Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	account_n	govern_v	great_a	23	3	2.0729	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A58838	The life of God in the soul of man, or, The nature and excellency of the Christian religion with the method of attaining the happiness it proposes : and An account of the beginnings and advances of a spiritual life : in two letters written to persons of honour.	Scougal, Henry, 1650-1678.; Burnet, Gilbert, 1643-1715.	1677 (1677)	Wing S2101; ESTC R2701	52,875	148

that profess they believe the truths of Religion live like men that do so in good earnest and I have known them say That did they believe the great God governed all humane affairs and did know all we do and were to call us to an account for it and reward or punish accordingly in an endless and inchangeable state they could not live as the greater part of Christians do but would presently renounce all the vanities and follies of this World and give themselves up wholly to a holy and exact course of life The other prejudice is That for those in whose deportment they find little to blame yet they have great cause of suspecting there is some hid design under it which will break out when there is a fit opportunity for it And they conclude that such persons are either secretly as bad as others only disguising it by a decenter deportment or that all they do is a force upon themselves for some secret end or other And if there be some on whom they can fasten neither of these as it is hardly possible but one that is resolved to possess himself with prejudices will either find or pretend some colours for them then at last they judge such persons are moross and sulien and find either from the disposition of their Body or their Education as much satisfaction in their sour gravity as others do in all their wanton and extravagant follies These prejudices especially the first must be discussed by real Confutations and the strict conduct of our lives as well as our grave and solemn devotions must shew we are over-ruled by a strong belief of the authority of that Law which governs our whole actions Nor will our abstaining from gross Immoralities be argument enough since even decency may prevail so far though alas never so little as now when fools do so generally mock at the shame and sense of sin as if that were only the peevishness of a strict and illiberal education but we must abstain from all those things that are below the gravity of a Christian and strengthen a corrupt generation in their Vices What signifies endless gaming especially when joined with so much avarice and passion as accompany it generally but that people know not to dispose of their time and therefore must play it away idly at best What shall be said of those constant crouds at Plays especially when the Stage is so defiled with Atheism and all sorts of Immorality but that so many persons know not how to fill up so many hours of the day and therefore this contrivance must serve to wast them and they must feed their eyes and ears with debauching objects which will either corrupt their Minds or at least fill their Imaginations with very unpleasant and hateful representations As if there were not a sufficient growth of ill thoughts ready to spring up within us but this must be cultivated and improved by Art What are those perpetual visits in the giving or receiving of which most spend the better half of the time in which they are awake And how trifling at best but generally how hurtful the discourses that pass in those visits are I leave to those who live in them to declare How much time is spent in vain dressing not to mention those indecent Arts of Painting and other contrivances to corrupt the World and all either to feed vanity or kindle lust And after all this many that live in these things desire to be thought good Christians are constant to Church and frequent at the Sacrament What wonder then if our Libertines seeing such things in persons that pass for very Religious and having wit enough to discern that such a deportment does not agree with the belief of an account to be made for all we do conclude they do not believe that otherwise they would not behave themselves as they do Some failures now and then could not justifie such an Inference but a habit and course of those things is an argument against the reality of that belief which I confess I cannot answer But when we have got so far as to escape those things that are blame-worthy it is far from being all we must aim at it is not enough not to be ill we must be good and express it in all the instances which our state of life and circumstances call for Doing good to all forgeving injuries comforting all in trouble supplying the necessities of the poor but chiefly studying to advance the good of all peoples souls as much as we can improving whatever Interest we have in any persons to this end of raising them to a sense of God and another Life The chief motive we offer to this being the unaffected strictness of our own deportment which will make all our discourses have the greater weight and force in them And for the other prejudices it is true there is no fence or security against Jealousie yet we ought carefully to avoid every thing may be an occasion of it as all secret converse with suspected persons the doing any thing that without sin we may forbear which is singular or may bring a dis-esteem on others or make us be observed or talked of And in a word to shun all forced gestures or modes of speech and every thing that is not native and genuine For let men think what they will nothing that is constrained can ever become so natural but it will appear loathsome and affected to others which must needs afford matter of jealousie and dis-esteem especially to all prying and Critical observers Were there many who did live thus the Atheists would be more convinced at least more ashamed and out of countenance then the most learned Writings or laboured Sermons will ever make them Especially if a spirit of Universal Love and goodness did appear more among Christians and those factions and animosities were laid aside which both weaken the inward vitals of holiness and expose them to the scorn of their Adversaries and make them an easie prey to every aggressor There is scarce a more unaccountable thing to be imagined then to see a Company of Men professing that Religion a great and main precept whereof is mutual love forbearance gentleness of spirit and Compassion to all sorts of persons and agreeing in all the essential parts of that Doctrine differing only in some less material and more disputable things yet maintain those differences with a Zeal so disproportioned to the value of them prosecuting all that disagree from them with all possible violence or if they want means to use outward force with all bitterness of Spirit This must needs astonish every Impartial beholder and raise great prejudices against those persons Religious as made up of Contradictions professing love but breaking out in all the acts of hatred But the deep sense I have of these things has carried me too far my design in this Preface being only to Introduce the following Discourse which was written by a

Pious and Learned Countreyman of mine for the private use of a Noble Friend of his without the least design of making it more publick Others seeing it were much taken both with the Excellent purposes it contained and the great clearness and pleasantness of the Stile the natural Method and the shortness of it and desired it might be made a more publick good And knowing some Interest I had with the Author it was referred to me whether it should lye in a private Closet or be let go abroad I was not long in suspence having read it over and the rather knowing so well as I do that the Author has written out nothing here but what he himself did well feel and know and therefore it being a Transcript of those divine Impressions that are upon his own heart I hope the Native and unforced genuineness of it will both more delight and edifie the Reader I know those things have been often discoursed with great advantages both of Reason Wit and Eloquence but the more Witnesses that concurr in sealing these Divine Truths with their Testimonies the more evidence is thereby given It was upon this account that the Author having seen a Letter written by a Friend of his to a Person of great Honour but of far greater Worth of the rise and progress of a Spiritual Life wherein as there were many things which he had not touched so in those things of which they both discourse the harmony was so great that he believed they would mutually strengthen one another was earnest with his Friend that both might go abroad together and the other pressing him to let his Discourse be published he would not yield to it unless he granted the same consent for his And so the Reader has both the one after the other which he is desired to peruse with some degrees of the same seriousness in which they were both penned and then it is presumed he will not repent him of his pains ERRATA P. 23. l. 4. for is read are p. 76. l. 20 for but r. when p. 81. l. ult after be r. as Page 5. l. 8 for love r. have p 6. l. 19. put a point after it p. 16. l. 7. for Implored r. Imployed p. 19. l. 26. for Calumnies r. Calmness p. 26. l. 5. dele as and r. it after that p. 29. l. 25. for forced r. formed p. 59. for of r. as The LIFE of GOD IN The SOUL of MAN My Dear Friend THis designation doth give you a Title to all the Endeavours whereby I can serve your Interests and your Pious Inclinations do so happily conspire with my Duty that I shall not need to step out of my road to gratifie you but I may at once perform an office of Friendship and discharge an exercise of my Function since the advancing of Virtue and Holiness which I hope you make your greatest study is the peculiar business of my Imployment This therefore is the most proper instance wherein I can vent my affection and express my gratitude towards you and I shall not any longer delay the performance of what promise I made you to this purpose for though I know you are provided with better helps of this nature then any I can offer you nor are you like to meet with any thing here which you knew not before yet I am hopeful that what cometh from one whom you are pleased to honour with your Friendship and which is more particularly designed for your use will be kindly accepted by you and God's Providence perhaps may so direct my thoughts that something or other may prove useful to you Nor shall I doubt your pardon if for moulding my discourse into the better frame I lay a low foundation beginning with the Nature and Properties of Religion and all along give such way to my thoughts in the prosecution of the subject as may bring me to say many things which were not necessary did I onely consider to whom I am writing I cannot speak of Religion but I must regrate that among so many pretenders to it so few understand what it means some placing it in the Understanding in Orthodox Notions and Opinions and all the account they can give of their Religion is that they are of this or the other perswasion and have joyn'd themselves to one of those many Sects whereinto Christendom is most unhappily divided Others place it in the outward man in a constant course of external duties and a model of performances if they live peaceably with their Neighbours keep a temperate dyet observe the returns of Worship frequenting the Church or their Closet and sometimes extend their hands to the relief of the Poor they think they have sufficiently acquitted themselves Others again put all Religion in the affections in rapturous heats and extatick devotion and all they aim at is to pray with passion and think of Heaven with pleasure and to be affected with those kinde and melting expressions wherewith they court their Saviour till they perswade themselves that they are mightily in love with him and from thence assume a great confidence of their salvation which they esteem the chief of Christian Graces Thus are these things which have any resemblance of Piety and at the best are but means for obtaining it or particular exercises of it frequently mistaken for the whole of Religion nay sometimes Wickedness and Vice pretends to that name I speak not now of those gross Impieties wherewith the Heathens were wont to worship their Gods there are but too many Christians who would consecrate their vices and hallow their corrupt affections whose rugged humour and sullen pride must pass for Christian severity whose fierce wrath and bitter rage against their enemies must be called holy zeal whose petulancy toward their Superiours or rebellion against their Governours must have the name of Christian courage and resolution But certainly Religion is quite another thing and they who are acquainted with it will entertain far different thoughts and disdain all those shadows and false imitations of it They know by experience that true Religion is an Union of the Soul with God a real participation of the Divine Nature the very Image of God drawn upon the Soul or in the Apostle's phrase it is Christ formed within us Briefly I know not how the nature of Religion can be more fully expressed than by calling it a Divine Life and under these terms I shall discourse of it shewing first how it is called a Life and then how it is termed Divine I choose to express it by the name of life first because of its permanency and stability Religion is not a sudden start or passion of the Mind not though it should rise to the height of a rapture and seem to transport a man to extraordinary performances There are few but have convictions of the necessity of doing something for the salvation of their Souls which may push them forward some steps with a great