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	holy_a	scripture_n	5,721	5	6.0092	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36102	A discourse of the Holy Spirit his workings and impressions on the souls of men : with large additionals.	Sherlock, R. (Richard), 1612-1689.	1656 (1656)	Wing D1605; ESTC R203556	193,794	256

1. Cor. 1.24 Joh. 14 6. Joh. 1.5 and the sun of Righteousness Mal. 4.2 The storehouse of wisdome and knowledge Col. 1.19 The only mean of discovering unto us the knowledge of God without whom it is impossible to know God For no man hath seen God at any time the only begotten Son which is in the bosome of the Father he hath declared him Joh. 1.18 Wherefore is he termed the Word of God and the Wisdome of the Father the Way the Truth and the Life but by these and many more expressions besides these to signifie unto us that the knowledge of God and of his holy will is so fully by Christ revealed that here we must now six and not expect any further Revelations or new Lights to be discovered He looks beyond the Moon that looks for Revelations beyond Christ and what already stands upon record to be revealed by him There is no need to be curious after knowledge N●bis ●uri●sitate opus ●●n est p●st Christ●● Jesum nec inqu●sitione p●st ●●angeli●●n Cum ●●●d●●●● nil desider amus ult●a●●de●● Hee n. prius ●●dmus non esse quod ul●ra ●redere de●●amus Tert. de prae advers Haer. c. 8. since the Revelation of Jesus Christ saith Tertul. nor is there need of further search after Truth since we have found the Gospel where we beleeve in Christ we desire not to beleeve any thing beyond this belief for this we believe first of Christ and his Gospel that beyond this there is nothing ought to be believed 9. The Apostles of Christ had the honour after him to receive by immediate Revelation not any new Gospel but the right understanding firm remembrance and powerful publication of the Gospel of Christ All whose epistles and writings are as so many Commentaries and illustrations of the Gospel as the Prophets of old were of the Law And as Moses and the Prophets compleat the old so Christ and his Apostles compleat the canon of the new Testament which was ever received in all ages by the Church of Christ Qu●d prople●ae praec●●az●ve●unt p●rs●●●a Christus Apostoli tradiderūn a quibus ●eel●sia accipiens per universu● mundum sela bene cust●d● as tradidit filiis Iren. l. 5. advers Haer. as the Rule of Faith and summary of divine Revelation So Irenaeus What the Prophets foretold Christ hath perfected and his Apostles have delivered from whom the Church through the whole world dispersed receiving the same hath delivered it to her sons the true Members of the Church Catholick all which must undoubtedly believe and professe with the rest of the family we are built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Jesus Christ himself being the head corner stone Eph. 2.20 And here it cannot be either impertinent or unprofitable to observe in what respects sometimes Christ and sometimes his Apostles are said to be the foundation we are built upon 1. Christ is called the Foundation 1 Cor. 3.11 Primarily as he is the fountain of all Revealed Truths originally they flow from him for no man hath seen the Father but the Son Joh. 1.18 and he to whom the Son hath revealed him The prophets and Apostles are the soundation too Secondarily from and under Christ as his Stewards 1 Cor. 4.1 Ambassadors 2 Cor. 5.20 Workmen together with but under Christ 2 Cor. 6.1 2. Christ is the Foundation as upon whose doctrine and example life and death the faith of the whole Church is setled and their salvation fixed for there is no other name under heaven in whom there is salvation but the name of Jesus Act. 4.12 The Prophets and Apostles are the foundation ministerially as they are the Administrators of this faith and salvation which is in Christ the Prophets more obscurely the Apostles more clearly delivering it unto us Christ is as 't were the acceptable year of the Lord Clem. Rec. l. 4. having his twelve Apostles as the twelve moneths which compleat and fill up the year Christ is Alpha and Omega the beginning and end of all divine Revelation the end of the Law the beginning of the Gospel the Supplement of the Prophets and the whole Tenor of the Apostles preaching even the corner stone in whom both Law and Gospel Prophets and Apostles meet or the centre in whom they are conjoyned And in this center we must fix our faith having found Christ as by his Prophets and Apostles he hath revealed himself unto us Joh. 14.6 we must seek no further He is the way the truth and the life Let us not seek any new waies or new Truths lest being misled by the Spirit of Error we wander in the by-waies of death and ruine Tert. de virg v●land The canon or Rule of our faith saith Tertullian is one alone immovable and not possible to be better framed anew And what Rule this is he sheweth by rehearsing the Articles of the Christian Faith and Irenaeus before his time Pren. advers Haeres l. 1 2. 3. The Church though scattered through the whole world unto the uttermost borders of the earth hath received from the Apostles and their Disciples what to believe The parts of which belief he also writeth the same in substance with Tertullian and thereupon infers This Faith the Church spread far and wide preserveth as if one house did contain them Similiter n. fides nostra Revelationi Apostolis Prophetis factae qui canenicos libros scripserunt non a. revelationi si qua suit alits doctoribus factae Aquin. 1 p. sum q. 2. Art 8. ad s●cund These things it equally embraceth as though it had one common soul one heart and no more It publisheth teacheth and delivereth these things with uniform consent as if God had given it but one only tongue wherewith to speak He which amongst the Guides of the Church is best able to speak uttereth no more then this and lesse then this the most simple doth not utter i.e. when they make profession of their Faith And to conclude this second General Our Faith saith the Schoolman depends and is grounded upon that divine Revelation which those Prophets and Apostles received which wrote the canonical books of holy Scripture and not upon any other Revelation if ever there were any such received by any other learned or holy persons whatsoever Non n. novis Revelationibus nunc regitur c. The Chuch is not now guided by any Revelations but persists and perseveres in those things which the Prophets and Apostles have revealed and delivered unto us who were the Ministers of the word revealed CHAP. VIII Of the necessity of learning as to the understanding of Gods revealed will in his word AS God hath graciously pleas'd in his holy Word to reveal himself unto us The 2. General Deut. 17.19 1 Tim. 4.13 Rev. 1.3 2 Tim. 2.15 1 Tim. 5.17 so he hath commanded us to read study and labour in this word that the light of divine Revelation therein may

1. His written Word 2. Those several means and helps forementioned both divine and humane outward and inward for the right understanding of his Word by the blessing of God and the secret influence of his holy Spirit upon our studies and meditations therein laies himself open to manifold temptations and dangerous seductions of the spirit of error and delusion and as much as in him lies subverts the very foundation of the holy Christian Faith for hereupon these destructive inconveniencies must needs ensue 1. The canon of holy Scripture is transgrest and dissolv'd by the superaddition of new Revelations and the authority of Gods Word is made null and void that must passe for a dead letter when the fictitious dreams and delusions of every idle enthusiastical brain under the mask of Revelations shall be mistaken and miscalled too The quickning Spirit And he that sets up any thing of Religion to the dishonour of holy Scriptures Opta● l. 3. 1. saith the Father he doth adificium de ruina construere erect a building upon the ruines of Gods truth and such a building can be no better but an heap of errors and deceits For what will not he dare to affirm and hold who holds any thing besides or above or but equal to the Word of God for the Rule of Faith Hereupon the Resurrection hath been denied and the last judgement and the necessity of all holy just and good works the necessary consequences of these points of our faith for he that believes not the Resurrection and last judgement Quid boni aut veri what holy Truth will he care to believe or what good action will he make conscience to practise 2. He opposes himself to the doctrine of the universal Church of Christ for 1600 years together who with one unanimous and common consent have received the holy Scriptures as the very canon of Faith without addition or diminution without ever hoping or waiting for any new Revelations to be superadded thereunto and very good reason sure if that dismal curse wherewith the canon of holy Scripture is concluded have any influence upon the mindes of men Rev. 22.18.19 If any man adde unto these things God shall adde unto him the plagues that are written in this book c. 3. And more particularly he makes void all those commandements of God to search the Scriptures to hear read meditate and study and delight our selves in the Lawes of God For all immediate Revelation of Gods will presupposes the knowledge of the truth without any search study c. The contempt or neglect of which duty hath sad and heavie judgements threatned thereunto as Jer. 9.13 c. And the Lord saith Because they have forsaken my Law which I set before them And have walked after the imagination of their own heart I will seed them with wormwood and give them water of gall to drink I will scatter them among the heathen c. with manifold texts to the same purpose both in the old and new Testament as Prov. 13.13 28.9 Psal 81.11 12. Zach. 7.12.13 Joh. 5.45 46. 12.48 4. He makes void and unnecessary the sacred function of the Priesthood or Ministery which God hath in all ages ordained and setled in his Church as to mediate with God for the people so to instruct the people from God And this sacred office God hath both confirmed by miracles and by testimony of his blessings ordinary and extraordinary and guarded the same by many direful threatnings denounced and many heavie judgements inflicted upon such as have or shal sacrilegiously violate infringe or usurp this office or neglect refuse or contemn to hear the word of God in the mouthes of his Prophets and faithful Ministers See amongst many other places Jer. 5.12 c. Because the people belied the Lord and said It is not he when he spake by his Prophet And because they said moreover The Prophets shall become ●inde and the word is not in them Therefore thus saith the Lord Because ye speak this word I will make my words in thy mouth fire and this people wood and it shall devour them And to the same purpose Jer. 6.10 11 12. Mat. 10.14 15. Luk. 10.11 12. 5. All pretence to immediate Revelation lords it over the faith of our Christian brethren For an immediate Revelation commands an immediate belief and blinde obedience without any further fearch or trial at all contrary to those expresse commands 1 Joh. 4.1 Beleeve not every spirit but try the spirits 1 Thess 5.21 Prove all things hold fast that which is good or agreeable to the word of God but reject that which is not so and hold for accursed the publishers and promoters thereof Gal. 1.8 Though we or an Angel from heaven should preach unto you another Gospel besides what ye have received let him be accursed 6. The faith of the Enthusiast if it may be called a faith and not rather an illusion of his fancy is not built upon the same grounds with the faith of Christs Church which is the pillar and ground of truth the Church is built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles Jesus Christ himself being the head corner stone Eph. 2.20 i. e. what the Prophets of the Old Testament and the Apostles of the New have revealed to be the doctrine of salvation in Christ is the foundation which the faith of all true Christians is built upon But the Enthusiasts faith is not built upon old but upon new Revelations not upon what is revealed already through the mediation of the Prophets and Apostles and communicated by their successors but upon what shall be immediately revealed from heaven and this groundless ground of faith is opposed to that which is the true ground of faith indeed and made of equal authority therewith so that upon this ground every private mans sayings and affirmations are of as great authority and as much to be regarded as the divinely inspired sayings of the Prophets and Apostles and this must needs be so were there any truth in mens p●etended Revelations for undoubtedly we owe as much faith reverence and obedience to every Revelation from heaven how mean soever the person be that receives it as we do to any part of Gods Word already revealed though by the greatest Patriarch or Prophet that ever lived upon earth 7. All dependence upon new Revelations laies a secret stain of dishonour upon God and this in two respects 1. That God notwithstanding his several methods of divine Revelation by the Patriarchs and Prophets of old by his own Son Jesus Christ and his Apostles in these last daies should yet be defective in making known to his people the waies of his service and of their own salvation 2. All pretence to new lights and Revelations makes God the Father of Lights with whom is no variablenesse or shadow of change to vary and change his minde as oft as the fickle and deceitful mindes of men do alter Nay thus God