Punishment which could possibly be inflicted and this was begun by the Mission of the Holy Ghost and carried on and compleated by the Gifts and Graces derived down and continued to the Church from his blessed Influence From the Blessings of this day it was that the Apostles received Abilities and Courage to preach the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the Earth to beat down the strong holds of Sin to ruin the power of Satan to turn Men to the Knowledge and Obedience of God From the Continuation of these Blessings the Church hath been always defended from the secret and open Assaults of these infernal Spirits the Governors and Ministers of the Church have been enabled to preach the Truth and discharge their Office successfully and all the Members of the Church have been established in the Faith and supported against all the Temptations of wicked Spirits So eminently did God upon this day exercise Judgment upon the Prince of this World that thenceforward his Kingdom continually decreased his Oracles were silenced his Altars abandoned his Worship relinquished his Disciples diminished until a glorious Church was founded in all parts of the Earth which by a solemn Engagement her Vow in Baptism professeth Enmity unto him Upon all these accounts did the Holy Ghost as a most faithful Advocate at his first Mission plead the Cause of Christ against his Adversaries whether the Devil or the Jews his Persecutors and upon the same accounts doth that blessed Spirit who was promised to remain with the Church till the end of the World and execute the Office of Advocate till the Consummation of all things still continue to plead the Cause of Christ against all his Enemies and that he should do so is highly requisite The Devil still assaults the Church by open Force or secret Temptations and to these the Holy Spirit opposeth his Gifts and Graces Infidels and Hereticks still profess Unbelief to the Doctrines of it and to these he opposeth the same Arguments of Conviction which were before manifested to have proceeded from his Mission All these remain yet in their full force Lastly even in the bosom of the Church among the Professors of Christianity are many to be found against whom it is necessary that the Holy Spirit should still plead the Cause of Christ which they discredit by their Sins and blaspheme by their Lives crucifying afresh the Lord of life and putting him to an open shame In that no less guilty than all those Enemies of Christ which the Holy Ghost at his first Mission was to convince For did the Jews disbelieve the Doctrine of Christ before the undeniable Confirmation added to it in the Mysteries of this day These Men by their Actions proclaim their Unbelief even after the Reception of this Confirmation Did the Spirit of God take so much pains to manifest the unerring Justice of God in the distribution of Rewards and Punishments After all these Men live insensible of either slighting his Rewards and defying his Punishments Did Christ come into the World and die a painful Death Did God exert his Power in so many Miracles Did the Holy Spirit descend as upon this day to put an end to the Empire of the Devil These Men by Perseverance in Sin endeavour to re-establish it in the World and do effectually restore it in their own Souls Justly therefore may this Eternal Advocate implead these Men before the last Tribunal I have conveyed the Knowledge of the true God even to these Sinners I have convinced them of the Truth of the Christian Faith at least they will pretend themselves to have been convinced I have nourished this Knowledge by causing the Holy Scriptures to be writ for their Edification I have endeavoured the Improvement of it by the constant Exhortation of those my Officers which I have settled in the Church I have assisted it by the grant of all necessary Graces as often as desired yet notwithstanding all this they have lived as if they knew not of it much less as if they were convinced of it All my Graces and Sollicitations of them have produced no other effect than to render their Sin the more hainous in that they have wilfully disobeyed my Commands slighted my Directions contemned my Exhortations and stifled my Motions All false Perswasions which might betray them to Sin and Disobedience I have long since corrected If they imagine the Disbelief or which is all one the Neglect of my Doctrines to be no hainous Crime I have long since convinced the World of Sin If they fancy God not to be an unerring and infallible Judge in the Dispensation of Rewards and Punishments I have long ago reproved the World of Righteousness If they pretend the Temptations of the World the Flesh and the Devil to be irresistable I have long since judged the prince of this world taken away his Kingdom and limited his Power These then are the most criminal Enemies of the Name of Christ who being by me convinced of their Duty to obey his Laws refused to perform them who serving under his banner and kindly intreated by him deserted his Service and delivered up themselves to his and their own Enemy from whose Tyranny I had before freed them What then shall we plead in behalf of our selves at that dreadful day Shall we alledge want of Conviction That we pretend not to or if we should the Holy Ghost hath by the Wonders and Benefits of this day effectually confuted that pretence Shall we say that we believed not God to have been in earnest when he allured us with Rewards or threatened us with Punishments That Plea is removed by the Assertion of the Righteousness of God made upon this day Or shall we excuse our selves with want of extraordinary Assistances and Graces of the Holy Spirit enabling us to perform our Duty and overcome

advantage by it They could not but conclude indeed that the Justice of God did require a Discrimination of the good and bad But then it did not appear that because the bad were to be punished the good must be Rewarded with any supernatural Favours It was a sufficient Reward to Man for his Obedience to the Divine Laws that he had received his Being and all the Benefits of his Life from God and enjoyed them upon no other Condition Or if an extraordinary Reward might be reasonably hoped for from the Consideration of the Divine Justice yet could no Man in that State conceive an Assurance of his Title to it since no such Reward could be claimed but upon account of an absolute and most perfect Obedience and every one was Conscious to himself that he could not put in any such Claim Lastly to remove all this Anxiety it was not sufficient to renounce all hopes of future or supernatural Happiness and live regardless of it For the natural Reason of Man would still suggest to him that this was his Duty and that was unlawful to him If he slighted the Suggestions his Conscience would afflict and torment him would upbraid him with it and cause him to condemn himself If he endeavoured to stifle these Suggestions he would find it to be impossible and if he could effect it he must conceive himself to be reduced to the State and Condition of a Beast Upon the whole the Mind of Man could not but labour with great Anxieties grow restless and impatient under the Burden of Natural Religion and be thereby necessitated to betake it self to the direction of Christ who promiseth Rest and Satisfaction to it But our Lord in this place more particularly referreth to the severity of the Jewish Dispensation a Religion encumbred with so many Rites and Ceremonies so many positive Precepts and Observations that St. Peter justly complaineth of it in Acts XV. 10. as of a Yoke which neither their Fathers nor themselves were able to bear Nor indeed was it at first intended to perfect the Nature of Mankind or immediately to procure Happiness but rather to guard that stiff-necked People from the sin of Idolatry to which they were so strongly inclined that while they were busied about these Legal Observations they might be drawn off from superstitious Rites and even conceive an hatred of them Otherwise they contributed little to raise the Soul of Man to improve his Faculties or give him Assurance of what he most desired an Happiness equal to the Capacity of his Nature They are not undeservedly called the weak and beggarly Elements of the world by the Apostle and are by God himself in Ezek. XX. said to be statutes that were not good and Judgments whereby the observers of them should not live to have been given in his Anger in Punishment of their many Rebellions and Apostacies And indeed if we consider the great number of their positive Precepts Ceremonies and Observations how little they contributed to the cleansing of the Will or enlightning of the Understanding how obscure the Reasons of them were and how inconsiderable the Reward annexed to them we must conclude it to have been an Institution infinitely more severe than what was afterward introduced by Christ. There was ●ndeed a Reward adjoyned to it but ●hat so far beneath the Capacity of humane Nature that it could by no means terminate the Desires of the Soul And even this Reward they found by Experience to be common to the Observers and Violators of the Law and if it had been appropriated to the good alone yet was subject to as many Variations as was the Body which it principally concerned Again it could not but be a sensible Vexation to a considering Mind that they were treated by God at such distance debarred the Knowledge of the Reasons of those Ceremonies which were required of them were left wholly in the dark as to the Intention of God in prescribing of them could discover no Reasonableness or Excellency in them no Agreeableness between them and their own Nature It was not allowed them to enter into the Holy of Holies to understand the Reasons why such carnal Observations were imposed on them Or if they had understood them yet when they viewed the number the extent and the Difficulty of them they even despaired to perform them They had indeed all the Reasons common to Natural Religion and some peculiar to themselves to expect from the Divine Justice a better and more noble Reward But then the Nature of Legal Righteousness consisting in an universal and unsinning Obedience extinguished their hopes and subjected them to the fear of all the Punishments denounced against the Transgressors of the Law which had provided Remedies expiatory Sacrifices for Sins of Omission inadvertency and a lesser Guilt but gave no hopes of Pardon to Sins of a more hainous Nature had assigned no Sacrifices for their Expiation nor allowed any means of Pardon for them Amidst all these Difficulties the Mind was afflicted being Conscious of her own Offences but not discovering the Remedies of the guilt despising the unsatisfactoriness of temporal Felicity yet promised no better obliged to the Observation of a multitude of Precepts but taking no Complacency therein fearing the wrath of God and yet scarce able to avoid it Thus was the Jewish Religion in it self an heavy Burden even without the addition of Pharisaical Interpretations who by their Scruples Niceties and Supererrogations had at that time almost doubled the weight of it In relief of all these disadvantages our Lord invites the wearied Soul to take refuge in his Religion assureth her of Rest and Satisfaction therein ease of Scruples and removal of Anxiety in the 28th Verse bids his Disciples not be disquieted with the Conscience of their past Sins nor despair of Pardon not fear to approach to him as the Jews did to Mount Sina when the Law was delivered by God from thence for that himself was meek and lowly in heart in the 29th Verse ready to forgive their Sins upon sincere Repentance condescending to their Infirmities willing to lay open all the Mysteries of his Religion to their Understandings to adapt it to the meanest to treat all with a constant Sweetness and Gentleness to fill all the Faculties of their Souls with the Promise and assurance of a Reward which should be nothing Inferior to their most extended Desires The farther Consideration of these things will fall under the Second Head proposed Namely II. The Easiness of the Yoke and Lightness of the Burden imposed upon Mankind by the Commands of Christ separated from the Comparison of other Systems of Religion and as it more nearly respects our Practice and Observation of the Duties of it This Yoke is no other than the performance of all Christian Duties or of the Commands of Christ which word St. John makes use of to express the same Sense 1 Joh. V. 3. For this is the love of God that we keep his