Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	believe_v	church_n	faith_n	3,375	5	5.6334	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A56696	A sermon preached before the king, on the second Sunday in Advent, Decemb. viii, 1678 by Symon Patrick ...	Patrick, Simon, 1626-1707.	1678 (1678)	Wing P841; ESTC R7087	16,535	44

our Saviour sayes in the New Testament Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek turn to him the other also And if a man take away thy Coat let him have thy Cloak also v. Matth. 39 40. Are not these things opposite I answer with St. Austin who hath made an excellent Reply to this Cavil both in his Book against Adimantus * Cap. VIII and against Faustus † Lib. XIX cap. 25. to this effect These things discover no contrariety in the two Testaments but only the different degrees of their perfection For there being two degrees of Meekness and Forbearance the first that the Grief of the injured person do not provoke him to seek a revenge beyond the measure of the damage that was done him the second that the injured person pardon and pass by the whole wrong though grievous to him with a peaceable and appeased mind the Old Testament as less perfect preserved carnal men within the bounds of the first degree of Patience and kept them from extending their revenge too far but the New Testament as more perfect advances spiritual men to the most excellent degree of a plenary remission without any revenge at all So that even from such passages as these we learn you see how much we are indebted to God for a greater abundance of his Grace than he bestowed in former times Which should raise us as to a greater degree of gratefull Love to him so to a more excellent degree of Piety and Vertue to which He intends to improve us by this New Revelation he hath made of his good will to us in Christ Jesus And that is part of the use we may make of what hath been said If we may learn so much from those Books which were written aforetime in the dayes of old before the Coming of our Saviour into the World what may we do from those which were written since his appearing who is the very Wisdom of God the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father and hath declared him unto us They prescribe us a more rational Service of Almighty God and raise us to a higher pitch of brotherly Love and teach us greater Purity of Body and Mind and press all these upon us by more perfect Examples and by more excellent Motives especially by the blessed hope of Immortal Life which if we have any sense of our own dearest Interest we ought to embrace and to hold fast as it is in the Collect for this day being willing to do and to suffer any thing that God would have us rather than lose so great so incomparable a good Which the more we think of the more it attracts us to it and holds us fast in its embraces as a perfect satisfaction to all our desires But from that Consideration we may take occasion also to reflect how injurious they are to Christian People to whom God hath been so bountiful who forbid them without their leave to meddle with these holy Books wherein their Hope of Immortal Life is contained Nay make a severe Inquisition after them that dare be so bold as to have in their own Language a Copy of the Will and Testament of their blessed Saviour or if you please so to call it of that Deed of Grace whereby he hath conveyed to them the Eternal Inheritance S. Peter indeed 1 Epist ii 9. honours all Christians so much as to call them a chosen Generation a royal Priesthood a holy Nation a peculiar People But they who pretend to succeed him use them as if they were no better than base Slaves nay vile Beasts who are not fit to be entrusted with this Liberty and enjoy the Priviledge of hearing God himself speaking to them in his holy Gospel No there is a Caution in the Law saith Innocent the third that if a Beast touch the Mountain it shall be stoned from thence concluding that the simple and unlearned should not meddle with the Subtilty of Holy Writ And herein we agree with him that from all Subtilties and curious Inquiries every body ought to abstain But we are not satisfied that He or any man else hath Authority to compare the People of God to Beasts As others among them have done in a most scornfull manner when they prove from hence that the People must not read the Scriptures because we must not cast that which is holy to Dogs nor throw Pearls before Swine This is very rude Language but the Authors are well known who have spoken thus contemptuously of the Flock of Christ whom he calls his Sheep but they call Dogs and Swine and thereby debased Christians below the most blockish Jews who did never so abuse their Holy Books as to forfeit the liberty of Reading them which they challenge and use as a Right belonging to all at this very day What Reason can be given for such unworthy Treatment of those whom the Apostles so highly esteemed and spake of with so much respect but only this that they see there is such a manifest disagreement between them and the Scriptures that their Errours would be in danger to be detected by the simplest people if they should be permitted to come into this light And here let me note that such guides are faln into a contrary errour to that of the Manichees of which I have now treated They do not say that the Books of the Old Testament are superfluous and unnecessary but that they and the Books of the New Testament to boot are defective and imperfect and that their defects must be supplied out of such Traditions as they propound to our belief But among opposite Errours the causes of erring are commonly the same as the great Philosopher observes and is very true in this case For though there be several wayes the Enemy of mankind hath taken to compass his design of bringing the Scriptures into disgrace and setting up the inventions of men instead of them or in Conjunction with them yet the reason still is one and the same which is that the holy Scriptures are not for his turn he cannot deceive men so easily if they keep close to this hold Which is a strong hold indeed and comprehends all that we need to know or believe or do to which nothing need nothing ought to be added as necessary to our Salvation According to that peremptory resolution of St. Austin in his third Book against Petilians Letters Chapt. vi Whether it be about Christ or about his Church or about any other thing whatsoever that belongs to Faith or to our Life I will not say we who are by no means to be compared with him that said licet nos although we but as he presently adds if an Angel from Heaven shall declare to you any thing besides that which you have received in Scripturis Legalibus Evangelicis in the Scriptures of the Law and the Gospel let him be accursed To which let me add this notable sentence of S. Basil the