Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A Word B Word C Word D Occurrence Frequency Band MI MI Band Prominent
truth_n believe_v christian_a faith_n 3,911 5 5.5853 4 true
View all documents for the selected quad

Text snippets containing the quad

ID Title Author Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) STC Words Pages
A48513 A sermon preached before the King and Queen at White-hall, on Sunday, Jan. 15, 1692 by J. Lambe ... Lambe, John, 1648 or 9-1708. 1693 (1693) Wing L224; ESTC R3370 11,701 31

There is 1 snippet containing the selected quad. | View lemmatised text

or if we were yet nevertheless we should be as Miserable as we can imagine 2. And therefore Secondly We will suppose a Wicked Man a Sceptic or one that does not directly deny but however is not throughly satisfied of the Truth of Religion and a Future State and consider whether this Opinion is a surer ground of satisfaction to him than the other And this indeed is the most usual Refuge of the wicked It is more easily apprehended and therefore the more greedily Imbib'd It is far more easie to Carp at the Management of a Question than to Confute the Principles upon which it is founded A little Wit and a great deal of Confidence will serve them here instead of that Judgment in Philosophy that intire and perfect Victory over our own Nature which the other Refuge will require And therefore to pacifie their Consciences and suppress their Fears of a future Account they endeavour to make themselves believe That tho' the Being of God and the Principles of Religion may be probable yet that they are not Infallibly certain or impossible to he false That it cannot be proved by Demonstration that God takes notice of our Actions and will bring us to Account And therefore why say they should we Restrain our Inclinations or act upon Principles that may possibly deceive us And thus upon the strength of this little foolish Reasoning they Encourage themselves in a Belluine Liberty they have taken and laugh at the Credulity of all the Religious World Especially if they can find an Author of Note who favours their Opinion that they may boast Authority or a Book ill writ on the other side that they may Ridicule it or an unaccountable Providence that they may Carp and Object against it Any difficult Passage in Scripture-History or Doctrine that they may Burlesque it any Question of the Modus of things Divine and Mystical that is not easily solv'd that they may Deride and Insult it And thus provided they hope at once to Cure their Fears and raise a Reputation of Wit and Judgment to themselves But let us suppose it to be true as it is really false That the Principles of Religion are not Infallibly certain tho' that is a Deceitful Phrase since any Truth is Infallible as to us or to the Inclination of our Belief and Practice that is as Manifest as the nature of the thing is capable of being proved as all the Principles of Religion are But let us suppose however that they are not so Evident as it is possible for them to be yet since they are not plainly false by their own Confession or so Improbable that they dare deny them boldly and reject them utterly they shall find no Peace no solid satisfaction in this Hypothesis For Doubting is Anxious in its Nature because it is the Leaning of the Judgment to both the sides of the Proposition In a matter of less Concernment it is very troublesome the Mind is Distracted and upon the Fret according to the value of the matter in debate till it comes to a Resolution But what shall we say when the Question is of no less Importance than an Eternal Life of Happiness or Misery Nothing less than a Security that cannot possibly Deceive us will remove our Fears of so great a Danger In the Belief and Practice of Religion we should have a Reasonable Satisfaction tho' our Principles should be liable to Exception because we sustain no present Damage nor run any Hazard of future Evil. But those who Despise and Oppose it can never be at ease unless they proceed upon the surest and most certain grounds because cause they are undone for ever if they shall happen to be mistaken And therefore if there was but so much reason on the side of Religion as might support a fair Dispute yet Wisdom would adhere to the Affirmative and Oblige us to Piety and Vertue since no Man can be absolutely out of Danger any other way So that unless a Sceptic can Extinguish Humane Nature and Vanquish all his Principles of Common Sense he can never support an Habitual Peace in his Mind upon this Foundation 3. Wherefore Lastly We will suppose a Wicked Man a Christian and consider whether he may find any Grounds of Peace and Comfort to himself in that Religion And in truth that Deluge of Profaneness which Over-spreads the Christian World that Ambition Treachery and Injustice that Violation of Faith that Barbarity of Manners and the Havock that is made of Christian Blood Those causeless Schisms Heresies and Hypocrisie that every where abound might Incline an Indifferent Man to Believe that Christianity had indeed Released us from all Obligations of Nature and Revelation But if we understand it we cannot so Mistake it and if we well Considered it we could not Deviate so grosly from the Rules and Precepts of it For does it not Oblige us to Universal Righteousness without Reserve to things that are Lovely and of Good Report Phil. 4.8 as well as to those that are Simply Honest And that not in Action only but in our Principle not only that we do our Duty but that we Love Prefer and Chuse it And is not all and every part of this secured by the most Terrible Sanction of Eternal Death Indignation and Wrath Tribulation and Anguish upon every Soul of Man that does Evil These shall go away into Everlasting Punishment Without any Condition or Limitation excepting that of Repentance only St. Mat. 25. ult Rom. 2.9 And when all this is said shall we please our selves as the Wicked do with Vain Opinions such as these 1. That our Religion is rather a Scheme of Divine Philosophy than a Rule of Life 2. That the Goodness of God will moderate the severity of his Law 3. That He who sent His Son to save us will never Inflict Eternal Punishment upon us 4. That all these things are threatned in Terrorem to maintain a Decorum in the World but that there is no danger of their Execution But how can we trust to so weak a Support to Notions that we frame to our selves without any Colour of Reason or so much as a Pretence to Revelation Is not the Law it self both Holy Just and Good fitted to our Capacities suited to our Interests and framed by the true Dispositions of our Nature Is it not written in our very Mind Is it not nigh unto us even in us all Is it not fixed and fastned upon us by the inward Conviction of our own Consciences by the outward Ministration of the Word and Sacraments by the Divine Operations of the Holy Spirit What then is to be said Why should we hope against all the Reasons of Government that notwithstanding this Trangressors shall Escape Unpunished Let us not deceive our selves with fond ungrounded Notions of Infinite Goodness God is Good 't is true but He is also Just and every Single Attribute in God is exercised with safety to the rest His Mercy with safety