Selected quad for the lemma: life_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
life_n	bless_a	jesus_n	lord_n	4,865	5	3.3913	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44658	A twofold vindication of the late Arch-bishop of Canterbury, and of the author of The history of religion the first part defending the said author against the defamations of Mr. Atterbury's sermon and ... : the charge of Socinianism against Dr. Tillotson consider'd ... : the second containing remarks on the said sermon ... : and a word in defence of the ... Bishop of Sakisbury, by another hand.	Howard, Robert, Sir, 1626-1698.	1696 (1696)	Wing H3006; ESTC R9361	74,122	190

under which the same things are denoted Morality may be defin'd to be the Practice of all those things which Natural Reason free from Passion and Prejudice approves as just and fitting to be done Monroe says that believing according to the Light of Nature is Morality but he minds not what he says venting what comes uppermost so that in this Particular it is his chance to be wrong as when he calumniates 't is his choice That which is usually call'd the Law of Nature is nothing else but Convenientia cum naturâ rationali an Agreement with Rational Nature or Natural Reason Morality is the actual Observance of that Law the Practice of all those Vertues that are agreeable to Natural Reason Natural Reason hath been ingeniously compar'd to the changeable Lustre of a Dove's Neck which appears of other Colours to me than it does to him who stands not in the same Light that I do but Natural Reason free from Passions and Prejudices is the proper Judg of every thing which can be made the Duty of a Man Christianity which is now the only true reveal'd Religion is a perfect System of all the Laws of Nature of all those Vertues which Natural Reason free from Passions and Prejudices approves and all those Laws all those Vertues by the general Consent of Men fall under the Name of Morality The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a moral Gospel his Errand into the World was to re-establish the despised Authority of moral Goodness to teach Men to set aside their vicious Prejudices and impartially consider the Reasonableness of moral Goodness In short the reveal'd Religion of Christ is the old moral Religion which careless Neglects hasty Passions and evil Examples had almost banish'd out of the World But now it will be ask'd why it 's call'd Reveal'd Religion that 's the next thing I have to show And here let it be consider'd that tho there is not a vertuous Precept in the whole Gospel which was never heard of in the World before yet Christ gave the whole a new Sanction and a more awful Authority he establish'd all the Instances of good Morality upon stronger Foundations The Mosaical Religion the Morality whereof was encumbred and darkened with a heavy Burden of numerous strange Rites and Ceremonies did exhibit only Temporal Promises and Threats to perswade the Jews to Obedience Or if there were any thing beyond this Life promis'd or threatned 't was in such obscure Expressions that 't was uncertain and not to be made out but by labour'd Reasonings and long Deductions The wiser Heathens who discours'd reasonably and liv'd well enforc'd their wise Discourses and good Examples with but faint and doubtful Probabilities of a Life to come wherein successful Wickedness should be punish'd and injur'd Vertue rewarded and when they could not demonstrate their Argument were fain to be content with this harmless Speculation that Vertue was Reward enough to it self and a good Man happy even when he was grievously tormented Our blessed Lord and Master Jesus Christ was the most consummate Doctor the most authoritative Lawgiver that the World ever knew It was He that brought Life and Immortality to light which were descri'd before by waving Flashes by sudden glances of Rays faint and weak He reviv'd languishing Morality by the Revelation of a Resurrection and a Judgment to come and God gave Testimony to the Revelation of his Son by Signs and Wonders supernatural and uncontestable The Reason of Man could not have attain'd to the certain knowledg of these things if God had not made them known by the Ministry of his Son In short the Precepts of the Christian Religion are Moral Precepts and obvious to Natural Reason but the Sanction and Enforcement of them by future Retributions that 's Divine reveal'd from Heaven and confirm'd by Miracles Having given this account of the nature of Morality and shown what that is which gives it the Name of revealed Religion I hope I may have leave to guess why the Libeller undervalues Morality and extols the Discipline as he words it of Reveal'd Religion perhaps the cause may be this Morality is a dry lean business a crafty Priest can make no Earnings of it there 's more by half to be got by Discipline Discipline Discipline manag'd by others by the Administrators of Religion by Priests O 't is a fine thing for not only may the Laity obtain Salvation by submitting to it but they may be made to be sav'd whether they will or no tho not for nothing neither What a sad thing is it that this Discipline should be relax'd now how will the Gentlemen answer it to God and their Country who have laid open the Inclosures of the Corporation I know not said an Orator of no mean Craft in my hearing which is worse that the People go astray or that they may do it This Age is as unhappy by not being kept under Discipline as the Ages before Moses for they living before reveal'd Religion and nothing being Religion but reveal'd could have no Religion at all and the present Age tho living under reveal'd Religion yet not under Discipline had even as good live under no Religion The Sum and Substance of Religion consists in Discipline for says Monroe there can be no Religion without Priests and they are the Administrators of Discipline But what shall we do in this case He that tells us there can be no Religion without Priests whereby he damns the first Ages of the World confesses there never were more Priests without Religion than now so that it must go hard with this present Age. The Author of the History of Religion had more Honesty and good-Nature more Wit and good Sense than to talk at this angry decretory censorious scandalous rate he meddles not with the numbers of wicked Priests only for the Honour of Priests that are truly religious he taxes the Frauds of the crafty and why that should be imputed to him as an unpardonable Sin the Libeller will never be able to say who owns that wicked Priests are no where more severely reprehended than in Scripture That Man must have no regard to his own Credit who finds fault with the History of Religion for the Author in celebrating the Fame of the late Arch-bishop Tillotson has sufficiently publish'd to the World that he has an high Esteem and Veneration for Priests Priests that are Men of Learning and Vertue tho they follow their late thrice excellent Metropolitan at a distance and but as Ascanius follow'd Aeneas non passibus aequis The coming in of King William was a Test upon all Orders of Men and openly discover'd who had a true Zeal for the Interest of their Country and the Preservation of their Religion and who were only jealous of a private and less honourable Interest The History of Religion in like manner is a Test upon all its Readers no Man can declare his dislike of that Book but at the same time he