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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	evil_a	good_a	tree_n	33,809	5	11.7409	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A32857	The religion of Protestants a safe way to salvation, or, An answer to a book entituled, Mercy and truth, or, Charity maintain'd by Catholiques, which pretends to prove the contrary to which is added in this third impression The apostolical institution of episcopacy : as also IX sermons ... / by William Chillingworth ...	Chillingworth, William, 1602-1644.; Chillingworth, William, 1602-1644. Apostolical institution of episcopacy.; Chillingworth, William, 1602-1644. Sermons. Selections.	1664 (1664)	Wing C3890; Wing C3884A_PARTIAL; ESTC R20665	761,347	567

their fore-fathers intolerable 23. I will conclude this whole point of the difference between Moses his Law and the Law of Faith or the Gospel in Gods own words by the Prophet Jer. 31.31 Jer. 31.31 twice quoted by St. Paul in Heb. ch 8. ch 10. where God saith Behold the dayes come saith the Lord that I will make a New-Covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah Not according to the Covenant which I made with their Fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt which my Covenant they brake although I was an husband unto them saith the Lord But this shall be the Covenant that I will make with them After those dayes saith the Lord I will put my Laws in their hearts and write them in their inward parts c. As if he should say The former Covenant which I made with them by Moses was only written in two Tables of Stone as the Roman Laws were in 12. Tables and required only an outward conformity and obedience for the which they did not need an inward sanctifying spiritual Grace to enable them as the New Covenant of Grace doth And therefore for the performi●● of that I will abundantly afford and supply them with all the Graces o● my Holy Spirit 24. But a little to interrupt this Text You will say What had not the Jews God's Law written in their hearts also did not they worship him in Spirit as well as we No question But this they did not as commanded by Moses his Law but by that Covenant made with Abraham and by him traduced unto them It follows And I will be their God and they shall be my people i. e. I will be their God after a more especial manner then I was unto them in the Wilderness I will not only be their King to govern them in peace and tranquillity out of the danger and fear of their Enemies the Nations about them and preserve them safe in the promised Land but I will keep them from the fury and malice of their spiritual Enemies that would seek to destroy their souls and I will bring them to a Land infinitely exceeding theirs and whereof the Land of Canaan was but a most unproportionable type and shadow even mine own blessed and glorious Kingdom reserved in the highest Heavens for them who sincerely perform the conditions of my New Covenant Thus farr as largely as so small a measure of time would permit me I have told you the difference betwixt the Covenant of Grace and Moses his Law imply'd in these words of my Text through the Spirit I come now to my second particular namely the distinction of the same Covenant of Grace from the Law of works wherein I shall proceed by the same method i. e. shewing you first absolutely the nature of those Laws and then the several differences betwixt them 25. The Law of Works is the same with that to the obedience whereof Adam was oblig'd in Paradise with this exception that besides the Moral natural Law written in his heart the substance whereof is to this day reserved in the minds of all the sons of Adam Adam had a second positive Law injoyn'd him by God namely the forbidding him to eat of the Tree of Good and Evil which one Precept cannot properly be call'd a part of the Law of Works or Nature since the Action thereby forbidden was not of its own nature evil but only made unlawful by vertue of God's prohibition Excepting therefore this one particular Precept the Law which was given to Adam call'd the Law of Works comprehended in it all kind of moral duties referr'd either to God his Neighbour or Himself which have in them a natural essential goodness or righteousness and by consequence the prohibition of all manner of actions words or thoughts which are in themselves contrary to Justice and Reason All these Precepts are generally suppos'd to be contained in the Ten Words written by Gods own finger in two Tables of Stone though with submission I think that those two Tables contain only directly the moral duties of man to God and his Neighbour for it will require much forcing and straining to bring in the duties and sins of a man against his own person within that compass as Temperance Sobriety and their opposites Gluttony Drunkenness Self-incontinency c. 26. The Obligation to this Law is so strict severe and peremptory That it required not only an universal Obedience to whatsoever is contained in that Law in the full extent latitude and perfection thereof but that continual without interruption through the whole cou●●● of a man's life Insomuch that he that should but once transgress it 〈◊〉 least point or circumstance should without redemption or dispensation be rendred culpable as of the breach of the whole Law and remain lyable to the malediction thereof And to this Law in this strictness mentioned are all men living oblig'd who are out of Christ and who either know not of him or are not willing to submit themselves to his New Covenant 27. The Justification which was due to the performance of this Law by Justice and as the wages thereof that is the condition wherein God oblig'd himself to such as fulfill'd it was the promises of this life and that which is to come Long happy and peaceable days in this world and in their due time a translation to the joys and glory of heaven This Justification did not comprehend Remission of Sins as ours does for the Law excluded all hope of pardon after sin no promise made to repentance repentance would do no good The Court wherein they were to be judg'd was a Court of meer rigorous Justice Justice rejoyc'd over and against Mercy Grace Loving-kindness and all those blessed and glorious Attributes whereby God for our Saviour Jesus Christ his sake is pleased and delighted to be known unto the world 28. This Law in the rigour thereof might easily have been perform'd by Adam he had that perfection of grace and holiness given him which was exactly equal and commensurable to whatsoever duties were enjoyn'd him But by his wilful voluntary God forbid we should say enforc'd or absolutely decree'd prevarication he utterly undid both himself and his posterity leaving them engag'd for his debts and as much of their own without almost any money to pay them Without Christ we are all oblig'd to the same strictness and severity of the Law which by reason of our poverty and want of grace is become impossible to be perform'd by us As the blessed Apostle St. Paul hath evidently proved by Induction in the beginning of his Epistle to the Romans In the first chapter declaring that the Gentiles neither did nor could perform the Law in the second saying as much for the Jews and in the third joyning them both together in the same miserable desperate estate The conclusion of his whole discourse is All have sinned

the description thereof with all We have besides the experience of several men who have seen and tasted as much of that glory as a mortal creature is capable of S. Paul and S. John the Divine Surely the consideration hereof might serve our turn if not quite to disrelish unto us and even to make us hate the vain pleasures of this world yet at least not to prefer them when they come in competition with the other And I would to God we would suffer them but so far to prevail upon us But I cannot stay 23. I have rank'd the three Armies of our enemies just after the Roman fashion reserving the Triaries the old experienced Souldiers to the last For though in shew the first rank of the Devils appear most terrible yet in very deed all their power is nothing unless the lusts of our hearts take part with them and give them advantage against us The lusts of the flesh are those Traytors which continually keep us company we cannot be quit of them without the Devils assistance they are able to captive us what think you then are they able to do being manag'd by so powerful so wise an enemy without them all the power of Hell and darkness are insufficient to withdraw us from our obedience and by consequence from the love and favour of God For suppose the Devil for example present a lustful object to our fancy as it were holding a lascivious picture before our eyes if we consent not in our minds to any base delight in such a spectacle if we settle not our thoughts upon it as upon a pleasing sight it will be so far from doing us any harm that it will rather prove a means to root us more deeply in the favour of God as persons unwilling to take Pay of his and our enemies 24. But alas as we are ordinarily so far from this nobleness of mind from this bravery of a Christian-like Spirit that as if the Devil were too slow to object such Temptations to us we will not await his leisure but on all occasions be ready and desirous to raise up and then settle such unworthy thoughts in our minds we will be content to spend many hours sometimes in the acting of this inward contemplative Adultery S. Paul speaking of those lusts of our flesh calls them our members when he saith Col. 3.5 Mortifie your members which are on earth fornication uncleanness inordinate affection evil concupiscence c. And indeed we by our practise make good the Apostles expression For we account our selves as same unperfect creatures without them we know not what to do with our selves especially when we are alone unless we set our selves on work this way by acting to our selves such filthy sins which perhaps natural bashfulness want of money or opportunity will not suffer us to put in practise What strength have we now to oppose to these most pernicious enemies which are so closely cemented and even incorporated within us that they are become as it were flesh of our flesh and bones of our bones 25. Why surely as naturally we have received this root of Bitterness in our hearts which is apt to give an infections tincture to all the thoughts and actions issuing from thence So likewise it hath pleased Almighty God to imprint a new Principle in our minds to plant as it were a new Spirit in our souls I mean that active powerful Grace which without any co-operation of our own he infuses into us especially in our Baptism and which is afterward 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 strengthened and enlivened daily by a constant frequent exercising our selves in the use of those manifold blessed means of our salvation the hearing reading and meditating on his holy Word and participation of his heavenly mysteries For surely if Reason alone by the help of those worthy grave precepts which are extant in the Treatises of Moral Philosophy hath been able to change many men from the habitual practise of several vices to a vertuous I had like to have said also a Religious life why should any man think so meanly of God's holy Word and Sacraments as to doubt but that much rather they should be able to make us new creatures to make us wise unto salvation especially considering that continual assistance of Gods Holy Spirit which infallibly attends the use and exercise of those his blessed means Do you think God is so favourable to the Devil or his instruments our lusts that he is unwilling to have them subdued and mortified in us And if he be not unwilling surely much less is he unable to perform this great work in us even to the end 26. Therefore as before speaking of those outward forces God and his holy Angels which are ready to take our parts and fight on our sides against the Devil and his Angels we apply'd that saying of Elisha to his servant If thine eyes were opened thou shouldest perceive that they which are with us are more then they which are against us So likewise in the Case in hand we may make use of that saying of S. John Greater is he which is in you than he which is in the world implying 1 Joh. 4.4 that God is not only in himself stronger than the Devil but also as considered in us i. e. as working in our hearts by his Grace This way I say he is stronger than the Devil His Spirit co-operating with the means of our salvation is more vigorous and powerfuul to reuew us unto the Image of his Holiness if we will but do that which lies in our own power then the Devil though taking his advantage of that concupiscence which in some measure is continually resident in us is or can be to corrupt and so to destroy us For his power is not considerable unless we be willing to joyn with him Thus you see though our enemies be allowed all the advantages they can challenge yet in exact esteem without any flattering of our selves we may conclude that they who are ready and desirons to joyn forces with us are greater in all respects than they which are against us 27. But yet for all this since the conducting and managing of those forces is left to our discretion for God will not fight single against the Devil in our behalf unless we lend him our aid and assistance And therefore Curse ye Meroz saith the Angel of the Lord in the Victorious Song of Deborah curse bitterly the inhabitants thereof And why must poor Meroz be so bitterly cursed Because they came not to the help of the Lord to the help of the Lord against the Mighty Hereupon it may seem that Almighty God will not put to his strength in our defence unless we joyn with him He will not be our Champion to fight whilest we sit still only spectators of the combat And therefore this consideration alone may be sufficient to abate that confidence which the foregoing discourse might be apt to raise in

his heavy judgment upon us for our great sins and our stupid and stupendious security in sinning and to make us instruments of his designed vengeance one upon another peradventure it would be a seasonable and necessary motion to be made to our King and his Nobles To revive this old Proclamation of the King of Nineveh and to send it with authority through His Majesties dominions and to try whether it will produce some good effect Who can tell if God will turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not Who can tell whether he that hath the hearts of King and People in his hand and turneth them whithersoever he thinketh best may not upon our repentance take our extreamity for his oportunity and at last open our eyes that we may see those things that belong to our peace and shew us the way of Peace which hitherto we have not known but this by the way For my purpose I observe That this Repentance which when the sword of God was drawn and his arm advanced for a blow stayd his hand and sheathed his sword again was not a meer sorrow for their sins and a purpose to leave them nay it was not only laying aside their gallantry and bravery and putting on sackcloth and sitting in ashes and crying mightily unto God of which yet we are come very short but it was also and that chiefly their universal turning from their evil way which above all the rest was prevalent and effectual with God Almighty for so it is written And God saw their works that they turned from their evil way and God repented him of the evil that he sayed he would do and he did it not In the Gospel of S. Luke cap. 24. The condition of the new Covenant to which remission of sins is promised is expressed by the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead and that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name Which place if ye compare with that in the Gospel of S. Matth. Go teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy-Ghost teaching them to observe all whatsoever I shall command you It will be no difficulty to collect that what out Saviour calls in one place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 repentance that he calls in another Observing all that he hath commanded which if repentance were no more but sorrow for sin and intending to leave it certainly he never could nor would have done And as little could S. Paul Act. 20.21 profess that the whole matter of his preaching was nothing else but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Repentance towards God and Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ It being manifest in his Epistles he preaches and presses every where the necessity of mortification regeneration new and sincere obedience all which are evidently not contained under the head of Faith and therefore it is evident he comprized all these under the name of Repentance In which words moreover it is very considerable as also in another place Heb. 6. where among the fundamentals of Christianity the first place is given to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I say it is very considerable that though the word may not very absolutely be rendred Repentance yet we shall do much right to the places and make them much more clear and intelligible if instead of repentance we should put conversion as it is in some of the best Latin Translations So for example if instead of repentance to God Act. 20. and repentance from dead works in the Epistle to the Heb. which our English tongue will hardly bear we should read conversion to God and conversion from dead works every one sees it would be more perspicuous and more natural whereas on the other side if instead of repentance we should substitute sorrow as every true genuine interpretation may with advantage to the clearness of the sense be put in place of the word interpreted and read the place sorrow towards God and sorrow from dead works it is apparent that this reading would be unnatural and almost ridiculous which is a great argument that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to which forgivenes of sins is promised in the Gospel is not only sorrow for sin but conversion from sin And yet if it be not so but that Heaven may be purchased at easier and cheaper rates how comes it to pass that in the New-Testament we are so plainly and so frequently assured that without actual and effectual amendment and newness of life without actual and effectual mortification regeneration sanctification there is no hope no possibility of Salvation Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire So S. John Baptist preaches repentance Matth. 3.9 It is not then the leaves of a fair profession no nor the blossoms of good purposes and intentions but the fruit the fruit only that can save us from the fire neither is it enough not to bear ill fruit unless we bring forth good Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire Not every one that sayeth unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven So our Saviour Matth. 7.21 And again after he had delivered his most divine Precepts in his Sermon on the Mount which Sermon contains the substance of the Gospel of Christ he closeth up all with saying He that heareth these sayings of mine and doth them not and yet these were the hardest sayings that ever he sayed I will liken him to a foolish man which built his house upon the sand that is his hope of Salvation upon a sandy and false ground and when the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that House it fell and great was the fall of it They that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts So S. Paul Gal. 5.24 They then that have not done so nor crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts let them be as sorrowful as they please let them intend what they please they as yet are none of Christs and good Lord What a multitude of Christians then are there in the world that do not belong to Christ The works of the flesh Gal. 5.19 20 21. saith the same S. Paul are manifest which are these Adultery Fornication Uncleanness Lasciviousness Idolatry Witchcraft Hatred Variance Emulations Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Envyings Murthers Drunkenness Revellings of which I tell you before as I have told you in times past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God He doth not say they which have done such things shall not be saved but manifestly to the contrary Such were some of you but ye are washed but ye are sanctified but he says