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
A45443	A practicall catechisme	Hammond, Henry, 1605-1660.	1645 (1645)	Wing H581; ESTC R19257	184,627	362

shall give you that without detaining you long or adding much to what hath beene already said onely by giving you the object of true faith which is of two sorts Either God himselfe Or the Word of God God who is beleived in and the Word of God as the rule of that Faith or matter to be beleived and that Word entirely considered signifying whatsoever I am or may ever be convinced to come from him and in it as it is now shut up and compriz'd in the Bookes of Canonicall Scripture these speciall parts which do divide the whole Scripture betweene them 1. The Affirmations of Scripture whether by way of Historicall Narration or by way of Doctrine 2. The Promises of God both in the Old and New Testament but especially the promises of the Gospell both such as belong to this life and specially those that belong to another 3. The Commands of God whether the Naturall Law of all mankinde written in our hearts by the finger of God made up in the frame of the humane soule and more clearely revealed both in the Decalogue and other parts of sacred writ or whether the Commands of Christ raising nature to a higher pitch in the Sermon on the Mount and superadding some positive institutions as those of the Sacraments and Censures of the Church in other parts of the New Testament 4. The Threats of the Gospell those terrors of the Lord set on purpose to drive and hazen us to amendment of our sinfull lives All these put together are the adequate object of our Faith which is then cordiall and such as God will accept of when it affords to every one of these that reception which is apportioned to it assent to the truth of the Affirmations fiduciall reliance on the promises obedientiall submission to the Commands and humble feare and aw to the Threats S. I have heard much of a Generall and a Particular Faith and that the Generall is little worth without the Particular Tell me whether that be appliable to the Faith you now speake of C. Being rightly understood it is S. What then is the Generall and Particular Faith as it referres to the Affirmations of Scripture C. The Generall is a beleife of Gods veracity that whatsoever is affirmed by him is infallibly true the Particularis the full giving up my assent to every particular which I am convinced to be affirmed by God assoone as ever I am so convinced or have meanes sufficient offered me so to convince me and yet more particularly the acknowledging of those truths which have speciall markes set upon them in Scripture to signifie them to be of more weight then others as that God is Heb. 11. 6. That Christ is the Messias of the world the acknowledging of which is said to be life eternall Jo. 17. 3. The Doctrine of the Trinity into which all are commanded to be baptized and those other fundamentals of faith which all men were instructed in antiently before they were permitted to be baptized contrived breifly into the compasle of the Apostles Creed a summary of Christian faith or doctrine necessary to be believed S. What is the Generall and Particular Faith as it referres to the Commands of the Gospell C. The Generall is an assent to the truth and goodnesse of those Commands in generall as they concerne all men that is beleiving that Christ hath given such a law to all his Disciples to all Christians and that that law is most fit to be given by him The Particular is the applying these Commands to my selfe as the necessary and proper rule of my life the resolving faithfull obedience to them S. What is it as it reforres to the Threats C. The Generall is to beleive that those Threates will be and that it is most just they should be executed upon all against whom they are denounced The Threates under oath absolutely non-admission into Gods rest to all disobedient provokers Heb. 3. 11. the conditionall Threates conditionally i. e. unlesse we repent and use the meanes to avert them The Particular is to resolve that except I get out of that number I shall certainly find my part in them S. What as it referres to the Promises C. The Generall is the beleeving the truth infallible truth of the Promises which Promises the object of that Faith being generally conditionall not absolute Promises great care must be taken that the Faith be proportioned to the nature of the Promises As when the Promise of rest is made peculiarly to the weary and heavy laden thus coming to Christ the Generall faith is to beleive undoubtedly that this rest shall be given to all that performe this condition to all humble faithfull penitentiaries and to beleive that it belongs either absolutely to all or to any but those who are so qualified is to beleive a lye No peice of Faith but phansy or vaine conceite which sure will never advantage but betray any that depends upon it S. What then is the Particular Faith terminated in this conditionall Promise C. Not the beleiving that the Promise belongs absolutely to me for it doth not any longer then I am so qualified nor the beleeving that I am so qualified for 1. perhaps I am not and 2. that is no object of faith no part of the promise or of any other peice of Gods word but it is made up of these three things 1. the confident perswasion that if I faile not in my part Christ will never faile in his if I doe repent no power of heaven or earth or hell no malice of Satan no secret unrevealed decree shall ever be able to deprive me of my part in the promise 2. A setting my selfe to performe the condition on which the promise is made as when rest being promised upon condition of coming I come upon that invitation then this coming of mine may be called particular application as when a picture is so designed and set as to looke on every one that comes in at the doore on none else the way to be particularly lookt on i. e. to apply the eye of the picture particularly to me is to come in at that doore And 3. the comparing the conditionall Promise to my particular present estate by way of selfe-examination and thence concluding upon sight of the condition in my selfe that I am such a one to whom the Promise belongs and shall have my part in it if I continue and persevere The second of these if it be reall and sincere gives me a certainty of the object seales the Promise to me in heaven which will remaine firme though I never know of it The third if it be on right judgement of my selfe may give me the other certainty i. e. ascertaine me that I am in the number of Gods children but there being so much uncertainty whether I judge aright of my selfe or no and there being no particular affirmation in Gods word concerning the sincerity of my present or perseverance

life t● behold the faire beauty of the Lord and to visit his Temple The latter part of this is called by the same David the longing of the soule after God by Saint Paul desiring to be dissolved and to be with Christ S. What are the motives to this kind of love C. 1. Gods loving us first and dying for us an expression of that love able to constreine and extort a reciprocation or returne of love 2. The true superlative delight even to flesh and bloud that is in sanctity and the practice of Christian virtues beyond all that any sensuall pleasure affords so great that when they are exprest by the Apostle in these words Neither eye hath seene nor care heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man toconceive what things God hath prepared for them that love him They are ordinarily mistaken for the description of Heaven 3. Those joies in the vision of God in another life thus described by the Psalmist In thy presence are fulnesse of joies and at thy right hand pleasures for evermore S. Well you have gone through the two parts of the love of God And told me that the sincerity required in it requires me to love God with all my heart May not I then love any thing else but God C. You may but with these conditions 1. that it be not some prohibited object as the world and the things of the world for if any man love the world the love of the father is not in him 1 Joh. 2. 15. 2. That it be in a degree inferiour to the love of God thus God being loved above all other things may lawfully in a lower degree be loved also 3. That those other things be loved for Gods sake and in that order that he prescribes them S. But may not the outward expressions of love in many good Christians be greater to some other object then to God or is this incompatible with the sincerity of the love of God C. Our love of God may be sincere though it be accompanied with some frailties now the sensitive faculty may have a sensitive love of some sensitive objects which though it be moderated so as not to fall into sinne either in respect of the object or the excesse yet through the nature of mans sence may expresse it's selfe more sensitively toward that inferiour object then toward God himselfe and this is a peice of humane frailty not to bewholly put off in this life And yet for all this the love of God may be more deeply radicated in that soule and that will be tried by this that if one were to be parted with I would part with any thing rather then God But that not to be judged by what I could answer if I were asked the question nay nor what I would resolve at a distance but in time of temptation and actuall competition betwixt God and that any thing else that could not be held without sinning against God what then I would really doe This may best be understood by that other passion of sorrow I may weepe more for the losse of a freind then for my sinnes yet my sorrow for sin may be the deeper and more durable sorrow though it be not so profuse of these sensitive expressions So may and must our love of God be most firmely rooted though not so passionately exprest as through the infirmity of our flesh and neerenesse of other objects to it our love to them is wont to be S. Shall we proceed to the other branch of Charity that of our Neighbour and first what doe you meane by the word Neighbour C. Every man in the world for so Christ hath extended the word Luk. 10. 36 37. Not onely to signifie the Jew in relation to the fellow Jew who was the Old Testament-Neighbour but to the Samaritan in relation to the Jew i. e. to him that was most hated by him as appeares by the parable in that place S. What is the love of my Neighbour C. 1. The valuing him as the Image of God one for whom Christ died and one whom God hath made the proxey of his love to receive those effects of it from us which we cannot so well bestow on God 2. The desiring And 3. The endeavouring his good of all kinds S. In what degree must this be done C. As I desire it should be done to my selfe S. How is that C. Why in all things to deale with other men as if I might be my owne chooser I would wish that other men nay God himselfe should doe to me This will certainly retaine me within the strictest bounds of justice to all men I have to deale with because it is naturall to desire that all men should deale justly with me and teach me all mercy to others both in giving and forgiving and blessing them because I cannot but desire that God should be thus mercifull to me S. But will not my love of God be sufficient without this other love of my neighbour to denominate me Charitable C. It will not 1. Because this loving my neighbour is one nay many of the Commandements which he that loveth God must keepe 1 Joh. 3. 23. 2. Because God hath pleased to appoint that as the test of the sincerity of the love of God in judging of which we might otherwise deceive our selves and prove lyers had we not this evidence to testifie the truth of our love according to that of Saint John 1 Ep. 4. 10. For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seene how can he love God whom he hath not seene Which place argues that all the arguments or motives which we have to love God we have to love our brother also God having devolved all his right to our love upon our brethren here and therefore interpreting whatsoever is done to them as done to himselfe not so as to devest himselfe of it but to accumulate it on this image here below communicating all his claimes to it to which claims of God our relation to our brethren superadding one more that of acquaintance and affinity of our humane nature exprest by those words his brother whom he hath seene it followes in all necessity that he that loves not his brother that behaves not himselfe to all men superiours equalls inferiours strangers freinds enemies Turkes Iewes Heathens Heretiques sinners according as the rules of Christian charity of justice and mercy oblige him is not a lover of God S. Is there any more that I need know concerning this grace C. No more at this time The particulars farther considerable will come in out rode hereafter S. Your proposed method than leades me to Repentance next what is Repentance C. A change of minde or a conversion from sinne to God Not some one act of change but a lasting durable state of new life which I told you was called also Regeneration S. But is not Regeneration an Act of new birth C. No it is the state of new