Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	humane_a	law_n	positive_a	2,470	5	10.9031	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08402	The sinne against the Holy Ghost discouered and other Christian doctrines deliuered: in twelue sermons vpon part of the tenth chapter of the epistle to the Hebrewes. By Sebastian Benefield ...	Benefield, Sebastian, 1559-1630.	1615 (1615)	STC 1872; ESTC S101615	138,488	190

convince any one of a crime committed For thus saith the Lord One witnesse shall not testifie against any person to cause him to die Num. 35.30 One witnesse shall not rise vp against a man for any trespasse or for any sin or for any fault that he offendeth in but at the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses shall the matter be established Deut. 19.15 At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he that is worthy of death die but at the mouth of one witnesse he shall not dy Deut. 17.6 Vnder two or three witnesses This is spoken disiunctiuely not as if the testimony of two were alwaies true but because it is so to be accounted if it be the testimony of two For we know that the testimony of two may be forged Two wicked men did falsly witnes against Naboth that he blasphemed God and the King 1. Kings 21.13 Two wicked men did falsly witnesse against Steven that he spake blasphemous words against Moses and God Act. 6.11 Two wicked men did falsely witnesse against Christ that hee should say I can destroy the Temple of God and build it in three daies Mat. 26.60 One witnesse shall not testifie against a man to cause him to die two may and their testimony may be false Two three or more may for at their mouthes shall every matter be established He that despiseth Moses law shall die the death c. Out of these words thus vnderstood we may for our instruction take two lessons 1 Necessity is laid vpon vs and woe is vnto vs if we despise mans law For he that despiseth Moses law dyeth without mercy 2 A caveat is given vs that we be not too credulous that we open not our eares to private reports tending to the discredite of any for He that despiseth Moses law dyeth not but at the mouth of two or three witnesses Our first lesson we comprehend within this proposition Every one is bound to subiect himselfe to honest and iust politique lawes and this even for conscience sake Our second within this It is a breach of the rule of charity to conceiue ill of any one for any private report Touching the first namely That every one is bound to subiect himselfe to honest and iust politique lawes and this even for conscience sake we may note that all such lawes politique civill mans lawes are either iust or vniust if iust then without doubt they bind our consciences to due obedience And this they doe not because they are set forth and published by man but partly because they haue their original from the law of Nature whervnto our consciences stand bound and partly because God in expresse commaundement hath made vs subiect to such lawes If vniust then are wee not in conscience bound to obserue them Such vniust humane lawes haue their difference for first they are said to be vniust either because he that makes them hath no authority so to do or having authority because he makes them rather for his own private then for any common good or making them for the common good because he bids and commaundes that which is aboue a mans power to performe And in this first sense vniust humane lawes though they tie vs not in cōscience to obserue them yet because they put nothing that may detract either from the law of nature or from the law of reason or from the law of nations or from the law of God and his glorie they leaue vnto vs a liberty either to keepe them as well as we shall bee able or not to keepe them at all vnlesse charity which chargeth vs in any wise to beware of giving offence to our neighbours commaundeth vs to obserue them Rather then we breake this bond of charity rather then we giue iust offence to our neighbours it is our Saviours coūsaile Mat. 5.39 40 41. Whosoever shall smite vs on the right cheeke that wee turne to him the other also whosoever suing vs at the law shall take away our coate that we let him haue our cloake also whosoever shall compell vs to go one mile that wee sticke not to goe twaine with him The care then we are to haue not to offend the weake consciences of our neighbours may binde vs to the observing of those humane lawes before spoken of which albeit in regard of their maker and his private respects they are called vniust are notwithstanding otherwise left to our free choice to bee kept or broken because without any repugnancie they may stand together with those eternall lawes the law of nature the law Celestial the law of reason the law of God the iust law of mā the law of nations So in a first sense the lawes of mā are called vniust if he that makes them hath no authority so to doe or having authority if he makes them rather for his owne private then for any common good or making them for the cōmon good if he bids and commaundes that which is aboue mans power to performe In a second sense humane lawes are said to be vniust if they bid that which is contrary to Gods lawes to Gods revealed will to Gods glory and these lawes are so farre from binding vs to their observance as that the loue of God dwelling in our soules deepely chargeth vs with all our might to resist them The answer which Peter and Iohn made to those of Ierusalem Act. 4.19 well fitteth this place whether it be right in the sight of God to obey you rather then God iudge yee And as fit is the protestation made by Peter and the rest of the Apostles Act. 5.29 We ought rather to obey God then men Thus we see that the lawes of men if they are vniust doe not simply binde vs in conscience to any obedience and if they bee so vniust as to detract from Gods lawes and his glory we see againe that we are in conscience bound to disobey them Obedience is first due vnto God and next vnto men for Gods sake And therefore if men shall require any thing of vs which by anie meanes may redound to Gods dishonour leaue we men to thēselues and reserue we all due obedience for our God We ought rather to obey God then men Yet are there humane lawes iust lawes lawes of equity and vprightnes binding the consciences of all that are placed in publike societies whether civill or spirituall In such societies though the lawes of nature and of reason be of necessary force yet those lawes suffice not over and besides them somewhat is necessary namely humane positiue law together with that law which is of commerce of merchādise of exchange between the greatest societies the law of nations and of nations Christian Humane laws are measures in respect of men to direct their actions Measures they are yet to be measured by higher rules Those rules are two the law of God and the law of nature Humane lawes then must be made according to the general lawes of nature without contradictiō to any positiue law

in these words as they are vsed by MOSES Deut. 32.36 The LORD shall iudge his people that is the Lord shall keepe protect and defend his people For so doth Moses expound it in that place The LORD shall iudge his people and repent or change his minde toward his servants when he seeth that their power is gone His other iudgement of Correction is meant in these words as they are vsed by the Apostle in my Text The LORD shall iudge his people that is the Lord shall chastise correct and punish his people For he assumes this to infer the overthrow of all backsliders and his reason hath force from the place à minore If God shall iudge and punish his owne people much more shal he deale so with the Reprobate such as fall away from the truth The like argument Paul vseth Rom. 11.21 If God spared not the naturall branches take heed lest he also spare not thee The like is vsed by Peter also 2. Pet. 2.4 If God spared not the Angels that had sinned but cast them downe into Hell and delivered thē into chaines of darknesse to be kept vnto damnation he shal surely reserue the vniust vnto the day of iudgement to be punished This latter exposition of these words containes the very matter of my third note which I commended vnto you in the beginning of this exercise namely that God will severely punish his owne people also I need not be much in proving it if you remember these few places which but now I cited Iudgement beginneth at the house of God When wee are iudged wee are chastned of the Lord because wee should not bee condemned with the world All that will liue godly in Christ Iesus shall suffer persecution The application of it is this Wee are the Lords people his people in respect of the new Covenant This Sermon was preached in Corpus Christi College before a Comu●iō there March 1601. the memoriall whereof we are this day met together to celebrate O let vs celebrate it together as often as occasion shall bee giuen why will you turne your backes vnto it as if you were vnwilling to shew your selues to be the Lords people Did Christ ever doe you any harme We are his people also I hope well of all in respect of Gods predestination We are his people and therefore shall we be iudged of him chastised corrected and punished Wee must be knowne by the badge of afflictions of tribulations of persecutions yet ought wee not to be dismaied bee the burden wee beare never so vnwildie bee it never so heauie There is ONE in Heaven and he can come apace for he flyeth vpon the wings of the wind who is able to master it and to lighten it and therefore though we walke in the very shadow of death a much lower estate then is the deprivation of our ease commodities and preferments yet must not we take discōfort at it The LORD sitteth aboue the water flouds he commandeth the Heaven the Earth the Sea and all that in them is never will he forsake his children neither in health nor sicknesse light nor darknesse in the land of the liuing nor in the land of forgetfulnesse Only let vs be patient and stay his leasure and he will deliver vs not only from the death of our bodies when wormes and rottennesse shall haue made their last prey vpon vs but from the death of our minds too I meane from that death whereby the spirit is buried vnder sorrowes and findeth no creature in Heaven or Earth to giue it comfort And this shall be the end of vs our mortalitie shall put on immortalitie from this vale of miserie we shall be caried to the Citie of happinesse IERVSALEM that is aboue our momentarie life must bee laid downe and we shall be fully possessed of life eternall THE TWELFTH SERMON HEBR. 10. VER 31. 31 It is a fearfull thing to fall into the hands of the living God I Am now to speake of this Epiphoneme or Acclamation wherin at the first entrance we meete with feare and horror 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It is a fearefull thing The thing to be feared is in the next words manifested it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 even this to fall into the hands of God Can a 2 Kin. 23.13 Astaroth the God of Sidon or Melchom of Ammon or Chemosch of Moab or b 2 King 1.6 Beelzebub of Ekron or c 1 Sam. 5.7 Dagon of Ashdod or any other Idol-god of any nation lay hands vpon you to your hurt Feare thē not As are their eares eyes and feete so are their hands They heare not they see not they walke not they handle not I note therfore in the third place that the God into whose hands wee may well feare to fall is a living God It is a fearefull thing to fall into the hands of the living God Of these in their order It is a fearefull thing I will not particularly examine the many kinds of feare much mentiōed by the writers of Schoole-divinitie Yet generally to speake somewhat of them giue me leaue to touch three kindes There is a feare that keepeth cōpany with the nature of man Arist Rhet. 2. cap. 5. the Philospher defines it to bee a shaking or disquieting of the minde with the expectatiō of some greate evil at hand The things which man naturally feareth are either such as may be his vtter ruine and overthrow or such as may much grieue and discontent him His overthrow may be wrought by lightnings by inundations by the teeth of savage beasts and by the invasion of enimies His griefe may bee caused many waies by losse of parents kinred and friends by losse of goods by slaunderous and lying lips by imprisonement by banishment All these such like are to man as man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 feareful things disquietnesse and vexation vnto his soule This feare being such a passiō as is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Damascene calls it that is a naturall and a blamelesse passion hath not failed to assault our Saviour Christ howsoever the Aphthartodocites Gaianites Iulianists haue taught otherwise namely that Christ frō the very time he was conceiued by the Holy Ghost in the Virgins womb was by reason of the cōjunction of the word and flesh exempted and freed from al maner of passion For he perceauing the time of his suffering to draw neere began to be afraid so speaketh the Evangelist S. Mark chap. 14.33 Hee began to bee afraid TIMOR erat in animâ humanâ verbo quiescente saith Irenaeus Christ according to his humane nature was afraid and his Diuine nature did not hinder it You see this first kinde of feare this naturall feare how it seizeth vpon man as man so leaues not vnassaulted the very Sonne of God There is beside it a fond and a foolish feare I giue it no better a name for that the obiect of it is in a manner nothing As for a