Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	christian_a	day_n	sabbath_n	12,184	5	9.9778	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64084	A brief disquisition of the law of nature according to the principles and method laid down in the Reverend Dr. Cumberland's (now Lord Bishop of Peterboroughs) Latin treatise on that subject : as also his confutations of Mr. Hobb's principles put into another method : with the Right Reverend author's approbation.	Tyrrell, James, 1642-1718.; Cumberland, Richard, 1631-1718. De legibus naturae disquisitio philosophica.	1692 (1692)	Wing T3583; ESTC R23556	190,990	498

by the due observation of Justice and Charity or the most diffusive Benevolence towards others of our own Kind according to the Order we have already laid down in the former Chapter All which is but our endeavouring to procure as far as we are able this Common Good of Rational Agents 'T is true Mr. H. in his Lev. Chap. 13. contracts all the Laws of Nature into this short and easy Rule which he says is intelligible even by the meanest capacities viz. Do not that to another thou wouldest not have done to thy self Which Rule tho' very true and the same in effect which was given by our Blessed Saviour himself yet without the consideration of the Common Good of Mankind would too often fail For if this Rule were strictly and literally to be understood no Prince Judge or other Magistrate could condemn a Malefactor to death for in so doing he did that to another which he would not have done to himself in the like State Since he himself as well as the Criminal he condemns would then desire to be pardoned if he could But indeed the reason why all Judges and other inferior Officers of Justice are excused from the observation of this Rule in their publick Capacities is Because they do not then act as private persons but as publick Representatives or Trustees with whom the Common Good and Peace of the whole Kingdom or Commonwealth is intrusted which as I have already shewn makes but a small part of the Common Good of all Rational Agents § 16. There are likewise others who reduce the Laws of Nature into this single Rule or Precept Preserve or do good to thy self and any other innocent persons as to thy self Which tho' I grant to be a true Rule as containing our Saviour's Epitome of the Commandments of the Second Table Love thy Neighbour as thy self Yet doth it not express the Reason or Principle on which it is founded for we have no reason to love our Neighbour but as they partake of the same Common Rational Nature with our selves and that our doing them good doth conduce to the preservation and happiness of the whole Body of Mankind of which that person as well as our selves are but small parts or Members Nor have we any particular obligation to endeavour our own particular Good but as it conduces to and is part of the Common Good of Mankind § 17. And as the whole Law of Nature so likewise the Revealed Law given from God by Moses to the Iews and intended in due time to be made known to all Mankind tends to no other end than this great Law of endeavouring the Common Good of Rational Agents For all the Precepts of the First Table of the Decalogue which prescribe our Duty towards God and which our Saviour hath so excellently well contracted into this single Precept Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength c. contain nothing more than this great Rule For as God before he thought fit to create the World and whilst there was yet no Creature to worship or serve him was not then less happy or perfect so neither now he hath created them is he the happier if we worship him or the more unhappy if we omit it For man being created as an Object for the Divine Goodness to exert it self upon it must necessarily follow that all the Precepts of the First Table as well as of the Second are in some sort intended for Man's Good and Happiness as well as God's Honour and Service So that even that Great Commandment of keeping holy the Seventh day which most chiefly respects God's own Glory and Service did also promote the Good and Happiness not only of the Iews God's particular Subjects but also of all Mankind whensoever this Law should be discovered to them So that tho' it commands the dedicating of that day to the Worship and Service of God and is observed in obedience to his Commands Yet even in this he does not design his own Glory and Honour alone nay according to Saint Austin Our Good only but also our Good and Happiness which is then most perfect and compleat when we bestow our time in the contemplation of his Infinite Perfections and Goodness towards us and in rendring him thanks for his unspeakable Benefits So that though I grant he hath made and ordained us for his Service yet he hath so constituted our Nature as to make our highest happiness inseparably connected with all the particular Acts of his Worship And therefore our Saviour reproves the Iews when they found fault with him for suffering his Disciples to pluck the Ears of Corn on the Sabbath day expresly telling them That if they h●d known what this means I will have mercy and not sacrifice they would not have condemned the guiltless for the Son of Man i. e. not Christ alone but every Christian is Lord even of the sabbath-Sabbath-day And in St. Mark That the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath Thereby teaching us that the Sabbath it self was also instituted for Man's sake and that in cases of necessity he is Master of it And so likewise our Saviour himself by chusing to do his greatest Miracles of healing on the sabbath-Sabbath-day hath taught us that the performance of acts of Charity and Mercy on that Day is a great and necessary part of God's Service § 18. But as for the Precepts of the Second Table I need not insist upon them because our Saviour himself hath contracted them all even that of honouring our Parents into this short Precept Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self Which is no more than to bid us endeavour the common good of Mankind to the utmost of our power So that as this Law of the most diffusive Benevolence of Rational Agents contains the Sum of all the Laws of Nature as also of the Moral Law contained in the Ten Commandments so likewise is it the Sum of the whole Gospel delivered by our Saviour Christ and his Apostles For as one great design of our Saviour's coming into the World was by his most excellent Precepts and Examples to exalt the Law of Nature to a higher perfection than what Men by the common use of Reason could generally attain to so likewise was it one of the main designs of his coming to restore the Law of Moses to its Primitive Purity and Perfection and to free it from those false Interpretations and Traditions with which the Pharisees had corrupted it For whereas they had confined the observation of that Command of loving our Neighbours only to outward Acts or at least restrained it only to those of their own Nation or Religion our Saviour Christ commands a greater perfection and forbids even so much as the thoughts or desires of Murder Adultery c. And whereas the Iews did suppose that they were not obliged to shew Acts of Charity or