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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

marvell for as errours in practise are like a fretting Lep●●s●e of a contagious and spreading nature so errours in judgement are very diffusive also Cor. 5.6 ● Tim. 2.17 A little Leaven leaveneth the whole lumpe and hereticks false Doctrines fret and spread like a Gangren for no opinion is so monstrous but if it hath a Mother it will also get a Nurse Wofull experience in these times wherein the golden reines of Church government are wanting doth cleerly evince the truth thereof But yet the Lord doth seldome suffer the Authors and cheif fomenters of heresies even in this world to go unpunished as fully will appear in these ensuing examples Blasphemous Arrius that denyed the consubstantiality of the son of God with his Father did by the dreadfull Judgement of God Ruff. l. 1. c. 13. burst in sunder and after the manner of Judas Iscariot his bowells gushed out so when diverse of the Arrian Bishops intended to meet in a town of Nicomedia to consult about the propagation of that wicked heresie Socrat. Eccles hist l. 1. c. 25. the Lord to prevent their purposes did overthrow the town by a fearfull Earthquake Idem l. 1. c. 22. l. 2. c. 39. John 16.7 so Montanus that proclaimed himself to be that Paracletus the comforter which our Saviour promised to send unto his Church and his two femenine Prophets those lewd Dames Priscilla Maximilla did end their lives on Judas his Tree Euseb Eccles hist l. 5. c. 13. 14. so Paulus Samosateneus that denyed Christ to be the naturall sonne of God was miserably plagued by the hands of God and being deprived from his usurped Bishoprick he was excommunicated from all the Churches of God Hieron in catalog scrip so Manes of whom the sect of the Manichees took their denomination that had congested together many odious heresies as saint Augustine sheweth was at last taken and imprisoned by the King of Persia and by his commandement hee was flead alive and his skin filled full of chaff and set up as a wofull spectacle before the gate of a certaine City in Mesopotamia Euseb Eccles hist l. 7. c. 30. saith Eusebius so Simon Magus that taught many abominale heresies attempting to shew his power to the people by flying in the air fell downe brake his Thigh and dyed miserably so Nestorius who spake against the union of the divine and humane nature of Christ had his blasphemous tongue rotted in his mouth and consumed with ●●●mes and at length the earth opened her mouth and swallowed him up so Cerinthus an arch heretick being in a Bath at Ephesus the bath fell upon them and his associates and killed them so Heraclius the Emperour infected with the heresie of the Monothelites having raised a great Army against his enemies fifty thousand of them dyed in one night whereupon hee presently fell sick and dyed So Constance the Emperour a Monothelite was slaine hy his own servants as he was washing himselfe in a Bath And so I might recount many others whose tragical ends from Gods Judgements do sufficiently shew Gods hatred against all heresies Now touching prophane Atheists they are so addicted to the world that you shall never perswade them to think that there is a God or a Christ or a Devill or a heaven or a hell Psal 53.1 but these Fooles have sayd in their hearts there is no God and with the Sadduces they beleeve that there are neither angells nor spirits first nor second Seneca in O●dip Claud. in Ruff. good nor bad omnia certo tramite vadunt all do run in a certaine crosse path or as Claudian saith incerto fluerunt mortalia casu all fall out b●●ab nab all by chance and that is the end of all and so this cursed and atheisticall crew of incredulous men Pejores tardiores ad credendum quam ipsi daemones are worse herein and slower to beleeve then the very Devills as Saint Augustine saith And therefore the death of an Atheist commonly is most miserable Paul Diacon l. 15. Either burnt as Diagoras or eaten up with lice as Pherecides or deveured by dogs as Lucian or thundershot and turned to ashes as Olympius or eaten up of worms as Herod Agrippa Acts 12.22.23 or throwne downe from an high place and broken in peeces as Daphida val Max. l. 1. Fulgen. l 1. c 2. or slaine by his servants as Commodus and Heliogabalus or slain with a thunder-bolt as Tullus Hostilius or struck with madness as Francis Ribelius or kills himselfe as Strozze and Periers or pined to death as Jodelle However descending impenitent into hell there he is an Atheist no longer but hath as much religion as the Devill to confesse God and tremble nullus in inferno est Atheos ante fuit On Earth were Atheists many In Hell there is not any All s●●ak truth when they are upon the rack but it is a wofull thing to be hells convert And so you see how the justice of God never preserveth Atheists and Hereticks even to the extreamost execution Against both these implacable though alwaies foyled enemies to divine truth have I built this Bulwarke which wanteth neither the strength of Ordnance provision of victualls nor the pollicy of most worthy Captaines and good souldiers For First Against the wretched Atheists I have placed the Learning of the Gentiles because that to alledge scripture to an Infidell is to no more purpose then if he alledged the Jewish Cabalist or the Turkish Alcaron unto a Christian. And that it is lawful for us to use the learning of the Gentiles is easily proved For we finde that not only the Fathers of the primitive Church as Justin Martyr Clemens Alexandrinus Tertullian Origen Cyprian Lactanctius Firmianus Ambrose Hierome Augustine Fulgentius Venerable Bede and all the rest did alledge the authorities of their precedent Fathers and of the best heathen Authors but also the Apostles and Prophets themselves did alledge the sayings and testimonies of the Heathen writers For Moses was learned in all the learning of the Egyptians Clemens Alex strom lib. 2. Dan. 4. c. 6 Ezra 1. and was therefore likened by Clemens Alexandrinus unto Plato and Daniel reciteth the Decree of Nebuchadnezzar and the Decree of Darius and the Edict of Cyrus King of Persia and Saint Paule useth the Testimony of Aratus against the Athenians Acts 17.28 1 Cor. 15 33 Titus 1.12 of Menander against the Corinthians and of Epimenides against the Cretians and out of the Jewish Talmud hee borroweth the names of the Magicians of Aegypt Jannes and Jambres that resisted Moses for they are not found in all the bookes of the Old Testament And therefore as it was lawfull for the Israelites to rob the Aegyptians of all their Jewells and most precious things that they could get of them so it is lawfull for us to take the best things that we can find either witty saying fitting similitude or memorable story in all

it is dazled with the Glory of the Trinity when it would conceive the mistery of the trinity it is overcome with the glory of the unity Not to be illustrated by any instances And to illustrate this mistery with instances is to shadow out the light with colours though the instances are that of the same sun in its body beams light the same water in its fountaine spring river yea the same soule in its understanding memory and will And therefore in this mystery of the Trinity how in that most simple and single Essence of God there be certain Persons truly subsisting Three in One and One in three differing but not divided severall but not sundred many and yet the same all one for their Nature all distinct for their persons is a secret of all secrets passing all reach and understanding of man rather reverently to be adored then too curiously to be searched into Deut. 29 29. for that secret things belong unto the Lord and things revealed unto us Let us not therefore I say be too curious to enquire how these things can be but let us faithfully beleeve them to be a Trinity of Persons in the Vnity of the Divine Essence and each person to have the whole divine Essence so communicated unto it as that all the three persons must needs be co eternall co essentiall co-equall Yea finally because it must be our cheifest care to keep our selves within the limits of Faith We must keep within the limits of faith I will hereunto add the Creed of Blessed Athanasius concerning this most sacred and ineffable mystery Mar. 16.16 Mat. 28.16 1 VVhosoever would be saved before all things it is needfull that he hold the Catholick Faith which except every man keep whole and inviolate Heb. 11.6 2 Thes 1.8 hee shall doubtlesse perish everlastingly Deut. 6 4. 1 Cor. 8 4. 1 Joh. 5.7 Isa 6 3. 2 And this is the Catholick Faith That wee worship one God in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity neither confounding the persons nor dividing the Essence Joh. 5 32. 14 16. 14. 26 chap. 1●1 5 31. Joh. 10.30 5.7.18 3 For there is one person of the Father another of the Son another of the Holy Ghost But the Divinity of the Father Son and Holy Ghost is one the glory equall the Majesty co-eternall Joh. 1.1.3 Heb. 1.2 J●● 14.23 Ephes 3.17 4 Such as the Father is such is the Son and such is the Holy Ghost the Father uncreate the Son uncreate and the Holy Ghost uncreate Mat. 28.20 Prov. 8 25. Rev. 1.8 21 6. Gen 1.2 Job 33.4 Rom. 8.9 the Father immense the son immense and the Holy Ghost immense the Father eternall the son eternall and the Holy Ghost eternall and yet not three eternalls but one eternall as there are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensible but one uncreated and one incomprehensible 5 Likewise the Father is almighty Joh. 16.15 Rev. 1.8.4.8 1 Joh. 5.20 Rom. 9.5 1 Cor 12.11 Acts 5.3.4 Luke 2.11 Acts 4.24 1 Cor. 8.6 the son almighty and the Holy Ghost almighty yet there are not three Almighties but one Almighty even so the Father is God the son is God and the Holy Ghost is God and yet there are not three Gods but one God so the Father is Lord the son is Lord and the Holy Ghost is Lord yet not three Lords but one Lord. 6 For As we are compelled by the Christian verity to confesse severally each person to be God or Lord so we are forbid by the Catholick faith to say there be three Gods or three Lords 7. The Father is made of none Joh. 1.14 Prov. 8.25 Psal 2.7 Heb 1 5. Joh 15. ●6 Rom. 8.9 Gal. 4.6 nor created nor begotten the son is from the Father alone not made nor created but begotten the Holy Ghost is from the father and the son neither made nor created nor begotten but proceeding There is then one Father not three Fathers one son not three sons one Holy Ghost not three Holy Ghosts 8 And in this Trinity none is before or after other none lesser or greater then other Joh. 5.18 10.30 16.15 Gen 1.2.26 but all the three persons are co-eternall among themselves and co-equall so that in all things as is sayd the Unity in Trinity 1 Joh. 2.23 Rom. 8.9 1 Cor. 12.3 and Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped He then that will be saved must thus thinke of the Trinity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 FINIS A Catalogue of some Bookes printed for and sold by Edw. Dod. at the Gun in Ivy-lane AN entire Commentary upon the whole Old Testament in 4 Vol. in fol. wherein the divers Translations Expositions literal and mysticall of all the most famous Commentators both Ancient and Moderne are propounded examined and judged of for the more full satisfaction of the studious Reader in all things which compleateth the Authors Comment on the whole Bible a work the like to which hath never yet been published in English by any man written by John Mayer Doctor in Divinity The Expiation of a sinner in a Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrewes Fol. by T L. DD. a learned and reverend Divine The justification of a sinner being the main Argument of saint Paules Epistle to the Galathians fol. written by the Author of the Expiation of a sinner Thomae Leshintonii Logica analytica de princîpiis Regulis usu Rationis Rectae 8. The Angel-Guardian proved by the Light of Nature beams of scripture and consent of many ancient and Modern writers untainted with Popery By Robert Dingley Master of Arts late Fellow of Magdalen Colledge in Oxford 8. America or an exact description of the West-Indies especially of those Provinces under the dominion of Spain in which not only the nature and climate of the place with the Commodities it affordeth is fully described but also plain full directions given for the right ordring of the same so as to fit them for the use of the Inhabitants and also for transportation the like never yet published in English faithfully related by N N Gent. in 8. Natures Paradox or the innocent Impostor a pleasant Polonian History translated out of French into English by Major John Wright 4 Poems Songs and Sonnets written by Richard Lovelace Esq 8. The life and death of Mr. Carter with other Tracts written by his son Mr John Carter Minister of Gods word in the City of Norwich 8. Directions for writing true English by Richard Hodges in 8. The Breviat of saving Knowledge by 5 Brinsley of great Yarmouth the second Edition corrected and much enlarged by the Author in 8. Heavens Alarum to all Jurors especially false swearers in 12 by Tim Woodroffe The surfeit to A B C in 12 being a very ingenious thing The Reign of King Charls faithfully and impartially delivered and disposed into Annalls by A L Esq Fol And newly Enlarged and Corrected by the Author Judgement and Mercy or the Plague of Frogs inflicted removed delivered in nine sermons by that late Reverend and learned Divine Mr. Josias Shute 4. The safe way to Glory in severall exercises of generall use by William Smith Mr of Arts R. of Cotton in Suffolk The Triumphes of Rome over dispised Protestancy in 4 by a person of eminency in the Church of England