Six Sermons Preached at St. Peter-Le-Bailey Church, Oxford, to Which Are Added, Prayers for Particular Occasions (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1852. Excerpt: ... able of themselves to help us one step on our way. "If any man speak/' said the Apostle, "let him speak as the oracles of God," i.e. as they speak and not otherwise--any man, anywhere--how much more they who are ambassadors for God, as though God did beseech men by them. "He," says Bishop Mac Ilvaine, "who magnifies his office as God's messenger, and knows the worth of his own soul, and seeks earnestly the souls of his hearers, and would preach not as man's wisdom teacheth but according to that which is from above, will not venture one step beyond what he is persuaded may be concluded and proved by the Scripture, knowing that he cannot by any other means compass the doing of so great a work, except with doctrine and exhortation taken out of the Holy Scriptures. The seed he is to sow in his field must be given him of the great husbandman. To that only will God give the increase. From that only can we expect fruit. To sow any other, and to expect from it righteousness, is no wiser than "to look for grapes of thorns or figs of thistles." Even the unrighteous prophet Balaam was so afraid of not speaking as the oracles of God, as to say, "If Balak would give me his house full "of silver and gold I cannot go beyond the "commandment of the Lord; what the Lord "saith that will I speak." And in order to secure this constant reference to Scripture, the only fountain of heavenly wisdom--as the basis of everything that is taught or preached--as of importance to man's salvation, all ministers of the Church of England declare their firm persuasion that the Holy Scriptures contain sufficiently all doctrine required of necessity for eternal salvation through faith in Christ Jesus, and their determination out of the same Scriptures to instruct the people committed to thei...