Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
judgement_n	appear_v	day_n	great_a	2,710	5	3.1342	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60688	The spirit of meekness recommended for the reducing of the erroneous and such as have dissented from the Church of England / by William Smythies ...	Smythies, William, d. 1715.	1684 (1684)	Wing S4374; ESTC R10957	45,142	149

an Israelite in the Land of Promise he hath Milk and Honey flowing in the temper of his own mind A meek Spirit doth not only keep men from hurt but it gives them the enjoyment of all that is good There are a great many in the World who have great plenty of the good things of this Life but they enjoy no good at all by them because of the uneasiness of their own peevish fretfull Spirits The sewerness of their own tempers takes away the sweetness of all that they do possess but a meek Spirit gives a man all that is pleasant from what he enjoyes He patiently bears Crosses and thankfuly receives Comforts In this sense that which our Saviour said is very true Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth They enjoy the good things of this life and have the greatest Sweetness that they afford and may expect the longest Continuance of them I might shew likewise that it is the most obliging Temper and therefore doth exceedingly conduce to the good and Comfort of mens lives whilst they are in this World But II. As it is a Temper very pleasant in it self so it is highly acceptable to God and gives us a good assurance of his Love and Favour A meek and quiet Spirit is to God of great price 1 Pet. 3.4 And it must needs be so for it is like unto God himself Fury is not in me saith the Lord. In this as well as in other vertues we are Followers of God as dear Children The Lord is slow to anger and so is the meek man When he is provoked He doth not willingly afflict nor grieve the Children of Men. Men may pretend to what they please but he that delights to vex or torment him that is taken in a fault is far from being Merciful as his Heavenly Father is Merciful God draws offenders to him by the cords of a man and by the bonds of Love The greatest offenders who are not hardned and incorrigeable are dealt tenderly with God saith Let us reason together to those whose sins were as Scarlet and as Crimson His Language to great sinners is by meek Expostulations Why will ye die c. And if God be so favourable and so desirous that those who have offended him should be reformed and not punished what strange Tempers are they of whom nothing will satisfy but Rigour and Severity We find likewise how highly God values a Meek Spirit by the great Love that he shews to those that are of that temper He doth severely punish those who can be so base and disingenuous as to offer any Affront or injury to a meek man When Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses Num. 12. God was exceedingly offended at them for but opening their lips against him He said unto them Why are ye not afraid to speak against my Servant Moses And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them and he departed ver 8 9. And by what follows it appears that he went away in an anger for Miriam was struck with a Leprosie and Aaron seeing it made hast to lament for what he had done and with an humble submission to Moses to ask forgiveness Aaron said unto Moses alas my Lord I beseech thee lay not the sin upon us wherein we have done foolishly and wherein we have sinned ver 11. And might for all that have suffered very severely if the Meek man whom he spake against had not spoken to God for them Nay though Moses cried unto the Lord yet Miriam who probably was the first in the fault and instigated Aaron to it or was more peremptory in her reproofes was shut up seven dayes that she might spend that time in considering what it is to speak against a Meek man It appears likewise how great an Esteem God hath for a Spirit of Meekness by the many promises which he hath made to Meek men in his word The meek will he guide in judgment and the Meek will he teach his way The Meek shall be hid in the day of the Lords Wrath as in Psal 25.9 Zeph. 2.3 and inumerable other places in the Scriptures Meekness was the Temper of our Blessed Saviour and it was his command that his Disciples should follow his example in it Learn of me for I am Meek and lowly A furious man is no true Disciple of Christ He is a Scholar that will not learn of his Master Our Saviours Meekness was such that it occasioned Fury in his enemies because they could find no evil in his words or actions was so far from reviling any or using reproachful Expressions that when he was reviled he reviled not again If any were taken in a fault he was not presently for punishing them but but by Meekness and Kindness reforming of them The Scribes and Pharisees John 8.3 Brought him a Woman that was taken in Adultery in the very Act. She was taken in a fault indeed Moses in the Law said they commanded that such should be stoned but what sayest thou This they said tempting him that they might have to accuse him If he had absolved her they would have accused him of violating the Law of Moses If he had condemned her he would then seem to annul the very purpose of his Coming which was to call sinners to Repentance and not to inflict temporal Punishments In this transaction we do not only find the Wisdom of our Saviour in propounding that to them which made their guilty Consciences turn them all away but his Meekness to the woman that was taken in the fault He said to her Woman where are those thine accusers hath no man condemned thee Shee said no man Lord. He said to her Neither do I condemn thee Go and sin no more We are not to think that our Saviour said this that he might so much as extenuate the Fault that she was taken in but to shew that he would not take upon him to be a temporal Judge who came to be a Spiritual and Merciful Saviour He did not so much as give her a reproachful word but bad her Go and sin no more He that delights to revile and reproach to condemn and punish one would think that of all Religions in the world he were no Christian nor ever heard who Christ was or what he required of his Followers The Apostle had no stronger Argument to use to the Corinthians than this was 2 Cor. 10.1 Now I Paul beseech you by the Meekness and Gentleness of Christ III. A Spirit of Meekness tends to a publick good both of Church and State There are two things of absolute necessity for the Establishment of our Peace and Prosperity That the People should have a Spirit of Submission towards their Governours and a Spirit of Meekness one towards another My great design is to perswade those that are not faulty as to the first but are of undoubted Loyalty to the King that they would not be failing as to the second They are both very

Whoever they are they are a great Offence to all Pious and Good Christians who hear of their ill Deportments which may be of good use to those that have been ill treated by them that they should not be discouraged by those Miscarriages which are as offensive to us as they are to them And it should be of good use to them that have been guilty in this matter They should consider that as our Saviour said to his Furious Disciples they know not what Spirit they are of They do not consider that it is neither pleasing to Magistrates nor Ministers nor yet to any good Christians who are of the Communion of the Church and who are as great Enemies to Division and Separation as they can be But 4. It is a great and unwarrantable Offence to those who have Dissented We are as I have already mentioned to shew all Meekness unto all men and we are exceedingly to rejoyce in any opportunity of expressing Love and Kindness It is a very great mistake if any think that a man cannot shew Respect and Kindness to another but he must be a favourer of his Opinion We may easily propound to our selves sufficient Reason why we should Love every man let his Judgment be what it will and I am sure that there is the greater necessity of shewing kindness to those who have Dissented that we may be the better able to rectify their Judgments and to convince them of their Mistakes But more particularly There are three things hinted in the Text why we should not offend such but restore them with a Spirit of Meekness 1. The first I take from the Apostles Compellation Brethren As he gives that Title to the Galatians who had been exceedingly to blame for indulging their Errors and Mistakes so should we to those that have separated from us I know the Devil as I have already mentioned hath by his Factors abroad sent other Names amongst us and they pass very readily but if we look into the Scriptures and consult the Gospel we shall find that our Saviour and his Apostles hath only furnished us with such Titles as signifie Love such as may oblige and win upon those that have erred and not such as may provoke or discourage them It is true that when our Saviour speaks of those who have so offended that they will not be reclaimed by the secret Admonitions of him whom they have trespassed against which is an Argument of a most sweet and pleasant temper of mind and therefore shewes that the offending Person is very stubborn and Obstinate nor regard the counsel of one or two more who come as well to plead with them that they may amend as to be witnesses against them if they continue obstinate nor regard the Publick Complaints made against them to the Church which is the last remedy his direction is That such should be accounted as a Heathen Man and a Publican that is their Society should be avoided and they should have no Communion with them or as Dr. Hammond explaines it in his Paraphrase upon the Place Look upon him as a desperate deplored Sinner fit for the censures of the Church to overtake him Our Saviour saith If thy BROTHER offend thee thou hast gained thy BROTHER which shews that when men have offended they must not presently be cast off with Wrath and Indignation but there must be the Love of a Brother still continuing and it must appear in the Methods which are to be used for the reclaiming of him The reason why our Saviour requires that he should be told his fault privately is that he may be reclaimed and not be exposed to any shame or Reproach for what he hath done by which a man shews the Love and Tenderness of a Brother But I am sure they are very far from observing this Rule and from expressing this Love and Tenderness of a Brother who never tell men their faults privately nor with one or two more but take occasion to upbraid them with their faults publickly and it is at that time too when they are mending their faults and therefore do not so much as want a private admonition I do the rather mention this of our Saviour because though it seems to relate only to personal Offences If thy Brother shall trespass against thee c. Yet doubtless it is to be understood of any Offences whatsoever because they give occasion to Christians to exercise their Charity towards the souls of their Brethren as well as any personal Offence committed by them The Apostles followed this Rule of our Saviour and required that whatsoever Offences men were guilty of yet still they were to be accounted Brethren and the Love of a Brother was to be shewed to them I will mention but one and it hath a Special relation to the case that I have in hand 2 Thes 3. v. 14.15 And if any one obey not our word by this Epistle note that Man and have no company with him that he may be ashamed and what followes Does the Apostle by this encourage them to cast Contempt and Scorn upon him wheresoever they see him No but requires that there should be a tender Love shewed to him Yet count him not as an enemy but admonish him as a Brother These two verses have a special relation to that which goes before at the 11th verse For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly working not at all but are busy-bodies There were such persons amongst the Thessalonians as we have too many of them amongst us who are disorderly persons that had rather mind any other business than that which belongs to them and instead of minding their work they are disputing the Orders of the Church and by what Authority it is that the Governours of it requires this or that to be done for which there is no express Rule Such persons as these are must needs be exceedingly offensive to the Governours of the Church because of their Haughtiness and Insolency And they must needs be very Offensive to all Religious Members of the Church because they disturb the Peace Unity and Harmony which should be amongst the Worshippers of God But however though their Offences were so great that other Christians of better Tempers were to avoid their company yet when occasion was offered they were to admonish them as Brethren as those for whom they still retained a great Love and hearty Desire for their good We ought to retain a Love for them in reference to their temporal Concerns and to be very sorry that they should incur any Penalty which may tend to the impoverishing of themselves and Families This common Ingenuity requires of us and therefore much more doth Christianity require it And we ought more especially to be concerned for their Spiritual and eternal Welfare because they are our Brethren and they are called so from that Relation which we bear unto our Heavenly Father 2. A second Intimation which I have