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	person_n	unity_n	3,413	5	9.5095	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A31245	The truth and excellence of the Christian religion, with the corruptions and additions of the Romish Church a discourse, wherein the pre-eminence of Christianity is demonstrated above the religion of Jews or heathens, and the contradiction of popery to its main articles : and that religion prov'd in many instances to be a mixture of heathenish superstitions, and Jewish ceremonies : with a short vindication of Christian loyalty, and a brief historical account of Romish treasons and usurpations, since the Reformation / by a hearty professor of Reformed Catholick Christianity.	S. C.	1685 (1685)	Wing C126; ESTC R22983	60,383	154

is Mysterious and the Doctrine of the Trinity is Incomprehensible to humane Reason but yet it is not repugnant to it The Unity of the three Persons of the Godhead transcends indeed our conceptions but reason connot prove it to be an impossibility or to include a contradiction for altho among creatures one nature is still join'd with one subsistence yet the Divine Nature being not of the same condition with created substances it can never be prov'd impossible that three Divine Persons should subsist in one Nature the manner indeed is incomprehensible to reason and it is not to be expected that a finite creature should be able fully to comprehend an infinite being In a word The Christian Religion gives us the most exalted lovely apprehensions of the Divine Nature without any of those jarring notions which the Heathens entertained and tho there be some mysteries in our Faith yet they tend only to exalt God and debase Man and 't is our duty to believe what God says of himself and to fall down and worship what we cannot comprehend But further the manner of worshipping God prescrib'd by the Apostles is highly suitable to his Majesty and becoming his Spiritual Nature not with the follies and extravagancies of the Heathens nor pompous and gaudy Ceremonies of the Jews but with a modest magnificence and comely simplicity with prayer and praise and singing and other solemn exercises of Devotion with a reverent celebration of its mysteries without I dolatry or Superstition on the one hand and without contempt of a Being so worthy of the most humble adoration on the other This is the method of Devotion in the Christian Church much more comely and decent and agreeable to the Nature of God and Reasons of Men than the butchery of Sacrifices and numerous gay solemnities among the Jews which except they had prefigured the great undertakings of the Messiah would never have been injoyn'd Much more then the ridiculous charms and impure rites of the Heathen Worship which the wisest among them were asham'd of and only join'd therein ut legibus jussa non ut diis grata as commanded by their laws not as pleasing to their Gods 2. Their Doctrine concerning mans reconciliation with God by the Lord Jesus tho it was above the sphere of reason to invent yet when once reveal'd appears highly satisfactory to reason for when man had wilfully broke the Divine Law and exposed himself to the threatned punishments of infinite justice God that he might signalize his mercy and fill the hearts and mouths of Men and Angels with the most ardent love and admiring Hallelujahs was pleas'd to dispence with his threatning and show himself ready to be reconcil'd Now what imaginable way can we think of more agreeable to reason whereby man may be restor'd to the divine favour shall he meerly pardon sinners this clemency would be but weakness and foolish pity for it would argue either that he wanted Power to effect what he threatned or was defective in Wisdom as if he thought his law unadvisedly made and foresaw not the inconveniences it would occasion Or that he was not infinite in Holiness who could so easily be reconcil'd to sinful rebels Besides this would weaken his Government over Angels and Men and encourage them to sin for the future in hopes of the same mercy and compassion Thus we see how unreasonable it is to imagine God should meerly pardon sinners It was necessary therefore that some satisfaction should be made and except this be proportionable to the offence the same inconveniences will still follow the repute of the Law will not be kept up God will still labour under the dishonourable reflections of Levity Impotence and Impurity and Men will be encouraged to sin for the future with hopes of an easy remedy This burden was too weighty for the shoulders of any creature such is the Malignity of sin and so great a dishonour to the Divine Male sty that it is impossible the services and sufferings of a meer creature should compensate for the affront It was necessary that God should satisfy Himfelf and because those satisfactions do most secure the ends of satisfaction which come as near the threatned penalty as may be 't was necessary he should become man live a life of misery and dye an accurfed death and endure such agonies and torments of Body and Soul as might represent more livelyly to the sons of men what their sins had deserved and come as near the penalty as the dignity and innocence of his Nature would permit Thus Gods hatred of sin is most clearly display'd and men are mos● effectually deterr'd from continuance in any iniquity Thus the Divine Wisdom and Power and Holiness and Mercy shine in their brightest lustre and conspire together in a most admirable harmony and agreement and that men might still be more apprehensive of their own vileness God not withstanding all the wonders of his love testifies his hatred to our sins by refusing to admit any immediate applications to him and resolving to accept of no services nor hear any prayers that are not perfum'd by the intercession of his beloved Son This is the admirable Gospel-method of propitiating the Divine Favour which we indeed dar'd not once to have thought of till God had reveal'd it but now it is made known appears to be only satisfactory to reason What the Sacrifices and Offerings and other contrived methods of satisfaction among the Jews and Gentiles were too weak to effect this this is done by the great Sacrisice of our Lord Redeemer 3. Their precepts and rules of Life were all reasonable and advantagious to our interest conducive to the health of our bodies the tranquility of our minds the peace of our consciences the sweetning of our tempers the exalting our natures the improvement of our estates the advancement of our reputation and the comfort of our lives By the practise of them we shall consult our private interest obtain the good will and respect of men and promote the publick benefit of all We shall act worthy of our selves and becoming our reason obtain the Divine Favour and resemble the Divine Nature What more comely and decent than a profound admiration of him who is so Glorious and excellent in himself An ardent love of him who is so kind and beneficial to us An awful reverence of him who is so Powerful Holy Wise and Just and a cheerful obedience to all his Laws who is our Soveraign and our Father our Friend and best Benefactor What more reasonable than prayer to him who is able to supply our wants and praise and thanksgiving to the same God who gives all the comforts of this life and from whom we expect the rewards of a better What more just and fit and conducible to our interest than that we should be upright in our dealings with our neighbour veracious in our words faithful in our trusts sincere in our contracts innocent and inoffensive in our

hardly possible to subsist The immortality of the Soul and a future State Another Sect the Herodians were Court-Flatterers and State-Politicians who made it an act of their Religion to comply with the humours of their Prince Those who pretended most to Sanctity and Piety the Pharisees had found an easie Religion which they fanci'd would please God and themselves too consisting mostly in trifles and shadows and very defective in the grear Duties of Religion they had put corrupt glosses on the Law of Moses and because the Magistrate could only punish the outward act they fondly presum'd God as indulgent and never imagin'd that their vain thoughts or idle words would be imputed to them as their sins They were indeed very careful to have a saint-like outside tho devillish Lusts dwelt within and hop'd to be justifi'd and sav'd tho their hearts were never purifi'd or amended All their Religion lay in the Observations of some Traditions and Customs handed down from their forefathers The Duties of Piety were suppli'd only by Ceremonious Services and Rites they were abominably guilty of Deceit and Injustice Cozenage and Over-reaching one another and neglected the Rules of Justice and common Honesty among men they knew no such thing as a Spirit of Divine unbounded Charity but were of very rugged sowr Dispositions they were swoln big with an high conceit of themselves and look'd with contempt and disdain on the rest of mankind their Charity was contracted within the consines of Judea and they would not so much as eat with an uncircumcis'd Gentile or Samaritan nor pay them the common Offices of Civilty In a word their righteousness was so lam'd and wofully imperfect that our Saviour tells us it could qualifie no man for Heaven Matt. 5. 20. Thus did the whole World lye in wickedness and therefore no wonder that the strictness of the Christian Doctrine was so disturbing to those who were unwilling to be freed from their pleasing mistakes A Doctrine that requires we should inwardly reverence and adore the Divine Majesty and express our Adoration by solemn Prayers and Praises and acts of Devotion A Doctrine that requires a flaming Love an humble Dependence an awful Fear and careful imitation of every imitable Perfection That we should give him the Supremacy of our Affections without any corrival or competitor That we should Worship him only in such a manner as is agreeable to the Dignity of his Nature and Revelation of his Will That we should never use his Name in a prophane irreverent manner but always with that becomingawe that is due to so Sovereign a Majesty That we should sanctifie that time he hath set a part for his Service and then Worship him with sincere devout Affections That we should be Pure and Chast and Sober and Temperate and Humble tame our Flesh subdue our Lusts be moderate in our pursuit of worldly Injoyments contemn the World entertain a mean Opinion of our selves and all things here below Sacrifice our secular Interests and even life it self for the sake of God and a good Conscience and always behave our selves as the Citizens of Heaven That we should love our Neighbour as our selves and not be so narrow-soul'd as to contain our Affections in smaller bounds than those of the Universe That we should follow Peace with all men forgive our Enemies pray for our Persecutors and be kind and obliging to all with whom we converse That we should subdue all angry Resentments and quench all revengeful desires and carefully abstain from every thing that is injurious to our Neighbour and do to others as we should reasonably desire they should do to us were we in their circumstances That we should in order to these ends repent of our Sins believe in the Lord Jesus and depend upon the aids of Divine Grace to enable us to purifie our thoughts and words and purge our actions and ●it us for Heaven These are the chief heads of the Christian Doctrine These are the excellent Rules which our Saviour commanded by his word and blessed example These were the Precepts that startled the World and inflam'd the hearts of guilty Sinners with such hatred and malice against the Apostles This was the chief cause of their enmity against the Preachers of this new Faith even because they would have reclaim'd them from their vicious courses and invited to the utmost heights of holiness because they endeavour'd to pull down the Devils throne and establish the Empire of Christ to root up those Weeds and Briars that had over-run the Garden of God and plant those Seeds of Grace that might bring forth fruit unto righteousness Their design was to work in the hearts of men an holy conformity to the Divine Nature and because the Philosophy of the Heathens and Law of Moses was not so clear and perfect as was necessary to bring men to happiness therefore did God send his Son to give this last and most perfect Revelation of his Will which for clearness and certainty and perfection far exceeds all the Volumes of Morality compil'd by Heathens and even that Law which was given from Heaven to the Jews In these particulars 't is confessed the Apostles did turn the world upside down but they were so far from deserving a reproof that for this very Cause the highest veneration of them as the most noble Benefactors to mankind is their due The error of the men of Lystra who took them for gods in the shape of men Acts 14. 11. was much more excusable than the dangerous mistake of these who accused them for disturbing a vicious World For they testi●ied God's approbation to their Doctrines wherever they came 1 By their intrinsick Worth and Excellence they maintained none of the absurd Articles of the Gentile Faith and imposed none of the burthensom Ceremonies of the Jewish Worship but their Doctrines were all suited to the Reasons of men and commended themselves to their approbation by their intrinsick Excellence To go over the former particulars 1. Their conceptions of God and the manner how he will be Worshipp'd Reason tells us that he who gave to all their Beings and Perfections must be himself infinitely perfect Must injoy all excellencies in himself in an eminent degree and be divested of every Imperfection The works of Nature declare that he must be Infinite in Power who created the vast Fabrick of Heaven and Earth incomprehensible in Wisdom who order'd every thing with such admirable harmony and agreement and boundless in his Goodness who gave such comely Perfections to every creature and made them so useful and serviceable one to another the whole World is a Map to represent these several excellencles and every Creature a Herald to proclaim these glorious Perfections his works of Providence discover his Justice whereby he Thunders against obstinate Sinners his Holiness whereby he shows his delight in the sincerely Obedient and his Truth whereby he makes good his Promises and Threatnings Indeed the Nature of God