Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	good_a	king_n	prince_n	3,500	5	5.4628	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51837	Christs eternal existence, and the dignity of his person asserted and proved in opposition to the doctrine of the Socinians : in several sermons on Col. I, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 verses / by the Reverend Tho. Manton.	Manton, Thomas, 1620-1677.	1685 (1685)	Wing M520; ESTC R33496	105,834	258

unbelief was overruled by Gods Providence for the honour of Christ. His in●redulity was an occasion to manifest the certainty of Christs Resurrection If credulous Men or those hasty of belief had only seen Christ their report had been liable to suspicion Solomon maketh it one of his Proverbs the simple believeth every word Here is one that had sturdy and pertinacious doubts yet brought at last to yield However this is an instance of the proneness of our hearts to unbelief especially if we have not the objects of Faith under the view of the senses and how apt we are to give Laws to Heaven and require our terms of God 3. Christs condescension in two things 1. In appearing again verse 26. on the first day of the next week to shew how ready he is to honour and bless his own day and to give satisfaction to poor doubting souls by coming again to them and it was well Thomas was there at this time 2. In giving Thomas the satisfaction of sense verse 27. reach hither thy finger and behold my hands and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into my side With what mildness doth our Lord treat him though under such a distemper unbelief is so hateful to Christ that he is very careful to have it removed and in condescension grants what was his fault to seek 4. The next thing is Thomas his Faith verse 28. And he answered and said my Lord and my God He presumeth not to touch Christ but contents himself onely to see him and having seen him makes a good confession 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1. Observe The two Titles given to Christ God and Lord He is God the Fountain of all our happiness and Lord as he hath a dominion over us to guide and dispose of us at his own pleasure 2. Observe The appropriation or personal application to himself My God and my Lord. Hence we may observe 1. That God leaveth some to themselves for a while that themselves and others may be more confirmed afterwards Thomas his Faith was as it were dead and buried in his heart and now upon the sight of Christ quickned and revived we must not judge of men by a fit of Temptation but stay till they come to themselves again Who would have thought that out of an obstinate incredulity so great a Faith should spring up suddainly 2. We may observe Thomas that is with much ado awaken'd makes a fairer confession then all the rest They call him their Lord but he his Lord and God 3. We may observe again that true believing with the heart is joyned with confession of the mouth Psal. 116.10 I believed therefore have I spoken 4. Hence you may take notice of the reality of the two natures in the unity of Christs person for he is both Deus Dominus But how cometh he to acknowledge Christs Godhead he did not feel the Divinity of Christ in hands or side or feet Videbat tangebatque hominem confitebatur Deum quem non videbat neque tangebat saith Austin Herein his Faith was beyond sense he felt the manhood and acknowledgeth the Deity 5. Hence we may observe that those that are rightly conversant about Christ and the mysteries of his Death and Resurrection should take Christ for their Lord and their God Thomas saith my Lord and my God and his confession should be the common confession of all the Faithful I shall quit the three first and insist only on the two last I therefore begin with the fourth observation 4th Hence you see the reality of the two Natures in the unity of Christs person The name of God is joyned with the Title of Lord therefore the name of God belongeth to him no less then the title of Lord Thomas when he saith my Lord he seemeth not to have satisfyed himself till he had added this other name and title my God now this importeth the reality of his Divine Nature for these three reasons 1. Those things which are proper to God cannot ought not to be transferred to a meer Creature but this title of my God is a Covenant title and so often used in Scripture and therefore Christ was God 2. To whom truly and properly the Names and Titles of things do belong to him that which is signified by those Names and Titles doth belong also For otherwise this would destroy all certainty of speech you cannot speak or write unless words signifie what in vulgar use they are applyed unto there could be no reasoning a signo ad rem significatum from the sign to the thing signified If I should call a brute a Man or a creature God how can we understand what is spoken or written the argument is the more cogent because a name is an implicite contracted definition as a definition is a name explained and dilated As when I say a man is a reasonable creature so a God is one that hath power over all blessed for ever 3. The greater any person is the more danger there is of giving him titles that do not belong to him for that is to place him in an honour to which he hath greater pretensions then others but no right especially doth this hold good in Religion it is true in Civils To give one next the King the Title of King would awaken the jealousie of Princes and breed much inconvenience but especially doth this hold good in Religion where God is so jealous of giving his glory to another Isa. 42.80 Therefore the greater the dignity of Christ was above all other creatures the more caution was necessary that the name of God might not be ascribed to him if he were only mere Man and it did not properly agree to him for the more dangerous the error the more cautiously should we abstain from it 4. Consider the person by whom this title was given by a Godly Man No godly man would call an Idol or a Magistrate or a Teacher or a King or an Angel or any created thing above an Angel His Lord and his God But this was done by Thomas one bred up in the Religion taught by Moses and the Prophets and the chief point of that Religion was that God is but one Deut. 6.4 Hear O Israel the Lord our God is one Lord. This was one of the sentences written on the fringes of their garments and 't is quoted by Christ whose disciple Thomas also was Mark 12.29 And explained by a learned Scribe which came to him Mark 12.32 Well master thou hast said the truth for there is but one God and there is none other but him Now Thomas knowing this and the first Commandment Thou shalt have no other Gods before me If he were not perswaded of it would he say to Christ My Lord and my God 5. The Person to whom he spake it He said to him Not to the Father but to Jesus of Nazareth My Lord and my God Surely as the Saints would not derogate from God so Christ would not