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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	word_n	write_n	write_v	643	4	5.9917	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A28272	No reason to desire new revelations a sermon preach'd at the Cathedral-Church of St. Paul, October 7th, 1700, being the seventh for the year 1700, of the lecture founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq. / by Ofspring Blackall ...	Blackall, Offspring, 1654-1716.	1700 (1700)	Wing B3047; ESTC R18677	36,532	66

could not so easily resist as we may those which are afforded to us may be granted and yet it may be unreasonable for us to desire the same unless we were to be put to the same Trials of our Faith that they were which in a Christian Country can hardly be And indeed as desirous as we seem to be of having such Evidence of the Truth of our Religion as we are told the Apostles had I believe there are very few of us but had rather be contented with less Evidence than have so much as the Apostles had with its appendant Burden which was to travel all the World over even into the most rude and barbarous Countries to plant Christianity expecting wherever they came Bonds and Afflictions meeting every where with the most violent opposition and roughest Usage encountring every where the greatest Dangers and sure at last to be made a bloody Sacrifice to the Malice and Fury of their Persecutors How much St. Paul alone endured and 't is like the Sufferings of the other Aposiles were not much less you may see in 2 Cor. xi 23 c. and yet he was not then come to the end of his Sufferings In Labours abundant in Stripes above measure in Prisons frequent in Deaths oft Of the Jews five times received I forty Stripes save one thrice was I beaten with Rods once was I Stoned thrice I suffered Shipwrack a Night and a Day I have been in the Deep in Journeyings often in Perils of Waters in Perils of Robbers in Perils by mine own Countrymen in Perils by the Heathen in Perils in the City in Perils in the Wilderness in Perils in the Sea in Perils among false Brethren In Weariness and Painfulness in Watchings often in Hunger and Thirst in Fastings often in Cold and Nakedness Besides those things that are without that which cometh upon me daily the Care of all the Churches And therefore he might well say as he does 1 Cor. iv 9 c. I think that God hath set forth us the Apostles last as it were appointed to Death for we are made a Spectacle to the World and to Angels and to Men we are Fools for Christ's sake we are weak we are despised even unto this very hour we both hunger and thirst and are naked and are buffeted and have no certain dwelling Place and labour working with our Hands being reviled persecuted defamed we are made as the Filth of the World and are the Off-scowring of all things unto this Day It was therefore plainly necessary that a Faith which was to undergo these severe Trials should be built upon the surest Grounds but for us and to enable us to overcome the World a Faith that is founded upon less certain Evidence may be as sufficient 2. The Second Case before-mentioned was of those who heard with their own Ears the Testimony which the Apostles gave concerning our Lord and saw with their own Eyes the wonderful Works that they did in Confirmation of their Testimony We could wish at least that we had such strong Evidence of the Truth of the Christian Religion as they had and if we had we see not why there would not be as much Choice and consequently as much Virtue in our believing as there was in theirs But here it may be considered 1. That it was the Lot but of very few even of those that lived in the Apostles times except of the Jews that dwelt in Judea to hear the Apostles themselves or to see with their own Eyes the Miracles that they wrought and even of these there were but few that had the opportunity of seeing many of their mighty Works so that all things considered the Evidence that we have of the Truth of our Religion if it be not fully equal to is very little inferior to that which they had for it being as has been formerly shewn morally impossible that the Gospel History which is now in our Hands should be forged or spurious or corrupted and altered what can be thought to be wanting in the Clearness of the Evidence that we have being given in Writing and not by word of Mouth is made up by the Fulness and Abundance of it we having in the Writings of the Apostles and Evangelists several Witnesses testifying the same Miracles and every one of them Witnessing more Miracles than any except those who were constant Attendants upon our Lord or Companions of the Apostles were in a Capacity to witness But 2. Granting it to be true that in the Apostle's times those to whom the Gospel was preached had generally clearer and stronger Evidence of the Truth of Christianity than we have now yet I say even that Evidence of Sense which they had was not more apt or like to convince and persuade them than the Proof which we now have tho' in it self it be less is to convince and persuade us For when Men have already taken up an Opinion no matter upon what Grounds or when by their Worldly Interest they are engaged to be of such an Opinion it can't be expected that the same Reasons I mean Reasons of the same strength in themselves should be sufficient to persuade them to alter their Opinion which would have sufficed to have fix'd and establish'd them in their former Notions And this is plainly the Difference between those Times and ours for when the Revelation of the Gospel was first made by Christ and his Apostles all both Jews and Gentiles were most strongly prejudiced against it each of them having been bred up in a Persuasion that their own way of Worship was right and the Jews in particular having had good Assurance that their Law given by Moses to which the Doctrine of Christianity seem'd very opposite had been of Divine Institution But however when a Man has been bred up in the Belief of any thing and has believ'd it a good while he takes it for granted that he had reason to believe it whether he had so or not so that the Prejudice against Christianity was as powerful tho' not altogether so just in the Gentiles whose Religion was meerly fabulous as in the Jews whose Law was indeed of Divine Institution And besides which was an Impediment alike common both to the Jews and Gentiles they could not either of them then embrace and profess the Christian Religion without apparently hazarding the Loss of all things that were dear to them in this World And how very apt a strong Worldly Interest is to blind Mens Eyes and to byass their Judgments is what we cannot but daily observe in all other Cases But our Case now is quite otherwise our Prejudices and our Interest are both for Christianity for we suck'd it in with our Mothers Milk and we found it the establish'd Religion of the Country where we were Born for which Reasons we believed it or at least were strongly inclined to believe it before we knew or had heard of any other Reasons so that to us who are

things they value as they now are But I do not think there are any here present concern'd in this Part of my Discourse and therefore shall lengthen it no further Heb. 6.9 I am persuaded better things of you and things that accompany Salvation For your Presence here in the House of God and in the Assembly of Christians makes it reasonable to believe that you are already convinced not only of the Being and Providence of God but likewise of the Truth of the Christian Religion and of the Divine Inspiration and Authority of the Holy Scriptures 2. To you therefore who are Christians I shall now turn my Discourse Heb. 13.22 And I beseech you Brethren suffer the word of Exhortation it is only this Since you have Moses and the Prophets and Christ and his Apostles and believe that they are Messengers sent to you from God to instruct you in his Will receive the Truth and the Law at their Mouths mind what they say and be careful to follow their Directions in all things For even we who have the Scriptures the lively Oracles of God may perish for want of Knowledge as well as they that have them not unless we make that Use of them which they were given for unless we are diligent in reading them and careful to practise what they teach For the Rich Man spoken of in this Parable had the Scriptures but his meer having them did not keep him from Hell And his five surviving Brethren had likewise the Scriptures and yet were then in a fair way of following their Brother to that Place of Torment They had Moses and the Prophets but they did not hear them And this also may be our Case who have not only these but also Christ and his Apostles Preaching to us if we do not hear them for what Advantage can it be to us to have good Instructors if we will not mind what they say if we stop our ears to all their Counsels and Reproofs No Man was ever made a Scholar only by having a good Library in his Possession No Man ever learnt any Art or Science tho' it was never so well taught in any Book only by keeping the Book in his Chamber or carrying it about in his Pocket And as little shall we be the wiser only by having the Holy Scriptures tho' as the Apostle says they are able to make us wise unto Salvation 2 Tim. 3.15 if we do not read and study them with an honest Design to furnish our selves from thence with a stock of useful Knowlege and with a firm Resolution to lead our Lives according to the Directions which they give us Nay so far shall we be from receiving any Advantage only by our having the Holy Scriptures given us and free Liberty allowed us to look into them a Privilege we of this Nation have above most of our Neighbours that if we do not read and study them it will be much the worse for us our Condemnation will be the greater and our Destruction so much the more certain For the Case of those who offend thro' Ignorance when their Ignorance is unaffected is very pitiable and tho' we can't certainly say how God will deal with those who had no clear Revelation of his Will made to them this we may be sure of that God who is a merciful God will deal mercifully with them John 15.22 If I had not come and spoken unto them says our Saviour they had not had Sin But the Case will be quite otherwise with those Luke 12.47 who knew their Master's will and did not do it They as our Saviour says shall be beaten with many Stripes And it will be all one if they did not know it if their Ignorance of it was occasioned by their own fault in neglecting those Means of Knowledge which God has afforded them And much rather if their ignorance of their Duty was affected and chosen that they might Sin with less disturbance of Mind for our Saviour's Judgment in this Case is very plain and 't is his Judgment by which we must stand or fall to all Eternity Joh. iii. 19. This is the Condemnation that Light is come into the World and Men loved Darkness rather than Light because their Deeds were Evil. Having therefore Moses and the Prophets and also Christ and his Apostles continually Preaching to us in the Books of Holy Scripture let us hear them This is both our Duty and our Interest And that our study of the Scripture may be with good success and we may thereby be thoroughly furnished unto all good Work Let us Pray as we are taught by our Church in a most excellent Collect suited to the Subject I have been Discoursing of Blessed Lord who hast caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our Learning Collect for 2d Sunday in Advent Grant that we may in such wise hear them read mark learn and inwardly digest them that by Patience and Comfort of thy Holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed Hope of everlasting Life which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ Amen FINIS ERRATA Page 55. line 10. for some read same