A27004:1089
The reasons of the Christian religion the first part, of godliness, proving by natural…
The reasons of the Christian religion the first part, of godliness, proving by natural evidence the being of God ... : the second part, of Christianity, proving by evidence supernatural and natural, the certain truth of the Christian belief ... / by Richard Baxter ... ; also an appendix defending the soul's immortality against the Somatists or Epicureans and other pseudo-philosophers.
London: printed by R. White for Fran. Titon, 1667
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
§. 17. And every temptation from present pleasure, commodity or honour, will be like to prevail, while the love of God, and the happiness to come, are so dark and doubtful, to guilty, misgiving ignorant Souls.
§. 18. Nor can I see by Nature how a sinner can live comfortably in the world, for want of clearer assurance of his future happiness.
For if he do but say as poor Seneca, Cicero, and others such. [Its most like that there is another life for us, but we are not sure] it will both abate their comfort in the fore-thoughts of it, and tempt them to venture upon present pleasure, for fear of losing all: And if they were never so confident of the life to come, and had no assurance of their own part in it, as not knowing whether their sins be pardoned, still their comfort in it would be small. And the world can give them no more than is proportionable to so small and momentany a thing.
§. 19. Nor do I see in Nature any full and suitable support against the pain and fears of sufferings and death, while ⟨p. 198⟩