Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	call_v	read_v	time_n	2,303	5	3.3198	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12350	A fruitfull sermon vpon part of the 5. chapter of the first epistle of Saint Paule to the Thessalonians. By Henry Smith, which sermon being taken by characterie, is now published for the benefite of the faithfull	Smith, Henry, 1550?-1591.	1591 (1591)	STC 22665; ESTC S113466	14,732	47

doctrine This made Iohn say Trie the Spirites and therefore wee reade in the 17. of the Acts howe the men of Beroea woulde not receiue Paules doctrine before they had tried it and how did they trye it It is sayde that they Searched the Scripture that is the way which Paul would teach you to trye other euen as he was tryed himselfe wherby you may see that if you vse to reade the Scriptures you shall bee able to trie all doctrines for the word of GOD is the touchstone of euery thing like the Light which God made to illuminate all his creatures so is the Scripture to decide all questions euery doubt must come to the worde and all controuersies must be ended at this tribunall the Scripture must speake which is right and which is wrong which is truth and which is error and all tongues must keepe silence to heare it So GOD hath appointed that the iudge of our controuersies which he saith in the 12. of Iohn shall iudge vs in the last day Heere a man may aske if it be so that God would haue vs trye all our Religion by the Scripture and not by Fathers nor by Doctors nor by Counsels nor by Angell nor by Pope how then doe the Papists say we must beleeue as the Church beleeueth and neuer looke into the Scripture whether our teachers saye as God saith but take it vpon theyr credite as a blinde man eateth his meate a man tryeth his horse which must beare him and shall he not trye his faith which must saue him Peter saith Let euerie one bee able to giue a reason of his faith Is this a reason to saye I beleeue so because Rome beleeueth so or rather because the Worde of GOD dooth teach me so It will not bee an auailable aunswere for them which dye in heresie superstition or blindnesse to saye the Priestes taught vs so no more than it serued the first woman Eue to saye the Serpent taught her so for GOD saith Bee not deceiued neither by Serpent nor by Prophet nor by Angell Therefore I conclude with the Apostle Paule Despise not Prophecying least the Gospell bee taken away from you and yet trie Prophecying least you receiue errour for trueth and mens dreames for doctrine As wee are to trye doctrines so Paule woulde haue vs to trie our thoughts and speeches and our actions therefore hee sayth Trye all thinges Hee dooth not bid vs take a taste of all sinnes and vanities as Salomon did to trye them for they are tryed alreadie but that we shoulde set the Worde of GOD alway before vs like a rule and beleeue nothing but that alone which it teacheth loue nothing but that which it prescribeth hate nothing but that which it forbiddeth and doe nothing but that which it commaundeth and then wee Trie all thinges by the Worde of GOD. As the Eunuch sayde Howe shoulde I vnderstande without an Interpreter so thou maist say howe shall I trie without the Worde which is the touchstone of good and euill Nowe when wee haue tryed by the Worde of God which is trueth and which is errour which is light and which is darknes what shoulde we doe then Keepe that which is best That is stay at the trueth stay at the light as the wise men that followed the conduction of the bright shining starre from the East stayed when they came to Christ We must keepe and holde fast the trueth euen as a man gripeth a thing strongly with both his hands that is defend it with thy tongue maintaine it with thy purse further it with thy labour in daunger and trouble and losse and displeasure come life come death think alwaies as Christ did seale the trueth of his promise with his blood most precious so thou must seale the trueth of thy professiō with thy deerest blood else is it apparant thou doost not keepe it but let it goe Well therfore dooth Paul put trye before choose for he which in choise of all things first tryeth may after his tryall choose the best But hee which chooseth before he trye takes oftentimes the worst sooner than he dooth the best And in this was exceedingly manifested the notable deceit of sathan by his instrumēts the popish Priests in the dayes of ignorance who because the people should take superstition before Religion would neuer let them haue the touchstone of the Word to trye their doctrines but kept them from the Scripture and lockt it vp from their vnderstanding in an vnknowne tongue which they could not skill of least they shoulde trye their teaching as the men of Beroea tryed the wholsome doctrine of S. Paule and by their sleights making all their Religion a craft as men call their trades for in no deceiuable trade howe full of falshood soeuer could more deceit be harboured than in theirs Therefore as Iosiah reioyced in his time that the booke of GOD was sound againe so we may reioyce in these dayes that the booke of God is found againe for when the people might not read it nor heare it it was all one to them as if they had for so long time vtterly lost it After this precept of the Apostle Trye all things and keepe the best hee addeth Abstaine from all appearance of euill as if hee shoulde say that is like to bee best which is so farre deuided from euill that it hath not so much as the appearance of euill and that is like to bee trueth which is so farre from errour that it hath not the shewe of errour whereby hee sheweth that nothing should bee brought into the Church or added in matters of faith and doctrine to our Religion but that which is agreeable and consonant to the vndoubted trueth and vtterly without suspicion of errour It is not inough to bee perswaded of our faith but wee must be assured of it for our Religion is not built vppon wauering and inconstant doubtes but vppon most assured certaine knowledge Heere we may maruaile why Paul biddeth vs Abstaine from all appearance of euill because it is apparant that sinne and heresie and superstition are hypocrites and common experience approoueth that sinne hath the appearance of vertue heresie hath the appearance of Trueth Superstition hath the appearance of Religion but let our wonder heerein be thus aunswered By this the Apostle dooth note that there is no sinne nor heresie nor superstition but if the visour or vaile bee remooued or rather taken away from it which maketh it seeme vertue or trueth or Religion it will appeare in the right nature to be a sinne and heresie and superstition though at the first sight the maske or visour doe make it seeme none because it couers the euill like a painted Sepulcher vpon rotten bones Heereby we are taught prudently to iudge of all thinges as they are and not as in outward appearance they seeme to bee and as wee drawe aside the curtaine before we beholde the picture so