Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	canonical_a	church_n	receive_v	6,086	5	6.1495	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66429	The truth of the Holy Scriptures a sermon preached at St. Martin's in the Fields, April 1, 1695 : being the fourth of the lecture for this present year, founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esquire / by John Williams ...	Williams, John, 1636?-1709.	1695 (1695)	Wing W2736; ESTC R7718	13,649	37

D r WILLIAMS's FOURTH SERMON AT Mr. BOYLE'S Lecture 1695. IMPRIMATUR April 1. 1695. Guil. Lancaster The Truth of the Holy Scriptures A SERMON Preached at St. Martin's in the Fields April 1. 1695. BEING THE Fourth of the LECTURE For this present YEAR Founded by the Honourable ROBERT BOYLE Esquire By JOHN WILLIAMS D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to His Majesty LONDON Printed for Ri. Chiswell and Tho. Cockerill Sen r Jun r At the Rose and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard and at the Three Legs in the Poultrey M DCXC V. HEB. I. 1 2. God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son c. IN these words there is contained as I have before shewed 1. A description of Revelation 't is God's speaking 2. The Certainty of it 't is by way of declaration God who at sundry times c. 3. The Order observed in delivering this Revelation it was at sundry times c. 4. The perfection and conclusion of all 't is in these last days by his Son Under the Second I have shewed 1. That God has actually revealed his Will at sundry times and in divers manners 2. What are the Characters of true Revelation 3. I am now in order to prove that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament do contain the Matter of Divine Revelation and have upon them the Characters belonging to it For the better disposing of what I have to say under this Head of Discourse I shall observe 1. 'T is one thing to assert and prove the matter of Scripture to be true and another to prove it to be of Divine Revelation 2. 'T is one thing to prove the matter of Scripture to be of Divine Revelation and another to prove these Books to be of Divine Inspiration 3. 'T is one thing to assert that there were once such Books so inspired and another thing to prove this Set of Books which now make up and compose the Canon of the Old and New Testament to be those very Books From hence arise Four Questions viz. Quest 1. How we can prove the Matter of Scripture to be true Q. 2. How we can prove the Matter of Scripture to be of Divine Revelation Books of mere Human Composition may contain nothing but Truth without any Supernatural Assistance and therefore though we were never so well able to maintain and prove the Truth of the Matter that is not sufficient unless we can advance higher and prove the Authority and Divinity of the Matter Q. 3. How we can prove those Books to be of Divine Inspiration The Epistle of Clemens Romanus was sometime read in the Church as the Apocrypha anciently was and is now with us because of the Excellency and Profitableness of the Matter but yet it was not esteemed to be Canonical and of immediate Inspiration from God Q 4. How we prove these Books that are now extant and received by the Christian Church as Canonical to be those Books which were once in time past wrote by Inspiration from God It will be of some use to us in the prosecution of this Argument to consider the First Question concerning the Truth of the Matter of Scripture by it self and apart from the Divine Authority of it Now the Matter of Scripture is of various nature such as Morality Doctrinal Revelation Institution Prophecy and History Of which the greatest part will be here set aside For it is not necessary to prove the Truth of the Moral part of it which is no other than the Dictate of Nature and therefore though explain'd confirmed and illustrated in Scripture by many useful Rules Principles and Observations needs no proof That of Doctrine and Institution falls in with the Divine Authority and so belongs to the Second Question Prophecy if yet to be accomplished is not capable of other proof than Revelation and if already fulfilled by the Event following and correspondent to the Prediction it is the proof of it self So that the Part now remaining to be proved more especially is Scripture History which is a Relation of matter of Fact of what has happened been declared or done in the several Periods and Ages of the World for Four thousand Years together and upwards Under which Notion I do not question but it may be made appear That there is more to be said for the truth of Scripture-History than for any thing of that kind in the whole World I don't question again but it may be made appear that no Authors had greater advantages for Information in the Subjects they treat of nor were there ever any Writings that bore upon them more ample marks of Ability Impartiality and Care So that if after all that is to be suspected nothing of that kind is certain and we call in question all matters of the like nature whatsoever But this is further to be inquired into Now of this kind there are some things to be found only in Scripture and no where else In which case we have no other way to judge of the truth of it than by the Credibility of the matter the Self-agreement its Concordance with time place and other circumstances of Action together with the Credit and Reputation of the Pen-men of it But there are other things which fall in with other Writings and then besides the former way of trial we are to have recourse to such Books to compare them and determine concerning the truth by such a comparison So that we have three sorts of Proof before us or so many Characters by which we may judge concerning the Truth of what the Scripture relates viz. 1. The Credibility of the Matter therein revealed 2. Self consistence and Self agreement 3. It s concordance with other Books of good and sufficient Authority where such there are And if this be made out we have as much Evidence for the Truth of Scripture as is possible to have in our circumstances and where the Matters related were transacted in place and time far remote from us For all the Evidence we can have is to be resolved into Testimony and that Testimony into the Credibility of the Relators or of the Matters related And if we have as much Evidence of this kind as the nature of the thing will bear and admit we have as much as is reasonable in it self and sufficient to ground a certainty upon For according as the nature of the thing is and the ground upon which its Proof and Evidence depends such is the Certainty And as in things Mathematical Demonstration is the Proof and in things Natural and Sensible Sense is the Proof and in things Rational and Moral Reason and Argument are the Proof so in Matters of Fact where we our selves are not present Testimony and Records are the Proof though for a further confirmation of it there is the collateral proof of Moral Evidence viz. the credibility of the Matter