Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	eternal_a	good_a	reward_n	7,006	5	8.9757	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59548	The duty and happiness of doing good two sermons : the former, preached at the Yorkshire feast, in Bow-Church, Feb. 17, 1679 : the other, before the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London, at the Spittle, Apr. 14, 1680 / by John Sharpe ...	Sharp, John, 1645-1714.	1680 (1680)	Wing S2976; ESTC R6463	37,896	84

Notion of Righteousness in the Old Testament and there are some passages in this History which make it probable that it may be the notion of it here I say that very thing it is to be hoped hath and will preserve this City of ours because as far as we can gather there are in it many times ten such Righteous persons In truth if there were not several good men among us that by the exemplarity of their lives and their Charity do stand in the gap between the reigning sins of the times and the Judgments of God that threaten us for them it would be a melancholy thing to think what would become of us But so long as God is pleased to continue to us a succession of those that fear God and hate covetousness that make it their business to do good and to serve their generation there is hopes that he will yet continue to bless us And so gracious hath God been to our City and Kingdom in this respect that to the glory of his name be it spoken whatever boasts they of the Church of Rome are wont to make of the Charitableness of their Religion in opposition to the penuriousness of ours and reproach us with the bounty and munificence of our Popish Ancestors and the barrenness of their Protestant Successors yet we may safely affirm that there have been more publick works of Charity done in this City and Kingdom since the Reformation than can be proved to have been done in the same compass of years during all the time that Popery prevailed among us O therefore let us go on to do this Honour to our Religion let us go on by our good works to adorn the doctrine of God that we prosess Let us not only equal but labour to exceed the Piety and the Publick-spiritedness of our Forefathers Let every one both Magistrates and People in their several capacities be zealous and vigorous both in consulting in contriving and in acting for the publick good as much as is possible And for your greater incouragement thus to do let it be remembred in the last place that besides the outward advantages both publick and private that we reap by being charitable this is the best course we can take to secure our everlasting Happiness in the world to come For to do good with our wealth to be rich in good works to be ready to distribute willing to communicate is as the Apostle in the Text tells us the way to lay up to our selves in store a good Foundation against the time to come that we may lay hold on eternal life And this is the Third thing I am to insist on from the Text. I mean not here to trouble you with the Criticisms about the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Text by disputing whether it should be render'd Foundation as it is in our Translation though to lay up a foundation seems an unusual way of speaking we do not lay up Foundations but build upon them or whether the word should be taken to signifie the Bond or the Evidence that God hath given us for the performance of his part of the Covenant as it is used by this Apostle elsewhere where he tells us that the Foundation of God standeth sure having this seal that is to say that Covenant or Indenture that God hath made with mankind standeth sure and hath this seal put to it for men do not put seals to foundations but to Covenants Or lastly whether the word should be rendred a Treasure so as to read the Text thus laying up to themselves a good Treasure against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life The original word say the Learned is capable of being Translated all these ways and the last seems as natural as any for to lay up Treasure to our selves against the time to come is a proper way of speaking and that which our Saviour frequently useth in that very thing we are here treating of But it matters not much which of them we pitch upon for they all come to one sence and that is this That to be very charitable in this world is a good means to secure to our selves a title to eternal happiness in the next But to prevent all misunderstanding that may happen of this point I desire before I speak directly to it to premise these two things First Though we do maintain with the Ancient Church the efficacy of Charity and good works for the furthering a mans Salvation yet we utterly reject those doctrines which the Modern Romanists have advanced in this matter The Popish doctrines about good works are these three following That good works are meritorious do deserve the Favour and the Rewards of God Almighty Again that the surplusage of a mans good works that is to say the merits of so many of his good deeds as are over and above what is sufficient to save his own soul may by the Church be dispensed out to the benefit of others they being part of the Churches treasure and upon this foundation they ground their Indulgences And lastly that good works i. e. the Alms of dying persons that are given to the Church or Clergy will by the means of the Masses and Diriges that they purchase to be said for them be effectual for the freeing their souls out of the Torments of Purgatory These are the Popish doctrines concerning good works which we all justly reject as having no foundation in Scripture or good Antiquity and being apparently contrived for the promoting their secular gain and advantage But then as for the necessity or the conduciveness of good works to a mans Salvation which is all we here plead for I know no good Protestant but doth as earnestly contend for it as any of that Communion Secondly Whatever efficacy we attribute to works of Charity as a means for the obtaining eternal life we would not be understood hereby to exclude the necessary concurrence of other virtues and graces to that end It doth not from hence follow that it is an indifferent matter what Religion a man is of or what kind of life he leads if he be but mighty bountiful to the poor and do a great deal of good in his life No how acceptable to God soever the Sacrifice of Alms and Charity be yet we are not to expect it shall be available to our Salvation unless it proceed from a pure heart and be offered with a lively Faith in Jesus Christ and accompanied with a sincere endeavour to obey all Gods Commandments Eternal Happiness is not proposed in the Gospel as a reward of any one single virtue no not of the greatest but of all of them together if indeed there can be any true virtue where there is not a conjunction of all I say if there can be for S. Iames seems to affirm that there cannot Whosoever saith he shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point he is guilty of