Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	law_n	light_n	moral_a	3,394	5	9.2992	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59832	The nature and measure of charity a sermon preach'd before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, and the Court of Aldermen, at the parish-church of St. Bridget, on Tuesday in Easter-week, April 6, 1697 / by William Sherlock ...	Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707.	1697 (1697)	Wing S3304; ESTC R14354	14,013	38

Good which we sincerely desire to do and which we would certainly do were it in our Power but it is to mock both God and Men to pretend a Willingness when it is visible to all the World That a Will to do Good is the only thing we want But such a Readiness and Willingness of Mind as is Active and Vigorous as contrives and lays Designs of Charity or embraces such as are offered and takes all wise Opportunities of doing Good this is very acceptable to God as being the most Divine and God-like Temper the Image of his own Goodness and the noblest Exercise of our Love to Men inspired with the Love of God Now in Moral Actions it is the Principle that gives the Value not so much the Gift as the Mind of the Giver and therefore St. Paul tells us That though we give all our goods to feed the poor and have not charity we are nothing 1 Cor. 13. 3. God can feed the poor without us if he so pleases but as for several other wise ends of Providence so he has ordered That the poor shall be always with us for the trial and exercise of our Virtue but the Virtue is not the Gift but the Charity And could we perform all the Acts of Charity without a charitable Mind the World might be better for it but not we our selves 2dly This readiness and forwardness of Mind to do good will observe the just proportions of Charity will give according to what a man hath I observed before That our Saviour in his Gospel hath prescribed no fixt Measures nor Proportions of Charity Nor could he reasonably do this considering the nature of Charity which though it be not so absolutely free that we may chuse whether we will be charitable or no for charitable we must be at the peril of our Souls yet the proportions must be free or it is not Charity but a Poors rate as all the positive Laws which God gave the Jews for the relief of the Poor were no better and therefore by the wiser Jews were never placed to the account of Charity but of Justice and a Legal Righteousness Which is the very distinction St. Paul makes between a righteous and a good man Rom. 5. 7. But scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet peradventure for a good man one would even dare to die A Righteous man is one who is legally Righteous and observes what the Law requires but a Good man is one who is acted by a free unconfined and generous Goodness Now upon this pretence That there is no proportion assigned to Charity there are to● many who content themselves with very little indeed with nothing which can properly b● called Charity But I wonder in the mean time what these men make of all those Command● and Exhortations which we find in the Gosp●● to Charity which are so many so pressing an● importunate and bound on us by so many pr●mises of present and future Rewards and wit● so many terrible Threatnings denounced again●● the uncharitable that surely they must mea● something and as willing as men are in the●● Cases to pretend Ignorance I believe there a●● few men living but know in some measure what Charity means And though they may dispute how much they ought to give yet certainly know that they ought to give and that to give nothing or what is next to nothing all Circumstances considered is not Charity A Charitable Temper and Disposition of Mind is an indispensible Duty and the most Essential Part of the Christian Religion This our Saviour commands and he need command no more for Charity is and will be a Rule and Measure to it self Where this Divine Principle is it will teach us when and how and in what Proportion to give The Sun needs no Rules and Directions how to communicate its Light and Heat Nature is the surest and most infallible Rule and Law to it self and thus it is proportionably in Moral as well as in Natural Agents For what is the immediate effect of Nature and Life can never be taught without its Principle cannot exceed its Principle and cannot fall below it All the Rules in the World can never teach that man Charity who wants the Principle a Charitable Mind needs no Rules but turns naturally on its own Byas which will direct its Motions right There is a great difference indeed between Natural and Moral Agents Natural Agents are necessarily determined to some one End and therefore have but one Principle which uniformly and steddily pursues the Ends of Nature but Moral Agents as they act freely so they have many different Principles Inclinations and Passions which stint and limit each other that none of them can act to their utmost Vigour but as they are mutually poized and ballanced And this is the Work of Reason and Religion to put them into their Natural Order and to set just Bounds to them and that proportions the degrees of their Activity and Strength but yet every Principle unless violently oppressed will act according to its Nature as it more or less prevails And this gives Measures and Proportions to all our Actions as to shew you this in our present Case Charity is that Love to Mankind which makes us pity all their Wants and Sufferings and inspires us with a great Zeal and Concernment to Help and Relieve them If you enquire What the Natural Measure of this Charity is I know no other Natual Measure but its Natural End that is To relieve all that suffer and are in want for that is what Charity would do and what all Charitable Men heartily wish that they could do Well! but this is impossible for there are too many miserable People for any man to Relieve them all This is true and Want of Power must of Necessity set Bounds to our Charity but since we cannot Relieve all we must relieve such as we can and wisely consider where the greatest Necessities and greatest Obligations are Which will give the Preference to Christians before Infidels to Good Men before the Wicked to God's Poor whom the Divine Providence has made Poor to the Poor of their own Making whom Idleness Luxury and Vice have made Poor and Miserable Well! But how far must we Relieve these Poor Must we give as long as we have any thing to give and make our selves the Objects of Charity By no means There are other as Natural Principles as Charity which must set Bounds to it Self-Love is a Natural and Necessary Principle no man is bound to love any man better than himself To love our Neighbour as our selves is all that the Gospel it self makes our necessary Duty though some Great and Generous Friendships and Divine Charities may go further as far as concerns this Life Next to Self-Love our Natural Affection for our Wives and Children must take place as ingrafted in it and thought the Best and the Dearest Part of it as being nearest to our selves and what the