Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	punishment_n	sin_n	transgression_n	4,361	5	10.4522	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A38268	A defence and continuation of the Discourse concerning the period of humane life being a reply to a late answer, entituled A letter to a gentleman, &c. : to which is added, an appendix wherein several objections urged in private are considered, and Mr. Gales severe, but groundless charge is examined.	Allestree, Richard, 1619-1681.	1678 (1678)	Wing E27; ESTC R17144	30,062	111

health but I doubt if sickness does not alter there judgments It is indeed good company to see the most strict Stoick and those of that perswasion post away messingers for the Phisitian when under diseases which is evidence enough that they do not believe the truth of what they maintain That the Hypothesis we defend contradicts neither natural nor Sacred Philosophy has been plainly enough demonstrated in our former discourse neither doth Mr. Gale for all his promise urge it with any argument but in stead of doing so he himself seems to be guilty of that which he injuriously blames in others And thus I am led to the third thing proposed to be discussed namely that Mr. Gale may be justly charged with maintaining more dangerous opinions and to make good this charge I shall only because of the intended brevity mention two particulars The first is laid down in the Court of the Gentiles page 367. where distinguishing Gods Justice in Absolute and Ordinative he adds that God by his absolute justice and dominion can inflict the greatest torments even of Hell it self on the most innocent Creature This is indeed a morsel which sober men cannot well swallow it being so quite contrary to that common notion which all mankind entertain of God and to those excellent attributes of his glorious nature by which he has discovered himself to the world both by his word and workes That Almighty God is to be admired for his excellent power and works of wonder no sober man ever doubted but to admit an unlimitted power incompatible with the principle attributes and perfections of his Glorious nature such as his Goodness Holiness Mercy and Justice this were instead of exalting his excellent power a denying of a Deity or at least a making him who is altogether Holy merciful and Good seem it is horrid to speak it Savage and Cruel The Divine goodness truth and sanctity assure us that he can do nothing that is unbecoming his Glorious nature nor repugnant to his chiefe perfections displayed in his Sacred Word and dayly evident by his Workes Let us here appeal to judicious Mr. Calvin lib. de Etern Dei predest Sorbonicum illud dogma in quo sibi plaudunt Papales Theologastri detestor quod potentiam absolutam Deo affingit Solis enim lucem à calore evellere facilius erit quam Dei potentiam separare à justia and page 191. facessant ergo procul à pijs mentibus monstrosoe illoe Speculationes plus aliquid Deum posse quam conveniat veleum sine modo ac ratione quicquam agere c. Surely if to distroy the righteous with the wicked temporally was rejected by Abraham as a piece of injustice unbecoming the Divine goodness Gen. 18 25. That be far from thee to slay the righteous with the wicked Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right how much rather may we say so when men tell us that God can inflict the greatest torments even of Hell it self on the most innocent Creature it were easie to answer all the silly instances brought in defence of this horrid Doctrin but I have said enough in the passing against it only I must add that this is a most dangerous opinion inclining men to entertain unworthy conceptions of a Deity Plutarch lib. de Superst discoursing of the folly of the Pagans to pacifie there offended Gods Sacrificed men and women to them adds that Diagoras and his Followers more reasonably maintained the Being of such Gods than those who confessed a God and believed they could be appeased by such Savage cruelty The Second particular I shall instance is laid down pag 483. and frequently else where God says he is the prime efficient cause of the material entitive act of Sin I know some others have undertaken the defence of this infamous Tenet but patronize it who will it is an uncouth opinion and chargeth the Holy Lord who is not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness with Mens Sins I confess I could never yet understand what more was asserted by those blasphemous Hereticks who boldly affirmed that God was the Author of Sin for which pious antiquity did jointly condemn them for if the evil or obliquity of Sin be as they say either privation or relation it is evident that they necessarily result from the placing of such actions and cannot but follow their acts It is indeed pity that our Reformed Divines should be all blamed for the faults only of a few who have imbibed this Dominican venom and I have often regrated to see the Iesuits so miserably baffle men maintaining this odd and uncouth notion and yet it is but unhandsom dealing to charge that notion upon all reformed Churches which has been alwayes condemned by the most Judicious Writers we have But to dispatch this as quickly as I can I shall only desire a satisfactory Answer to the few following Queries First If God be the prime efficient cause of the material entitive act that I may use his phrase of Sin does not God necessitate the Will to Sin since Man is hereby made the Instrumental cause and God the principal overruling efficient cause and do you think that the Instrumental cause can resist when the principle cause irresistably determins it to act Secondly Is not the act prescinded from the object A meer fancy and notion Can there be either Love or hatred when their is no object to terminate them upon Thirdly If the material act of Sin be Good is not every sinfull act Morally Good as well as Morally Evil. Fourthly When we enquire if there be any thing in the hatred of God that is good do we not Speak of a particular act terminat upon its object and not of a Chimerical act which can have no being Fifthly Is not that Sinfull which is prohibited but the act it self is forbidden Men or forbidden to do such and such things and their doing or acting makes them lyable to punishment Do not Men by doing or omitting that which the Divine precepts forbid become guilty Is not Sin a transgression of the Law and do not men transgress and violate the Divine precepts when they either commit or omit the forbidden action Hence is it that very many Learned Men rationally conclude that Sin is not a privation but a positive thing since the act is alwayes forbidden and therefore it must be formally evil and I confess it is a hard matter to conjecture what can be the foundation of that privation or if the act be placed how the obliquity does not necessarily result Sixthly To permit is properly a not hindring or impeding Men to act therefore the act is permitted for what can be hindered cannot be properly said to be permitted but the obliquity is such Seventhly If it were the obliquity and not the act that is permitted then neither Devils nor Men could tempt us to Sin for they cannot do any more but Intice and Allure us to the committing or omitting of the Acts which being placed the obliquity does necessarily result Eigthly Are Man any other waies said to be hindered from Sinning but because they are impeded from commiting the Act how then can the Holy Lord be the prime efficient cause of the substrate matter or material entitative Act of Sin I have indeed seen an excellent M. S S. where this odious opinion which has made our Church is solidly rejected till such time as that become publick these few Arguments I have pitched upon may be of use to convince us that Mr. Gale is in a mistake I should now have proceeded to the consideration of those Arguments he brings in defence of his opinion but I find this will be more pertinent afterwards when a more fit occasion may offer Now to conclude it is my hearty desire that we may not while we are disputing about the Period of our Lives forget our Mortality Ere it be long a Period will be put to our beings and is it not our greatest concernment to mind this in time that when this Life is ended we may be admitted into that glorious assembly of the Saints above who Live but can die no more FINIS Books Printed and are to be Sold by Enoch Wyer at the White Hart in St. Pauls Church Yard Folio CLARKS General Martyrology 1 l. 10 s. Baylii Opera Chronolog Hist. Amsterdam 1663. price 8 s. Twisse de scientia Media 1639. 7. s. Quarto Strodes Doctrine of Combination of Qualities price 1 s. 1677. The Life of Herod the Great Wherein his Inhumane Cruelties are briefly but Accurately related With an account of his fatal and miserable End Lightfoots Horae Hebraicae Talmudicae in Corinthios quarto Paris 1677 price 4 s. A Letter to a Gentleman in Answer to a late Book Entituled A discourse concerning the Period of Humane Life Apollonius Magnus Gregorianus Cardanus promotus à Tho. Baker now in the Press Octavo Galei Philosophia Generalis 1677. price 9 s. Eustathii Ethica 1677. price 1 s. A discourse concerning the Period of Humane Life whether mutable or immutable By the Author of the Duty of Man c. the Second Edition 1677. 1 s. A Short Compendium of Chirurgy containing the Grounds and Principles thereof collected out of the best Authors by J. S. M. D. Twelves A Description of the Islands of Foerooe in the King of Denmarks Dominions illustrated with Maps 1677. price 2 s. Martials Epigrams for the use of Westm. School 1677. price 1 s. 6d Galei Idea Theologiae 1676. price 3 s. 6 d.