Selected quad for the lemma: world_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
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A41069
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The Way to peace, by the proposal of some considerations arguing the necessity of mutual love, and forbearance in many things to effect it
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T. F.
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1682
(1682)
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Wing F64; ESTC R17296
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24,146
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17
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contain in them whatsoever is necessary to Christian Faith and Manners That it is a Duty incumbent upon All to read to search and endeavour to find out the sense and meaning of them and to behave themselves answerably That whosoever firmly believes the Divine Authority of the Scriptures and in the gross all the Truths are comprized in them though he should mistake in some particular Truths his Errors will not whilst he is invincibly and not wilfully ignorant prove damnable to him all that God requires of us in order to our Salvation being a sincere and serious endeavour to know and do his will and not that we be impeccable or infallible in this mortal state That they onely err to their eternal ruin which oppose such Truths they know God hath testified That God hath made nothing absolutely necessary to Salvation which is not plainly revealed That no Church of any particular denomination is Infallible and that general Councils Synods Convocations mâ—y and have erred That the imposing a Profession of known Errors and practising known Corruptions is a sufficient cause of Separation That publick approbation makes it but probable that the things they allow and command are good That the opposing my Reason and Authority of Scripture against the Publick is not the opposing my Judgment against it but that of God to that of Man That every man ought to judge for himself which Religion is truest That the Bible is the Religion of Protestants and nothing but that and the plain consequences thereof can they with consistency to their own grounds either believe themselves or require of others That none ought to take up Truth upon the credit of any without asking the reason why That he that endeavours to believe Scripture in the true sense cannot be an Heretick and that it were well if no more then what is Evident in Scripture was required to the Churches Communion That the Rule to judge Controversies by is the Scripture and that no one Man or any company of Men are appointed to judge for the rest These and many other Positions of the same importance are to be had in the writings of our greatest and wisest Protestants which if we would diligently improve into practice would be of excellent use to sweeten our Tempers towards one another and abate those Annimosities Feuds and malicious Dissentions which are the shame and scandal and if Heaven prevent not may be the ruin and destruction of our Nation and Religion Love is a Vertue so Amiable that it is Vniversally spoken well of and those that are sparing of it to others desire it may be liberally expressed to themselves in the opposite Vices of Malice Envy Revenge c. consist not only the Essence of the punishment of the next World but the foundation of most of the Calamities of this Where this Divine Grace with its Concomitant Vertues have their Residence there the mind of a man is calm and serene at great ease in it self and no way injurious or offensive unto any but heartily desirous that the whole World might conspire in one common design of promoting each others good and wellfare and doth not stingily and penuriously limit and confine its desires and endeavours to provide for any particular Sect or Party of Men so great and plentiful a portion nay not his own if he be of any that the rest should fare the worse for it and did this Spirit of Universal love obtain more generally among men what a strange alteration should we behold in the World the Golden Age would spring up to an instant Tygers and VVolves would quit their Savaâ—eness and Cruelty the lost Paradice be restored and in the Prophetick Phrase Instead of the Thorn should câ—me up the Firr and instead of the Brier the Mirtle the VVolf would dwell with the Lamb and the Leopard lie down with the Kid and the Child play on the hole of the Aspe c. then those black and Hellish Passions which ferment and fret the Spirits of Men and render them as vexatious and uneasie to themselves as troublesome and unpleasant to those they are concerned with would be conjured down to that place of darkness from which they first sprung together with that train of mischiefs and plagues which they scatter and diffuse among men The great design of Gods sending his Son into the World was not to amuse our understanding with the proposing to them abstruse and mysterious Truths or to perswade us to yield an Assent to Doctrines knotty and incomprehensible to believe as some teach both against sense and reason to gaze upon and admire not the brightness and lustre but the darkness and obscurity of Divine Revelation these must needs be ends below so merciful and indulgent a Father and Inadequate to so great an undertaking as was that of the Redeemer whose Principal Intention upon the Propitiation made for the sin of the world by the Sacrifice of himself was to direct mankind to the Practice of the most Generous and Godlike Vertues and make them partakers of a Divine Nature to recover them from sensuality and in dignity and from all filthiness of Flâ—sh and Spirit to teach them to deny Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts and to live Soberly Righteously and Godly to have their Conversations Honest and Orthodox and not to conform themselves to the guise and fashion of the degenerate World and to incourage them not so much to bâ—lâ—eve as do and suffer hard and difficult things by the expectation of a blessed Immortality at his glorious appearance and his Kingdome The Divisions of the Christian Churches will scarce ever be â—bâ—ted till the numerous Artâ—cles which are made necessary terms of Communion be lâ—ssâ—ned and the more subtil and nice ones be accounted as Ecclesiastical determinations ought to be probable and valuable but not indubitable and conclusive He whose Faith and Hope is in God through Jesus Christ and makes his Applications and Addresses unto the Father in the Name and through the Mediation and Intercession of the Son of God which are the Foundations of Christian Religion as it differs from the Mosaick and Natural and is ready to assent to all Articles of Christianity which in eâ—press words are delivered in the Divine Writings which are supâ—os'd to be the fittest because the Holy Spirit Dictated them who knew best in what Language those great Mysteries could be best communicated to our Understandstandings is a Christian in the Gospel sense 'T is certain that in matters of pure Revelation 't is somewhat daring to be wise about what is writ to deviate from that Form of found words is of Divine Inspiration and o make our Comments and Deductions equally Authentick with the Original for all Inferences from Scripture so far as they are but Humane are Fallible and therefore can no further demand our Assent than they satisfie our Judgment * Jo. Smith Thus a learned Author of our own in his discourse of Prophesie We must