Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	sir_n	thomas_n	walter_n	10,236	5	11.2571	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66000	A sermon preached before the Right Honourable the lord mayor, and the Court of Aldermen, at the Guild-Hall Chappel on November the 23d. 1684 by Thomas Wagstaffe ...	Wagstaffe, Thomas, 1645-1712.	1685 (1685)	Wing W213; ESTC R34696	16,892	34

Smith Mayor Martis xxv to die Novembris 1684. Annoque Regni Regis Caroli Secundi Angl. c. xxxvi THis Court doth desire Mr Wagstaffe to Print his Sermon preached before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen at the Guild-Hall Chappel on Sunday Morning last Wagstaffe A SERMON PREACHED Before the Right Honourable THE Lord Mayor AND THE COVRT of ALDERMEN AT THE Guild-Hall Chappel On November the 23d 1684. By THOMAS WAGSTAFFE M. A. LONDON Printed for Walter Kettilby at the Bishops Head in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1685. To the Right Honourable Sir JAMES SMITH Kt. Lord Mayor Of the CITY of LONDON And to the Honourable the COURT of ALDERMEN THE Ends I aim'd at in this Discourse were to do the Church right to take off unreasonable Prejudices and to perswade Men to the Communion of the best established Church in the World And the same I humbly presume were intended by your Order for the publishing it I do not apologize for the weakness though I am conscious of it yuor Commands warrant its Publication and Obedience is part of the Religion of every Member of the Church of England I therefore only add my Prayers that God would bless all Endeavours that tend to the undeceiving the People and settling them in Unity Peace and Loyalty not only for your Lordship and the Honourable Court whose Vndertakings in this kind are very remarkable but also for every good Man in the Nation Your most Obedient and Humble Servant Tho. Wagstaffe 1. COR. 8.12 When ye Sin so against the Brethren and offend their Weak Conscience ye Sin against Christ AMONG other the Reproaches laid upon the Church of England by its Adversaries one is that its Impositions are of a Scandalous Nature that it injoyns such things as are offnsieve to Weak Brethren and the very Words I have read to you are tho ignorantly yet petulantly enough applyed to Charge the Church with Sin against Christ in offending the Weak Consciences of the Brethren of the Separation as if the imposing two or three Ceremonies were as Injurious to tender minds now as eating of Meat Sacrificed to Idols in the beginning of Christianity A Charge it is of a very high Nature for seeing the power the Church is invested with is for Edification not Destruction seeing it ought to have all Tenderness and compassionate regards towards the little Ones in Christ if instead of this she only lays stumbling Blocks in their way the Church would be what her Enemies have called her an Adulterous Spouse of Christ and which btrayes the trust her Lord hath reposed in her of forwarding the Salvation of all Men under her Care But if those bethe Representations only of Ignorance or Design if in truth upon full Consideration there appears no just Ground for such a Charge It will not I conceive be unbecoming the filial Piety of a true Son to vindicate the Innocence of his Mother to wipe of those Aspertions which have been cast upon her either by the Ignorant or mistaken or by the crafty and malicious In order to this purpose I shall indeavour to do these things following First To state the Notion or Nature of Scandal or Offence as it is represented to us in the Gospel 2. To inquire whether those that urge this against us are really offended in a Gospel Sense tho the things in controversie should be as evil as they represent them 3. Suppse they were offended yet these 2. things ought to be considered First That this cannot with any Sense or Conscience be urged by them that are offended 2. If the Matter of Offence be in things indifferent we cannot forbear them upon account of a weak Brother where our Liberty is already determined 3. Tho they are not offended by us they are really offended by the Leaders of the Separation 4. The Church of England hath given no Occasion of offence to any 5. Briefly apply this to our selves First I shall indeavour to state the Notion of Nature of Scandal as it is represented in the Gospel and in doing this I shall indeavour to consider the most important Cases mentioned in the new Testament from whence only we can have it and from thence frame such a Notion as is agreeable to that Representation the Gospel makes of it There are two Cases largely spoken to by St. Paul in the Epistles one is the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Chapters to the Romans the other is the Eighth and Tenth Chapters of the first Epistle to the Corinthians Both these I shall briefly consider Of that in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth to the Romans the summ I conceive is this among the Roman Christians there were several Jewish Converts who had not yet worn out the sence of Moses's Law but thought themselves and all others also converted to Christianity in some measure under the binding power of it as to the Observation of Days Meats c. The Gentile Christians on the contrary esteem'd themselves free from all such Observations that these were on parts of the Gospel dispensation that therefore neither they nor the Jews themselves ought to have any regard or account for them and this as it usually happens in the differences of Parties and Opinions made them Contemn and Censure each other the Strong despising the Weak as too nice and superstitious and the Weak judging the Strong as prophane and neglecters of Gods Law And this was grown so high that some of the weaker sort were hereby endangered and there were fears the Jews might be discourag'd from Christianity by unseasonablly exploding those things which they knew were of divine Institution and which tho abrogated they had yet a Conscience for In this Case the Apostle adviseth not to Judge one another but Judge this rather that no man put a Stumbling Block or an occasion to fall in his Brothers way Ver. 13. the prejudices of Education and Customs especially those that had such a Sanction as those of the Jews would not be so soon worn out and the severe insisting upon or which is worse the reproachfully and contemptuously inveighing against them would rather avert and hinder new proselytes especially those of scrupulous and doubting minds then any way engage them to another Doctrine or way of Religion The Jews had been Born and Bred up under the Rites of Moses and this was part of their Religion And so soon as they had entred into Christianity presently to fall foul upon them or to treat them disdainfully and haughtily for using them would be the readiest course to drive them away And therefore too the thing be never so true tho they were never so much convinc'd that the distinction of Days and Meats c. were wholly taken away by Christ yet this ought to be mildly and meekly at least press'd in reference to those who had other perswasions concerning them and who had not sufficient growth in Christianity as to be fully instructed in the Nature and force of Christian Liberty I know saith he