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
A76232	Ēh probolē tēs alētheias or The bul-warke of truth, being a treatise of God, of Jesus Christ, of the Holy Ghost, and of the Trinity in unity, against atheists and hereticks. / By Robert Bayfeild.	Bayfield, Robert, b. 1629.; Faithorne, William, 1616-1691, engraver.	1657 (1657)	Wing B1468; Thomason E1636_3; ESTC R209045	111,248	263

the writings of the Heathens and to transport them as Salomon did the wood of Lebanon for the building of Gods house and the gold of Ophir to make the Temple of Jerusalem the more glorious from the pr●●h●ne use of the first Authors unto the divine edifying of Gods Church Besides It is the cleerest evidence in the world that can be produced to convince any man when hee is made a party in the proofe a witnesse in his own case and a Judge against himselfe For what can any Gentile object for himselfe against us that hee doth not beleeve in Jesus Christ when he perceiveth our truth confirmed and himselfe convicted out of the learning of the Gentiles what can the Philosopher say when hee seeth himselfe confuted by Philosophy Job 15.5.6 or what testimony can a Jew require better then a proof produced out of his owne Cabballs and Talmud and therefore as Eliphaz saith of vain boasters that their own words condemne them so humane arts being divine gifts wee may lawfully use them to cut off Goliahs head with his owne sword or to beat down Hercules with his own club that is to confute the Gentiles out of the learning of the Gentiles and so we finde that not only in former times the Prophets Apostles and Fathers of the primitive Church have practised the same course but also in later times Aquinas Mornaeu● Doctor Fotherby late Bishop of Salisbury and diverse others have out of Trismegistus Homer Plato Aristotle Cicero and the rest of the Gentile Doctors confuted the superstitions of the Heathens and confirmed the truth of Christian Religion Secondly Against the wicked and cursed hereticks I have used the sacred scripture whose excellency above all humane learning I shal breifly set forth and conclude Such is the excellency of scripture-learning which containeth in it florem delibatum the flower and very Quintessence of soule-saving wisdome that wee may say of it as the Philosopher sometimes spake concerning the knowledge of the soule of man Aristotle de a● l. 1. praf antiq lect praestatpauculo ex meliore scientia degustasse quam de ignobiliore multa A small and dim knowledge of it is to be valued far above a greater measure of cleerer insight in any other science For the inspired scriptures is the infallible rule of Faith the unmoveable ground of Hope the perfect guide of Life the soules store-house of Provision the spirituall Magazeen of Munition the sacred fewell of Devotion the divine subject of Contemplation and the everlasting spring of celestiall consolation It is as saint Gregory saith like the deepest Ocean wherein the greatest Elephant may finde sea room enough to swim and yet never sound the depth thereof and like the shallowest foord wherein the silliest Lamb may easily wade without any danger of drowning And as Fulgentius saith Fulgent Ser. de confess Habet quod robustu● comedat quod parvulus sugat Basil in Psalmum primum it hath strong meat for the best stomacks and sweet Milke for the tenderest babes It is a pavoury of wholesome food against feigned Traditions a Phisitians shop against poysoned heresies a pandect of profitable Lawes against rebellious spirits a treasury of most costly Jewells agaist beggerly rudiments and it is wisdome without folly to direct us riches without poverty to honour us and strength without weaknesse to maintain us For that it will instruct us in life comfort us in death and glorifie us in heaven The canonicall bookes of the Old and New Testament are exact Maps of the heavenly Canaan drawne by the Pencill of Holy Ghost the authenticall records of the Church the deeds of Almighty God and Evidences of mans salvation Yea The arguments to prove the divinity of scriptures are the venerable antiquity matchless majesty lively efficacy beautifull harmony incomparable purity invincible perennity and continuance of them mauger the injury and iniquity of times and Tyrants who have sought to suppresse them Besides the confirmation by miracles confession of Martyrs destruction of oppugners fulfilling of prophesies consent of Churches yea assent of adversaries As first of hereticks who in oppugning of scriptures do yet alledge scripture to their owne utter destruction 2 Pet. 3.16 Secondly of Jewes Gods Library Keepers as Saint Augustine calls them who studiously read and curiously kept the Bookes of the old Testament by a singular providence of God for our benefit and behoof Thirdly many heathens being convinced in their consciences have sealed to the truth of the scripture by their testimonies and confessed them to be divine for Porphyry testifieth that Moses hath written the history of the Law truly and Numenius the Pythagorist recites Moses's history almost word forword testifying that he was a great Divine But we have better testimonies even the holy scriptures themselves which do not only establish our faith 1 Pet. 3.15 Isa 1.18 Eze. 18.25.29 but also instruct our Reason furnishing us with arguments rationally to prove their truth to be sacred and their authority divine Yea further The scripture is proved to be the word of God by the Majesty of it which besides the stately plainesse of the stile far surpasseth the creatures capacity the fathom of flesh and reach of reason There is no jot or tittle of of it that savours of earthlinesse Every word of Gods mouth is pure precious and profitable not a syllable superfluous The very majesty of the sentence is such as cannot be conceived and yet it s alwaies more powerfull in matter then in words Humane writings may shew some faults to be avoided but give no power to amend them What words of Philosophers could ever make of a Leopard a Lambe of a Viper a Child of a Lecher a chast man of a Nabal a Nadib or of a covetous carle a liberall person Philosophy may civilize not sanctifie hide some sins not heal them cover not cure them But the efficacy and virtue of the scripture is such that it produceth the love of God and our enemies it purifieth the heart pacifieth the conscience rectifieth the whole both constitution and conversation of man yea it taketh him off from the delights of the world and the flesh maketh him glory in afflictions sing in the flames and triumph over death All these and more do necessarily conclude the divine verity and authority of the sacred scriptures Moreover if we will open our eyes to see and bring our Judgement to discern we may soon perceive that besides the truth of scripture which will admit no comparison with any writings there is more learning in Moses then in all the learned men of the Gentiles more Rhetorick in Esayas Prophesies then in all Tullies Orations more Logick in Saint Paules Epistles then in all Aristotles Analiticks there is sweeter musick in King David then in all the Lyrick Poets of the heathen there is better Philosophy in Job then in all the Philosophers of Greece there is truer Morality in Salomon then can be

Η ΠΡΟΒΟΛΗ ΤΗΣ ΑΛΗΘΕΙΑΣ OR The BUL-WARKE of TRUTH BEING A Treatise of God of Jesus Christ of The Holy Ghost and of the Trinity in Unity against Atheists and Hereticks By ROBERT BAYFEILD 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Serapis ad Thulem Magna est veritas praevalebit Tertull. Veritas laborare potest vinci non potest Hier. Dialog adversus Pelag. For we can do nothing against the Truth but for the Truth 2 Cor. 13.8 Him that is an Heretick after the 〈…〉 s●●o●d admonition reject Tit. 3.10 LONDON Printed by T.R. for Edw. Dod. at the sign of the Gun in Ivy-Lane 1657. Vera Effigies Roberti Bayfeild Aetat Suae 27. A PREPARATORY Advertisement to the READER Dear Christian Reader AFter I had finished and put forth my Enchiridion medicum containing the causes signes cures of all those diseases which do cheifly affect the body of man my thoughts ran upon some second worke whereby I might benefit my Country but whilst I was thinking upon what subject to pitch I hapned into the company of certain Atheists and Hereticks who by their blasphemous discourse quite altered the streame of my intentions and instead of another phisicall peece put me upon these sublime p●i●●●f divinity Indeed it is a truth not more deplorable then manifest that this our Island which may justly contend with most parts of the Earth for the priority of Conversion to Christianisme and might not many yeares since have challenged the Garland from the whole for the orthodox zealous and sincere profession thereof hath of late produced and doth at this unhappy day foster more swarmes of Hereticall and Atheisticall monsters then any age then any Nation hath been infested withall such at least whose licentious practices and insolent discourses in publick do equally declare their wilde Ambition to be so accounted as if the onely way to acquire the Reputation of being Transcendent Wits were to seem able with bold and specious arguments to impugne the greatest and most sacred verities Yea these proud Wits and curious heads are so extreamly in love with their own shadowes and do so highly admire their owne conceits that they despise all the understanding and learning of other men and as Saint Bernard saith do thinke Nusquam lucere solem nisi in cella sua That all knowledge must live and dye with them For the Devill saith in every heresie in every errour Ego sum Christus apud me est veritas I am Christ and the truth is only here with me as Athanasius sheweth against the Arrians Athanas orat 1 contra Arrianos Alexander Episcopas Alexander in Ep. ad Alexand. Constantinop And Alexander Bishop of Alexandria writing to the Bishop of Constantionople of the transcendent pride and disdain of the Arrians saith Neminem volunt ex antiquis patribus sibi comparari ne unum quidem collegarum nostrorum vel ad mediocrem sapientiam pervenisse censent sed solos se sapientes sibi solis patefacta esse mysteria arbitrantur veritatis That they thinke none of the ancient fathers to be comparable to themselves that none of them which are contrary to their tenents have attained to any measure of wisdome and that they alone are wise and have the mysteries of truth revealed unto them And therefore this despising of other mens knowledge added to that high conceite which they have of their own is the cause they persist in those errours which their pride and ignorance have most impiously hatcht to the spoiling and destroying of themselves and others Alas it is sad lamentable to consider how multitudes of people are led away into dangerous fearfull errors by these cursed and hereticall monsters who come unto them in sheeps cloathing that is a religious habit like zealous and holy Christians For they have many times more works of piety charity then many of the most orthodoxall professors of the Faith their Almes-deeds are many their Prayers frequent and the strictnesse of their life might seeme to proceed from Angelicall hearts but in all this they cannot be sayd to be vertuous because these deeds that are vertues in themselves are directed by them to wrong ends and are effectuall to bring others into their errours And therefore these holy Hereticks are most profitable instruments for the Devills advantage and most excellent Factors to enlarge his Kingdome For had they been more wicked they had done lesse evill when men would have more suspected them lesse followed them and lesse beleived them then they do A most lamentable thing to make vertues the steps and staires for themselves and others to descend down to hell Mat. 4.6 Againe as the Devill cited scripture to our Saviour Christ to pervert the Truth of the scripture so do these men use Adaptare ca quae bene dicta sunt ijs quae male adinventa sunt ab ipsis To apply those things which are well spoken in scriptures to those things which themselves have mis-invented saith Ireneus Iren. cib 1. c. 1. for so Valentinus misapplyed scriptures to cofirme his errour of the thirty couple of Gods so Manichaeus alledged scriptures to defend his Duo principia two fold God or rather two Gods good and bad so Arrius Appollinaris and Eutiches and all the brood of hereticks were not ignorant in the bookes of scripture and so all hereticks at this day do with the Hiaena's voice bring nothing else but scriptures to kill soules with scripture misapplyed and therefore least with those fishes that are sportingly carried with the pleasant streames of Jordan untill they do fall into the dead sea where they doe suddenly perish so wee be led with their mis-interpreted scriptures untill wee do unexpectedly fall into destruction we should beware of them and take heed we be not seduced by th●●●ea we should mark them and avoid them Rom. 16.17 Iren. l. 2 c. 19. Epiph in contra Marcosias her 34. and shnn them as men wont to run away from venemous and ravenous beasts for Epiphanius tells us they are like unto the serpent called Dypsas that poysoneth all the pooles wherein hee drinketh so that all the beasts which drink of those pooles are suddenly poysoned and killed Tertull. de praescrip c. 42. Because as Tertullian saith This hath ever been the desire and study of hereticks Non Ethnicos convertere sed Christianos evertere not to convert infidells but to pervert and throw downe Christians from the faith and therefore Saint John seeing the heretick Cerinthus in a bath wherein the Apostle bathed himselfe ran away from him as it had been from a Lion Iren. l. 3. c. 3. And Ireneus saith that Tantum Apostoli eorum discipuli habuerunt timorem ut neque verbo tenus communicarent alicui eorum qui adulteraverant veritatem the Apostles and their Disciples did so warily shun all hereticks that they would have no communication with any of them that had depraved the truth of Christ And no