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ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A26108 A sermon preached at Westminster-Abby by Thomas Aston, M.A. Aston, Thomas, b. 1649 or 50. 1691 (1691) Wing A4082; ESTC R29126 8,551 26

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indulged his own Covetous Temper The Pharesies with their long Prayers commit horrid Wickedness devour Widdows Houses Absolom under colour of distributing Justice would Usurp Dominion Thus you see the most Bloody Mischievous Barbarous and Trayterous Actions have been committed under the specious shews of Religion and Piety 'T is an unacceptable Office I am very unwilling to tax this present Age Discourses of that Nature are frequent publick Evils are in every ones view and few so patient as not to complain We may innocently Mourn in private and earnestly Pray that he who is the Way the Truth and the Life would by his Holy Spirit guide us into all Truth I shall content my self at present humbly to advise you in King Solomons words Prov. 23.23 Buy the Truth and sell it not viz. use all possible means for the gaining and retaining of it to pursue the Metaphor First the Scripture is the Field where Truth grows Secondly the place where Gods Word is Devoutly Read or sincerly and powerfully Preached is the Market where you may be furnished therewith The first is easily manifested For that the Scriptures are the ground of Truth St. James assures us Of his own w●ll begat he us by the Word of Truth 't is the Voyce of God who is Truth in the Abstract 't is the Breath of God All Scripture is given by Inspi●ation c. But the second is more difficult For every Profession how distant soever from it pretend to Truth And if you be not wary you may be strangely deluded and let that pass currant for Truth which is indeed a Lye Really I pitty that sort of Ignorant and I have Charity to believe well meaning poor Souls who so inordinally admire the Persons of their Factious Teachers having gained upon their Credulity by their affected Canting and Counterfeit Piety that they as readily imbrace their ill grounded Tenets as if they were as true as Gospel The over-weening Opinion of the Author rather than the Truth of the Matter procures their Affiance This alas has mouldred Protestants into many insignificant parcels while not only great Doctors as Paul Apollo Cephas but Ignorant Contemptible Prevaricating Praters are become the distinctive Characters of Sects and Separate Communions And there are another sort of Preachers who suffer their Judgments to stoop to their Temporal Advantage 't is much to be lamented that our Holy Mother the Church of England should be dishonoured by such undutiful Sons whose Consciences are so pliant that they make Religion a TRADE a meer Diana of the Ephesians And follow their Occupations because thereby no small gain is brought unto them Acts 19.24 They went out from us for they were not of us Every Division weakens these in effect strengthen the hands of our Common Enemy I mean Popery and if ever it prevail which God forbid this is the means Since such dangerous Consequences proceed from Error in Judgment and false Teachers are the Destructive Planters and Spreaders thereof Therefore Christians Try the Spirits whether they be of God prove all things but hold fast that which is good Be industrious in the search after Truth but humbly acquiess in that Sence which the Word of God rightly Interpreted affords viz. when one Scripture doth not contradict and dash against another Having obtained Truth in Judgment we must seek for Truth in Affection Our Theoretical Truth must be turned into Practical And of our Hearts Sincerity our Words and Actions are the Comments and Paraphrases A good Man out of the good Treasure of his Heart bringeth forth good things c. Luke 6.45 And if you desire to know how to pass a right Judgment upon your selves whether your Hearts are sincere or no This is a Sign 1. If when you have all oppertunity of privacy when without any Blemish of your Reputation you may Indulge Corrupt Nature If then with Joseph you have a desire to approve your self to God your Heart is sincere 2d If you prefer and imbrace what your Conscience assures you is True Just and Honest both before God and Man though in all probability the Profession thereof will expose you to Poverty and many unhappy Disquietudes and the contrary in all Humane Reason free you from Trouble and Danger and render your Condition Easy and Plentiful If at such a time as This neither Fear of Punishment nor Hope of Reward nor any other left hand Respects but meerly a regard to Gods Commandments and the Comfort in your own Bosom can influence you then your Heart is sincere This sincerity is a sort of Evangelical Perfection whereby a Man resembles God For he is the Lord God of Truth 'T is our Petition in that Heavenly Prayer our Saviour taught us Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven that is That we who are here below may imitate those Glorious Saints and Angels above in doing Gods Will in Sincerity Thus qualified you may approach Gods Holy place and say with good K. Hezekiah Remember now O Lord how I have walked before thee in Truth with a perfect Heart c. In regard of this quality though of no other we may Appeal to the Sentence of the Impartial Judge of Heaven and Earth as the Prophet David did Judge me O Lord for I have walked in mine Integrity Psal 26.1 But without Sncerity no Grace is of any use or worth therefore we find in the Sacred Oracles these Adjuncts Faith unfained Love without Dissimulation and Wisdom must be thus qualified St. James 3.17 The Wisdom that is from above is first Pure then Peaceable Gentle and easie to be intreated full of Mercy and good Works without Partiality and without Hypocricy If Faith be not unfained and so true Love without Dissimulation Wisdom without Hypocricy all 's Vain and Fruitless The Pharesies Fasted Prayed gave Alms paid Tythes Yet our Saviour who required Truth who knew and alone can punish secret Thoughts denounced a Woe against them A Hypocrite can expect nothing from the true God who requireth Truth in the inward parts But the just desert of his Hypocricy A Hypocrite indeed has one great Prerogative above other Sinners viz. that he can never be accused by Men. But withal 't is well worthy your Observation that in the Sacred Sc●iptures we never find one single instance of a Hypocrites Repentance in order to be Pardoned by the Just God For whereas Conversion is left as a means to Recover all other Sinners What means remains to restore him who turneth even Conversion it self into a Sin On the other hand Happy is the Man that is Sincere for this makes every Action acceptable too and himself beloved of God If Faith be but True though it come short in parts and degrees 't is forceable and available Nothing is impossible to such Blessed is the M●● in whose Spirit there is no guile For the Lord will not impute to him sin He will guid ●●m ●ich his Councel in this Life and af●●● 〈◊〉
receive him to Glory And to his un●xp●●●table Comfort the Sincere Person may ●y with Holy David God is my King and hough he cannot express his Allegiance to his King either in his Person or Purse being Imprisoned by Sickness or in a Goal having neither feet to approach the Courts of the Lords House hands to lift up as a Morning Sacrifice Tongues to utter his Praise nor Silver and Gold nor so much as a Cup of cold water to distribute to a Prophet in the Name of a Prophet Yet this Glorious King being the searcher of Hearts will accept and reward his good inclination and intention as if exerted into Performance But God be thanked we have all precious oppertunities tendered to us 't is therefore my Humble Earnest Concluding Exhortation Let your Words and Actions manifest the Solidity of your Judgment and your Hearts Sincerity In order wereunto First Abhor in your selves utterly Renounce Discountenance in others not only Down-right Perjury and notorious Lying but all Equivocating Dissembling and the least tendences to Falshood To be esteemed a Lyer is so Base and Ignominious a Reproach that nothing can be more Shameful and Inglorious To be protected from such dangerous Society was the Royal Prophets earnest Prayer Deliver my Soul O Lord from Lying Lips and from a Decei●ful Tongue Every Mans Credit is dear to him and cannot endure to be distrusted insomuch than the giving the Lye you know is thought a just ground of a Quarrel and not to be recompenc'd without the Blood of him that offered the Affront so that the most Immoral and Wildest Men have a value for Truth and will tell you they Scorn to be found in a Lye And if You b● not directly of the Temper of the unjust Judge in the Gospel who neither feared God nor regarded Man These considerations I hope will influence you to keep your Tongues from Evil Speaking Lying and Slandering never never deviate from entire Veracity in your whole Conv●rsation S●c●ndly In order to discover a sound Judg●ment and an honest Heart you must be true and ju●t in all o●r Dealings It will be ack●owledg●d eve● by thos● who do not pr●ctice i● that cleer and f●re Dealing is the Honour of Mans Natu●●●●nd that there is no Vice that doth so cover a Man with shame as to be detected False and Knavish A Man that is known to be Fraudulent and Persidious is as much to be dreaded and as circumspectly avoided as a venemous Serpent In the Fear of God therefore decline every occasion that may give just suspicion of such unworthy Collusion And let that Golden Rule of our Saviours for your Peace for your Credit and for your Comfort be daily in your Thoughts and constant Practice What oever ye would that Men should do unto you even so do to them for this is the Law and the Prophets And by this Carriage viz by using no Deceit in your Tongue and doing no Evil but Good to your Neigbour you will be fit to reside in Gods Tabernacle and to rest upon his Holy Hill namely to be Gracious Members of the Church Militant and Glorious Partakers with the Church Tryumphant c I shall conclude all with our Churches Collect. Almighty God who shewest to them that be in Error the Light of Truth to the intent that they may return into the way of Righteousness Grant unto all them that are admitted into the Fellowship of Christs Religion that they may eschew those things that are contrary to their Profession and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same through our Lord Jesus Christ Amen October 24th 1691.