Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n
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A52332
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A sermon preach'd in the Cathedral of Lincoln, July XVIII, 1681 being the Assize-Monday / by Daniel Nicols ...
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Nicols, Daniel.
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1681
(1681)
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Wing N1142; ESTC R36617
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18,222
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41
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We may judge of the force that Religion has by the combining nature of Superstition and Will-worship which as Lactantius observes is but verae Religionis unitatrix it makes men all of one mind and judgment Pignoratos reddit animos it causeth them to pawn their Souls and Affections and Estates also one to another Herod and Pilate though desperate enemies before were then made friends when Christ was to be crucified Old Rome will dye to the last man pro aris focis new Rome is at this day as zealous for her new-coined Devotions and will unite all the World over against those whom they are pleased to Damn for Hereticks The Jews stand as stifly to the Traditions of their Forefathers the Rabbins and Doctors of their Church as the Turks to the Precepts of their Alcoran or we to the Old and New Testaments Now if the name of Religion though it be false carrieth with it such Magical force and power to how much more may true Religion pretend He that reads the History of the Ten Persecutions when the native and simple beauty of Religion ravished the Souls of those blessed Martyrs will easily believe that she is strong and mighty as well as amiable and lovely The pacifick argument which Abraham urgeth to Lot when there was discord between their herds-men was this That they were of the same Religion Gen. 13.8 Let there be no strife I pray thee between me and thee between my herds men and thy herds-men for we be brethren Hoc est Fide Religione and the more cogent was his request because the Canaanite and the Perizite men that were strangers to God and Religion dwelt then in the Land No sooner had the influence of it touch'd the Souls of the Three thousand Acts 2.44 but they were together and had all things common I confess when Religion began to grow into Faction then sprang up Divisions a parting of Minds and Souls as well as of Purses and Estates then was the Common of Christianity turn'd into inclosures when one cries out I am of Paul another I am of Apollos a third I am for Caephas and a fourth I am for Christ that is neither for Ministers nor Ordinances but only for Jesus and his Spirit But who dar'st impute this to Religion when St. Paul tells you it proceeds from the flesh 1 Cor. 3.4 For while one saith I am of Paul and another I am of Apollo are ye not carnal But the glory of true Religion will be more apparent If you observe 1. That she is a most perfect piece of Beauty and therefore of her own nature attractive for love to its proper object is strong and never at rest till it does transire in amatum the drawing out of those lines of Perfection upon her was not trusted to the pencil of Apelles or the curious finger of any Mortal but the unerring hand of God himself nor was there any Copy or Exemplar to draw by but himself he was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Original of her Perfection in her shineth forth his Wisdom Goodness Mercy Patience Justice Purity and all other communicable Virtues to the Sons of Adam All other Beauties in respect of this are but tenebrae What you see in the vaulted Heavens which made the holy Prophet admire the beauty of Sun Moon and Stars what you see upon Earth in the Spring when nature has put on her rich embroidery whatever can be said of or for Riches Honours Pleasures Preferments in the World are nothing in comparison of her loveliness If that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which St. Paul speaks of 1 Cor. 14. the exact and comely disposition of the Worship of God could be found in our Assemblies where all persons with one consent should offer up their Spiritual Sacrifices to Almighty God Angels would rejoyce and delight to joyn with us and make up the Chorus of sweet-fingers in Israel Papists would no longer have occasion to say that we are Fracti corde ore The sober part of Dissenters that have truely tender Consciences would no longer keep at a distance you would then see the Antepast of Eternity when Religion shall ascend the Meridian of her Glory where there shall be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the same sound and therefore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all sweetly together singing Hallelujahs to their King That which spoileth the beauty of our Service now is want of Order as the most exact piece of Beauty may be ill drawn or the best Dish of meat spoil'd with ill cooking Those Factions and Divisions which are amongst us the slovenly and nasty carriage of many that come to our Assemblies and of them also which wait upon the Altar represent Religion deformed made up of disproportion so that St. Paul's Infidel if he should come amongst us cannot say the Lord is with us of a truth Secondly True Religion is most rational answering the Philosophy of Man's Nature and the Ends of Discourse I know some Mysteries of our Religion are supra rationem that a Virgin should bring forth a Son that the same should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that the dead should rise again c. but none of these are contra rationem If you take Religion in a large sense as she comprehendeth all Virtues nothing can be more reasonable than her demands To fear God to love our neighbour to be humble and meek to honour our parents to pray for our enemies What can be more reasonable God has now taken away the rigor and severity of the Law and given us a yoke to bear which is more easie and the burthen more light And if I come nearer the Text you 'l find it to be the purest reason that God should have the fattest of the flock for his portion the most ingenuous and holy observance in his Worship the most exact order and decency in our approaches to him which St. Paul calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 12.1 Now if Religion be thus rational in all her demands it must also be of a knitting and cementing quality Reason being the substratum of all Societies of all Converse between man and man And if we add to this the sweetness of her Nature exactly answering the Conversation of our Blessed Saviour when upon Earth his Love Affability Candor Humility nothing certainly can better attract and draw the Souls of reasonable men than Religion The Professors of it I confess are sometimes morose and cynical not at all inviting in their behaviour but the fault of them cannot be imputed to our Religion which though it does correct yet does it not utterly remove the frowardness of our Nature Thirdly It is delicate and spiritual so attenuate that it can penetrate the Soul ravish the Thoughts and command the Conscience with a holy and sweet Violence Good and bad Angels as they are Spirits have a power to suggest good or bad thoughts Of this refined substance is true Religion and the Character given of
to swerve a hairs breadth from the same appearing more jealous in the instance of divine Worship and Honour than in any other concern This is one great reason if not the only of the charge given in the Text If ye will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice c. For the Children of Israel were now innovating in State-affairs chopping and changing of Governments Kings are desired in the place of Judges and that which gave the greatest occasion of displeasure to the great King of Heaven was not as I humbly conceive either the change of Government considered in it self or the desire of that change but rather the copy and example which they chuse to follow in this alteration viz. the Canaanites and the Nations round about them which were all of them Idolatrous and cursed of God those must perswade them that it is better to have a King than a Judge although of God's immediate choice to rule over them Now as all changes and innovations are dangerous so here in Special for this reason lest Conformity to them in Civils might by degrees incline them to a Conformity in Spirituals also for it is commonly seen that the Discipline and Government of the Church does follow that of the State and it is apparent that if there be not some harmony and consent between the one and the other there must necessarily ensue Convulsions both of Church and State And it is no ways improbable that Heathens though fond and foolish enough in their conceits about Religion did to avoid these ruptures and storms advise their Disciples not rigorously in strange Countreys to adhere to the Rites and Ceremonies of their own Gods but rather to condescend for the sake of Peace to Worship the Gods of the place according to their own customs This compliance though it might pass well enough in point of Policy in those places where no true God was worshipped yet cannot here be endured to prevent which the holy One of Israel had frequently inculcated this Command Not to follow strange Gods nor to walk in their ways which were called Via Amorrheorum to keep themselves close to the pattern of the Mount and as some conceive those Prohibitions mentioned Levit. 19.19 Thou shalt not let thy cattel gender with divers kinds thou shalt not sow thy fields with divers kinds and a garment of divers kinds of Linsey-woolsey shall not come upon thee are purposely design'd by Almighty God to keep the children of Israel at the vastest distance from some Superstitious and Idolatrous customs then in force with the Heathens near them This must however be the cause of those multiplied phrases and flood of words poured out in the text and other places of the same nature so much signifying one and the same thing that if we had not a reverence for Divine Writ and a through belief that it proceedeth from the God of Truth the imputation of Battology so common amongst Heathens or Tautology so common amongst our selves would not seem injurious The words then under a double Hypothesis contain a strict and severe charge to the Children of Israel to keep close to that form of Religious Worship which the King of kings had Established amongst them For though he had now upon their importunity indulged them in Politicks giving them leave to be like other Nations in Kingly Government yet he expected that he himself as God should be worshipped according to his own Prescriptions To the first Hypothesis for their incouragement is annexed a Promise If ye will fear c. then both ye and the King which reigneth over you shall continue following the Lord. To the latter Hypothesis is added a Threatning to check Disobedience If ye will not obey the voice of the Lord then shall the hand of the Lord c. These two Hypothetical Propositions may be reduced Categorically after this manner That a zealous Observation of true Religion is the most infallible way of securing Peace between the Trinity of Persons mentioned in the Text God the King and the People Secondly The neglect or contempt of Religion does most effectually break Peace between God and a Nation and consequently bring ruine and destruction upon the same The first of these if duly handled will involve the latter where three things must be inquired after 1. What that Religion is of the Text. Then how it comes by its cementing and uniting Nature Lastly What the Priviledge or Promise signifieth which is annexed Then shall both ye and the King c. First then what is Religion If there were but one or two in the world it might be no hard matter to define them but when every Town and Village almost is full of Faction and every Faction hath a different perswasion and this opinion or perswasion must be cryed up for Religion Who is able to coin Diffinitions fast enough And methinks it should not a little conduce to confirm those in their present Faith who yet retain soundness in their Judgments to take a short view of the phantastical dreams of men about Religion One tells you that the very Genius of it is Separation and pleads Scripture for it Come out from amongst them lest ye partake of her plagues and dar'st with the proud Donastist exclude Heaven and confine to Hell all such as jump not with them in all their blasphemies A second defines his per Illuminationem Revelationem and with the stately Greek supposeth none to see but himself all the world at most have but one eye whilst he sees perfectly with both If you will compare Old and New Rome together you will find them to accord very well in the account of Religion Cicero thus describeth it Religio est quae curam affert caeremoniis divini cultas And who knows not that the Religion of Rome at present consists rather in washing the out-sides of dishes and platters in crossing and cringing and creeping than in the Devotion and Worship of the Soul which cannot be very intent whilst busied in an exact observance of so many External Rites The truth is the multitude of Ceremonies imposed by that Church hath devoured the greatest part of her substantial Religious Worship but because without Religion she cannot pretend to be the Church of God therefore must her Ceremonies stand for her Religion The Atheist defines Religion by fear and tells you That Primus in Orbe Deos fecit Timor And will force himself like Lucian to laugh and scoff at Religion as if it were nothing but the pretty device of Politicians to keep fools in awe Those are some of the dreams and mad conceits of men about Religion which I produce meerly as a taste of those infinite conceptions whereby Satan works cunningly upon the minds of men perswading them either that Religion is not yet defined and so leaves them in the Labyrinths of Sceptism or else that there is no God nor Religion at all and so drowns them in Irreligion and