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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62570	Of sincerity and constancy in the faith and profession of the true religion, in several sermons by the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson ... ; published from the originals, by Ralph Barker. ...	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.; Barker, Ralph, 1648-1708.	1695 (1695)	Wing T1204; ESTC R17209	175,121	492

Obedience and Self-denyal He begins with the Patriarchs before the Flood but insists chiefly upon the examples of two eminent Persons of their own Nation as nearest to them and most likely to prevail upon them the Examples of Abraham and Moses the one the Father of their Nation the other their great Lawgiver and both of them the greatest Patterns of Faith and Obedience and Self-denyal that the History of all former Ages from the beginning of the World had afforded I shall at this time by God's assistance treat of the first of these the Example of Abraham the Constancy of whose Faith and the cheerfulness of whose Obedience even in the difficultest Cases is so remarkable above all the other Examples mentioned in this Chapter For at the Command of God he left his Kindred and his Country not knowing whither he should go By which eminent Act of Obedience he declared himself to be wholly at God's Disposal and ready to follow him But this was no tryal in comparison of that here in my Text when God commanded him to offer up his only Son But such was the immutable stedfastness of his Faith and the perfect submission of his Obedience that it does not appear that he made the least check at it but out of perfect Reverence and Obedience to the Authority of the divine Command he went about it as readily and cheerfully as if God had bid him do some small thing By Faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac For the explication of which Words it will be requisite to consider two things First The Tryal or Temptation in general Secondly The Excellency of Abraham's Faith and Obedience upon this Tryal First The Tryal or Temptation in general It is said that Abraham when he was tryed the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 being Tempted That is God intending to make Tryal of his Faith and Obedience and so it is exprest Gen. 22. 1. Where it is said that God did Tempt Abraham and said unto him take now thy Son thine only Son Now there are two difficulties concerning this matter It seems contrary to Scripture that God should Tempt any Man and contrary to Reason because God who knows what every Man will do needed not to make tryal of any Man's Faith or Obedience First It seems contrary to Scripture which say's God Tempts no Man and 't is most true that God Tempts no Man with a design to draw him into Sin but this doth not hinder but he may try their Faith and Obedience with great difficulties to make them the more illustrious Thus God Tempted Abraham and he permitted Job and even our Blessed Saviour himself to be thus Tempted Secondly It seems contrary to Reason that God who knows what any Man will do in any Circumstances should go to make Tryal of it But God does not try Men for his own information but to give an illustrious Proof and Example to others of Faith and Obedience And tho after this Tryal of Abraham God says to him now I know that thou lovest me because thou hast not withheld thy Son thine only Son from me Yet we are to understand this as spoken after the manner of Men As God elsewhere speaks to Abraham concerning Sodom I will go down now to see whether they have done altogether aecording to the cry which is come up unto me and if not I will know I proceed to the Second thing I proposed The Excellency of Abraham's Faith and Obedience upon this Tryal By Faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac God accepts of it as if he had done it because he had done it in part and was ready to have performed the rest if God had not countermanded him And this act of Faith and Obedience in Abraham will appear the more illustrious if we consider these three things First The firmness and stedfastness of his Faith notwithstanding the objections against it Secondly The constancy of his resolution notwithstanding the difficulty of the thing Thirdly The reasonableness of his Faith in that he gave satisfaction to himself in so hard and perplext a Case First The firmness and stedfastness of his Faith will appear if we consider what objections there were in the case enough to shake a very strong Faith There were three great objections against this Command and such as might in reason make a wise and good Man doubtful whether this Command were from God The horrid nature of the thing commanded The grievous scandal that might seem almost unavoidably to follow upon it And the horrible consequence of it which seemed to make the former promise of God to Abraham void First the horrid nature of the thing commanded which was for a Father to kill his own Child this must needs appear very barbarous and unnatural and look liker a Sacrifice to an Idol than to the true God It seemed to be against the Law of Nature and directly contrary to that kindness and affection which God himself had planted in the hearts of Parents towards their Children And there is no affection more natutural and strong than this for there are many persons that would redeem the Lives of their Children with the hazard of their own Now that God hath planted such an affection in Nature is an argument that it is good and therefore it could not but seem strange that he should command any thing contrary to it And in this case there were two circumstances that increased the horrour of the fact That his Son was innocent and that he was to Slay him with his own hands First That his Son was Innocent It would grieve the heart of any Father to give up his Son to Death tho he were never so undutiful and disobedient So passionately was David affected with the death of his Son Absolom as to wish he had dyed for him tho he dyed in the very act of Rebellion and tho the saving of his Life had been inconsistent with the Peace of his Government How deep then must it sink into the heart of a Father to give up his innocent Son to death And such a Son was Isaac for any thing appeared to the contrary God himself gave him this testimony that he was the Son whom his Father loved and there is no intimation of any thing to the contrary Now this could not but appear strange to a good Man that God should command an innocent person to be put to death But Secondly That a Father should be commanded not only to give up his Son to death but to slay him with his own Hands not only to be a Spectator but to be the Actor in this Tragedy What Father would not shrink and start back at such a Command What good Man especially in such a case and where Nature was so hard prest would not have been apt to have looked upon such a Revelation as this rather as the suggestion and illusion of an evil Spirit than a Command of God And yet Abraham's Faith was

OF Sincerity and Constancy IN THE Faith and Profession OF THE TRUE RELIGION In Several SERMONS By the Most Reverend Dr. JOHN TILLOTSON Late Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury Published from the Originals By Ralph Barker D. D. Chaplain to his Grace LONDON Printed for Ri. Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-yard MDCXCV IMPRIMATUR Febr. 16. 169● Tho. Cantuar. TO HIS SACRED MAJESTY King William THESE SERMONS ARE Most humbly Dedicated By the Author's Relict Elizabeth Tillotson THE PUBLISHER TO THE READER THE AUTHOR of these Sermons was so well known particularly for his most Excellent and Useful Discourses from the Pulpit that I shall not attempt by any thing I can say to recommend them to the Publick I know very well they have already that Credit in the World which will render any Apologie needless especially when by this Publication of them they shall speak for themselves I think it requisite only to assure the Reader That they are what they pretend to be the genuine Works of that great Man Whilst I had the Happiness of Conversing with him he was pleas'd at my Request to instruct me in the Character in which he wrote all his Sermons and some of these now Published having been Transcrib'd by me some Years since were found amongst his Papers Corrected with his own Hand By what he had been pleas'd to say that I was Master of his Character and by the few Errata he observ'd in my first Performance I was encouraged to set about this Work in which I can Solemnly Profess that I have observ'd a Religious care and strictness neither to omit nor add any thing but an of a the or the like when the Sense plainly requir'd it and of that too I have given notice by affixing this Mark `` upon the Word which I did not find in the Original so that the Reader is left to judge of the fitness of such Additions which after all are so very few and inconsiderable as scarcely to deserve this notice only that he might be satisfied in case the Printer do his part that he hath here what he expects a perfect Transcript of these Sermons and in them a true and lively strain of Christian Piety and Eloquence so fitted to all Capacities that I cannot but hope all that shall read them will be the better for them even those not excepted if there be any such who may have entertain'd any unreasonable Prejudices against them or their most Reverend Author I have alwaies thought and often said it that if any were Leaven'd with Prejudice against Him they were to be sure such as did not know him and the farther I go in his Writings the more I am assur'd that it must be so But because the Sermons themselves to which I refer are not yet all of them Published I must leave this to the Judgment of the Impartial Reader when the whole shall be finish'd which is design'd with all convenient speed Lambeth April 2. 1695. Ra. Barker THE TEXTS OF EACH SERMON IN THIS VOLUME SERMON I. JOHN I. 47. JEsus saw Nathanael coming to him and saith of him Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile Pag. 1 SERM. II. HEB. XI 17 18 19. By faith Abraham when he was tried offered up Isaac and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son Of whom it was said That in Isaac shall thy seed be called Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead from whence also he received him in a figure p. 39 SERM. III. HEB. XI 24 25. By faith Moses when he was come to years refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the People of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season p. 77 SERM. IV. V. VI. VII VIII X. HEB. X. 23. Let us hold fast the Profession of our faith without wavering for he is faithful that hath promised p. 109 136 171 209 239 277. There is a mistake in Numbering of these Sermons The Tenth should be called the Ninth and so on to the end For there are but Fifteen Sermons in this Volume and should be no more SERM. XI 2 COR. V. 7. For we walk by Faith not by Sight p. 309 SERM. XII HEB. X. 38. But if any Man draw back my Soul shall have no pleasure in him p. 337 SERM. XIII XIV MATTH XVI 24. Then said Jesus unto his Disciples If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his Cross and follow me p. 367 395 SERM. XV. XVI HEB. XI 13. And confessed that they were Strangers and Pilgrims on the Earth p. 421 449 A SERMON Preached at KINGSTON July 29. 1694. The last his GRACE Preached JOHN I. 47. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and saith of him Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile WHO this Nathanael was upon whom our Saviour bestows this extraordinary Character doth not certainly appear his Name being but once more mention'd in the whole History of the Gospel For certain he was a good Man who deserved this extraordinary Commendation and none but our Saviour who knew what was in Man and needed not that any should tell him could have given it especially of one whom he had never seen before that time for when Jesus saw him coming to him he saith of him Behold an Israelite indeed The whole Nation of the Jews were Israelites by Natural Descent being the Seed of Jacob or Israel but in a special and more excellent sense none are esteemed the true Posterity of Israel but those who resembled this Father of their Nation in true Piety and Goodness for as the Apostle reasons they are not all Israel who are of Israel they only are Israelites indeed who resemble good Old Jacob in the sincerity of his Piety and the simplicity of his Temper and Disposition for our Saviour seems here to allude to that Character which is given of Jacob Gen. 25. 27. That he was a plain Man or as the Hebrew word signifies a perfect and sincere Man in opposition to his Brother Esau who is said to be cunning so that to be an Israelite indeed is to be a downright honest Man without fraud and guile without any arts of hypocrisie and deceit In speaking of this vertue of Sincerity which is the highest Character and Commendation of a good Man I shall consider it as it respects God and Man As it respects God so it imports the truth and sincerity of our Piety and Devotion towards him As it regards Men so it signifies a simplicity of Mind and Manners in our Carriage and Conversation one towards another both these are included and very probably were intended in the Character which our Saviour here gives of Nathanael I. I shall consider this Grace or Vertue of sincerity as it respects God and so it imports the truth and sincerity of our Piety toward him that we heartily believe and fear