Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	life_n	live_v	soul_n	3,806	5	5.7519	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64470	Two sermons preach'd against immorality and profaneness The first, on January 13. 1698/9. The second, on May 3. 1700. By John Thane, M.A. and one of the prebendaries of Chester.	Thane, John, 1653 or 4-1727.	1700 (1700)	Wing T834A; ESTC R201131	27,921	65

of an Incurable Loathsom Distemper These are very often the Effects of a loose and irregular course of Life But alas so besotted and senseless are most wicked Men that they never consider the Consequences of their Actions Whatever Inconveniencies they are like to endure whether Poverty or Disgrace or Sickness or even Death it self they still hug and caress their Vices and pursue their Debaucheries They will not refrain their lewd intemperate Courses tho' thereby they break their Strength and destroy their Health and ruin their Constitution so that at last whole troops of Diseases seize upon them and they go down with rottenness to the Grave And now all things consider'd is not this a fine discreet way of managing things What! are these the marks and properties of Wisdom and are such Men to be accounted the only refin'd and improv'd Wits of the Age On the contrary to speak yet plainer is it possible that such Folly or rather Madness as this is should pass for Sense and Reason and Understanding Or that a Course of Life which is so Prejudicial both to Soul and Body should ever come to be so universally ingag'd in And yet as unaccountable as the thing is how many are there in the World who tho' they live at this vile abominable Rate are so far from thinking the worse of themselves for it that they rather take a pride in being Extravagant and Glory in being distinguish'd for their Vices As if there was no Sense but in sinning and no Reason like that of living like Beasts From what has been said upon this Argument 't is I hope pretty plain that Religion is the truest Wisdom and that Sin and Vice are nothing else but downright Ignorance and Folly That wicked Men as wise as they take themselves to be are all grosly mistaken that the Principles they proceed upon are False and Groundless and that their Practices are utterly inconsistent with the Dictates of right Reason and the Laws of Sound and pure Religion This is what I have endeavour'd to prove tho' I am sensible when all is said wicked Men may still plead in behalf of their Vices and may deceive themselves if they please and too many I fear have so little Sense as to do so But yet when live as if there was no God and do every thing in Contradiction to Reason as well as Religion surely then 't is no hard Matter to prove them to be void of true Understanding David I remember in one place hath this Expression The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the Children of Men to see if there were any that did understand and seek God Ps 14. 2. Which Words seem to Imply that Wisdom and true Piety tho' they are different in Terms are yet in Effect but one and the same thing And Consequently that none but good Men and such as seek or fear God and regard his Service can in a proper Sense be said to Understand The like was spoken also by Job long before And unto Man he said the fear of the Lord that is Wisdom and to depart from Evil is Understanding Thus I have shew'd at large the Ingratitude and the Folly of a sinful course of Life I come now in the Third place to consider the evil Consequences which attend it with respect to Men's private Interests and Concerns 3. Great and manifold are the Mischiefs which attend the practice of Sin and Vice and so close and constant is the attendance that no Man thus ingag'd but is sure to have a share of them To prove which I might appeal even to wicked Men themselves whether they have not experienc'd in some Measure more or less the sad unhappy Consequences which these produce Whether the Sins and Enormities they are Guilty of have not done them some real sensible Prejudice Whether they have not either wounded their Conscience or blasted their Credit or brought some outward Calamity and Disaster upon them 'T is true indeed some Sinners may and do escape better than other because the evils of this Life do not happen to all alike Tho' some for their Sins do meet with quick and speedy Disappointments yet others are seen to flourish still and make a glorious shew till at last some odd unlucky chance some unexpected fatal stroke dashes all their greatness in Pieces When that happens then is that Sentence of Zophar verified Tho' his excellency mount up to the Heavens and his Head reach unto the Clouds yet they that have seen him shall say where is he The Eye also which saw him shall see him no more neither shall his Place any more behold him Job 20. 6 7 9. Many and various are the Instances and Ways in which the evil Consequences of vice Appear I shall at present mention but these Three 1. That of our Reputation 2. Our Estates And 3. Our particular Callings 1. As to our Reputation in the World That I Confess is a very true and tender Point and most Men pretend to a more than ordinary Concern for it Nay there is hardly any Body so dissolute so void of all sense of Honour or Virtue but will express some kind of Resentment some Concern at least whenever that is Attacqu'd or Question'd And yet were that in truth as dear to some Men as they say it is certainly they would take more and better care of it than they do Had they such a desire to be well thought of in the World they would not surely expose themselves to Censure They would not transgress the rules of Decency Modesty and Sobriety nor break in upon the Obligations of Truth and Justice They would not Swear and Curse and Blaspheme and be guilty of the vilest Practices as they too commonly are Such Men perhaps may look great in their own Eyes and fancy themselves priviledg'd to do as they please But still while they demean themselves at this rate are sure to appear Contemptible to every Body else For as the wise Man rightly observes Who will Honour him that dishonoureth his own Life Many 't is certain there are who will talk much and loud of their Reputation and will assert it too sometimes very unreasonably but for all that are content to part with it almost at any Rate and as if they were weary of keeping it will Sacrifice it to the next Temptation that comes in their way Alas so little regard have Men now-a-days to their Reputation that they rather seem to put it to sale and for fear lest they should lose their Market are willing to let it go at any Price A small sum of Money or a thin gust of popular Breath or any the most sordid Vice is able to purchase it Some again are very shy and reserv'd in their outward Behaviour and while they suspect that others observe them are afraid to take the least step amiss These Men the better to conceal their ill Designs have put on a Mask of Piety a Form of Godliness but

must endeavour so to change our corrupt Nature as to become better Men and better Christians too than I doubt most of us are This is what we must all resolve to do because the very Nature of Happiness doth require it But if we will try other Experiments and will seek for Happiness in our own way we shall one day be convinc'd of our Mistake but then it will be too late to correct it Which brings me to the Second Thing I proposed to make out Viz. The gross Absurdity and unaccountable Folly of a wicked Life II. Every vicious ungodly Person is liable to the imputation of Folly and that because he puts a notorious Cheat a most shameful Abuse upon himself His whole design is to serve his Lusts to humour and gratifie his Senses He makes no account at all of his better Part nor shews any regard to the Dignity of his Nature He considers not what is Proper and Necessary for him to do but follows the motion of his Will and the byass of his deprav'd Inclination He hath made a blind and wretched Choice and is resolv'd to pursue it let the Issue and Consequence be what it will This is the way that the Wicked take and this their way in the Psalmist's Language is their Folly Psal 49. 13. For since Religion was design'd to make Men first Good and then Happy what greater Absurdity can there be than to indulge corrupt Nature and to place our Happiness in that which is our Reproach and our Danger too In the Account of the World that Man is generally reputed a Fool who Acts contrary to his plain visible Interests and that only in temporal Matters and the Affairs of this present Life If he manages these untowardly and to disadvantage there is no escaping the Censure of others How much rather then is he to be accounted such who wilfully deceives himself and quite mistakes his main Point I mean the Happiness and Salvation of his Soul Hence it is that wicked Men are so oft in Scripture branded with the reproachful Name of Fool. In one place they are said to be Children of Fools viler than the Earth Job 30. 8. The reason is because Sin by its tainting Quality doth debase them to the last degree of Vileness and Corruption And elsewhere 't is said Have all the workers of Iniquity no knowledge No Judgment nor Consideration of things And again Fools because of their Transgression and because of their Iniquities are afflicted Ps 107. 17. And Solomon tells us that 't is abomination to Fools to depart from Evil Prov. 13. 19. In all which and several other places we are to understand by Fool not the Idiot but the Sinner not the Natural but the wilful Fool one that Affects and Chuses to be such when he may be otherwise In short 't is the giddy rash unthinking Person he that rusheth blindly on and so considereth not in his Heart neither is there Knowledge nor Understanding in his Head It is this stupid senseless sort of Men upon whom the wise Prophet bestows this Character They have not known nor understood they have shut their Eyes that they cannot see and their Hearts that they cannot understand Isai 44. 18. This is a miserable State indeed but then it is every Man's fault and reproach too if he fall into it For since Happiness or Misery is sure to be our Portion hereafter accordingly as we demean our selves in this Life what egregious Folly is it if instead of pursuing our main Business and that for which we came into the World we only trifle away our time or which is worse spend it in an idle fruitless course of Sin and Vanity If we would act like Men and reasonable Creatures we must propose to our selves some End which if attain'd to may be sufficient to make us Happy Now 't is certain nothing can ever make us so but only the Service of God and the Practice of Holiness and Virtue We may try other Experiments if we please and so come to pay dear for our Folly at last But that is the approv'd certain and only infallible way which never yet deceiv'd any Man Reason and Knowledge and Understanding are all on the side of Religion and do all Recommend and Assert it Religion is the best and most valuable Enjoyment of all other 't is the great Rule of our Actions and the chief Ornament and Perfection of our Nature In a word 't is of that Importance to us in every Respect that we can neither be Wise nor Virtuous nor Happy without it Vain surely then are their pretences to Wisdom and Knowledge who know not God nor his Service nor his Laws For whatever else they may seem to understand yet if they are Ignorant or Regardless of these they can never deserve the title of Wise For to be Wise is to be Religious and consequently whoever thinks to arrive at Wisdom any other way is ingag'd in a Mistake which will effectually prove him to be a Fool in the End Again 2. Another Instance of the gross Ignorance and Folly of wicked Men is that fond mistaken Notion which most of them have entertain'd of worldly and sensual Delights 'T is here that their Hearts and Affections are ingag'd 't is here they expect to find not only their Ease but their Happiness too But what a shameful piece of self-deceit are these Men Guilty of and how wretchedly do they cheat and abuse themselves while they pursue these False Phantastical Pleasures these Imaginary Joys While for the sake of some beloved Sin some bosom darling Lust they not only lose all that peace and satisfaction of Mind which is certainly to be found in the ways of Virtue but moreover expose themselves to the stings and upbraidings of a guilty Conscience Which whenever it is thoroughly awaken'd as it will be one time or other is sure to vex and torment them For then the Pleasure whatever it was is vanish'd and gone and there remains nothing but trouble and disquiet horrour and remorse which so gall and distract their Minds that they know not which way to turn themselves None of their former Methods are now able to divert them neither the Amusements of Wit nor the Charms of Wine nor the Gaiety of Mirth can entertain or relieve them So true is that Observation which the Prophet Isaiah makes The wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest whose Waters cast up mire and dirt There is no Peace saith my God to the wicked But beside that inward regret and anguish which Sinners create to themselves and which gives such disturbance to their Minds how do they languish many times under bodily Pains and Diseases so that their bones are pierced in them in the Night-season and their Sinews take no rest Job 30. 17. As Job expresses it Thus one Man drinks himself into a Fever or a Dropsie another is tortur'd with the Gout or Stone and a Third pines a way