Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	dead_a	judge_v	small_a	2,729	5	6.5359	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A23752	The lively oracles given to us, or, The Christians birth-right and duty, in the custody and use of the Holy Scripture by the author of The whole duty of man, &c.	Allestree, Richard, 1619-1681.; Sterne, Richard, 1596?-1683.; Pakington, Dorothy Coventry, Lady, d. 1679.; Boyle, Robert, 1627-1691.	1678 (1678)	Wing A1149; ESTC R170102	108,974	240

Imprimatur JO. NICHOLAS Vice Cancell Oxon. Junii 10. 1678. THE Lively Oracles given to us OR The Christians Birth-right and Duty in the custody and use of the HOLY SCRIPTURE By the Author of the WHOLE DUTY OF MAN c. Search the Scriptures Jo. 5. 39. At the THEATER in OXFORD 1678. The lively Oracles given to us or The Christians birthright duty in the custody use of the holy Scripture THE PREFACE IN the Treatise of the Government of the Tongue publisht by me heretofore I had occasion to take notice among the exorbitances of that unruly part which sets on fire the whole course of nature and its self is set on fire from hell Jam. 3. 6. of the impious vanity prevailing in this Age whereby men play with sacred things and exercise their wit upon those Scriptures by which they shall be judg'd at the last day Joh. 12. 48. But that holy Book not only suffering by the petulancy of the Tongue but the malice of the heart out of the abundance whereof the mouth speaks Mat. 12. 34. and also from that irreligion prepossession and supiness which the pursuit of sensual plesures certainly produces the mischief is too much diffus'd and deeply rooted to be controul'd by a few casual reflections I have therefore thought it necessary both in regard of the dignity and importance of the subject as also the prevalence of the opposition to attemt a profest and particular vindication of the holy Scriptures by displaying their native excellence and beauty and enforcing the veneration and obedience that is to be paid unto them This I design'd to do in my usual method by an address to the affections of the Reader soliciting the several passions of love hope fear shame and sorrow which either the majesty of God in his sublime being his goodness deriv'd to us or our ingratitude return'd to him could actuate in persons not utterly obdurate But where as men when they have learnt to do amiss quickly dispute and dictate I found my self concern'd to pass somtimes within the verge of controversy and to discourse upon the principles of reason and deductions from Testimony which in the most important transactions of human life are justly taken for evidence In which whole performance I have studied to avoid the entanglements of Sophistry and the ambition of unintelligible quotations and kept my self within the reach of te unlearned Christian Reader to whose uses my labors have bin ever dedicated All that I require is that men would bring as much readiness to entertain the holy Scriptures as they do to the reading profane Authors I am asham'd to say as they do to the incentives of vice and folly nay to the libels and invectives that are levell'd against the Scriptures If I obtain this I will make no doubt that I shall gain a farther point that from the perusal of my imperfect conceptions the Reader will proceed to the study of the Scriptures themselves there tast and see how gracious the Lord is Ps. 34. 8. and as the Angel commanded Saint John Rev. 10. 9. eat the Book where he will experimentally find the words of David verified Ps. 19. 7. The Law of the Lord is an undefiled Law converting the soul the testimony of the Lord is sure and giveth wisdom to the simple The Statutes of the Lord are right and rejoice the heart the commandment of the Lord is pure and giveth light to the eies The fear of the Lord is clean and endureth for ever the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether More to be desir'd are they then gold yea then much fine gold sweeter also then hony and the hony-comb Moreover by them is thy servant taught and in keeping of them there is great reward It is said of Moses Ex. 34. 29. that having receiv'd the Law from God and converst with him in Mount Sina forty daies together his face shone and had a brightness fixt upon it that dazled the beholders a pledg and short essay not only of the appearance at Mount Tabor Mat. 17. 1. where at the Transfiguration he again was seen in glory but of that greater and yet future change when he shall see indeed his God face to face and share his glory unto all eternity The same divine Goodness gives still his Law to every one of us Let us receive it with due regard and veneration converse with him therein instead of forty daies during our whole lives and so anticipate and certainly assure our interest in that great Transfiguration when all the faithful shall put of their mortal flesh be translated from glory to glory eternally behold their God see him as he is and so enjoy him Conversation has every where an assimilating power we are generally such as are the men and Books and business that we deal with but surely no familiarity has so great an influence on Life and Manners as when men hear God speaking to them in his Word That Word which the Apostle Heb. 4. 12. declares to be quick and powerful sharper then any two-edg'd sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart The time will come when all our Books however recommended for subtilty of discourse exactness of method variety of matter or eloquence of Language when all our curious Acts like those mention'd Act. 19. 19. shall be brought forth and burnt before all men When the great Book of nature and heaven it self shall depart as a scroul roll'd together Rev. 6. 14. At which important season 't will be more to purpose to have studied well that is transcrib'd in practice this one Book then to have run thro all besides for then the dead small and great shall stand before God and the Books shall be open'd and another Book shall be open'd which is the Book of Life and the dead shall be judg'd out of those things which were written in the Books according to their works Rev. 20. 12. In vain shall men allege the want of due conviction that they did not know how penal it would be to disregard the Sanctions of Gods Law which they would have had enforc'd by immediat miracle the apparition of one sent from the other world who might testify of the place of torment This expectation the Scripture charges every where with the guilt of temting God and indeed it really involves this insolent proposal that the Almighty should be oblig'd to break his own Laws that men might be prevail'd with to keep his But should he think fit to comply herein the condescention would be as successless in the event as 't is unreasonable in the offer Our Savior assures that they who hear not Moses and the Prophets the instructions and commands laid down in holy Scripture would not be wrought upon by any other method would not be perswaded by that which they allow for irresistible conviction

manking with the particulars wherein that obedience was to be exercis'd This sure were so disagreeable to his wisdom and goodness that it cannot be charg'd upon his will and consequently they who own not that he has made any such revelation must tacitly tax him of impotence that he could not do it But if any man will say he has and yet reject all this which both Jews and Christians receive as such let him produce his testimonies for the others or rather to retort his own mesure his demonstrations And then let it appear whether his Scheme of doctrin or ours will need the greater aid of that easy credulity he reproches us with 64. I have now gon thro the method I proposed for evincing the Divine Original of the Scriptures and shall not descend to examin those more minute and particular Cavils which profane men make against them the proof of this virtually superseding all those For if it be reasonable to believe it the Word of God it must be reasonable also to believe it of perfection proportionable to the Author and then certainly it must be advanc'd beyond all our objections For to those who except to the stile the incoherence the contradictions or whatever else in Scripture I shall only ask this one question whether it be not much more possible that they who can pretend to be nothing above fallible men may misjudg then that the infallible God should dictate any thing justly liable to those charges I am sure they must depart as much from Reason as Religion to affirm the contrary But alas instead of this implicit submission to Gods Word men take up explicit prejudices against it condemn it without ever examining the truth of the Allegation 'T is certain that in a writing of such Antiquity whose original Language has Idioms and Phrases so peculiar whose Country had customs so differing from the rest of the world 't is impossible to judg of it without reference to all those circumstances Add to this that the Hebrew has bin a dead Language for well nigh two thousand years nowhere in common use nor is there any other ancient Book now extant in it besides those yet not all neither of the Old Testament 65. Now of those many who defame Holy Writ how few are there that have the industry to inquire into those particulars And when for want of knowledg som passages seem improper or perhaps contradictory the Scripture must bear the blame of their ignorance and be accus'd as absurd and unintelligible because themselves are stupid and negligent It were therefore methinks but a reasonable proposal that no man should arraign it till they have used all honest diligence taken in all probable helps for the understanding it and if this might be obtain'd I believe most of its Accusers would like those of the woman in the Gospel Jo. 8. 9. drop away as conscious of their own incompetency the loudest out-cries that are made against it being commonly of those who fall upon it only as a fashionable theme of discourse and hope to acquire themselves the reputation of wits by thus charging God foolishly But he that would candidly and uprightly endeavor to comprehend before he judges and to that end industriously use those means which the providence of God by the labors of pious men hath afforded him will certainly find cause to acquit the Scripture of those imputations which our bold Critics have cast upon it I do not say that he shall have all the obscurities of it perfectly clear 〈◊〉 to him but he shall have so many of them as is for his real advantage and shall discern such reasons why the rest remain unfathomable as may make him not only justify but celebrate the wisdom of the Author 66. YET this is to be expected only upon the fore-mention'd condition viz. that he come with sincere and honest intentions fo● as for him that comes to the Scripture with design and wishes to find matter of cavil and accusations there is little doubt but tha● spirit of impiety and profaness which sen● him thither will meet him there as a spirit of delusion and occecation That Prince of the Air will cast such mists raise such black vapors that as the Apostle speaks the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ shall not shine unto him 2 Cor. 4. 5. Indeed were such a man left only to the natural efficacy of prejudice that is of it self so blinding so infatuating a thing as commonly fortifies against all conviction We see it in all the common instances of life mens very senses are often enslav'd by it the prepossession of a strong phancy will make the objects of sight or hearing appear quite different from what they are But in the present case when this shall be added to Satanical illusions and both left to their operations by Gods with-drawing his illuminating grace the case of such a man answers that description of the Scripture They have eies and see not ears have they and hear not Rom. 11. 8. And that God will so withdraw his grace we have all reason to believe he having promis'd it only to the meek to those who come with malleable ductile spirits to learn not to deride or cavil Saint Peter tells us that the unlearned and unstable wrest the Scripture to their own destruction 2 Pet. 3. 15. And if God permit such to do so much more will he the proud malicious 67. I say not this to deter any from the study of Holy Scripture but only to caution them to bring a due preparation of mind along with them Gods Word being like a generous soveraign medicament which if simply and regularly taken is of the greatest benefit but if mixt with poison serves only to make that more fatally operative To conclude he that would have his doubts solv'd concerning Scripture let him follow the method our blessed Lord has describ'd Let him do the will of God and then he shall know of the doctrin whether it be of God Jo. 7. 17. Let him bring with him a probity of mind a willingness to assent to all convictions he shall there meet with and then he will find grounds sufficient to assure him that it is Gods Word and consequently to be receiv'd with all the submission and reverence that its being so exacts SECT III. The subject matter treated of in the Holy Scripture is excellent as is also its end and design WE have hitherto consider'd the holy Scripture only under one notion as it is the Word of God we come now to view it in the subject matter of it the several parts whereof it consists which are so various and comprehensive as shews the whole is deriv'd from him who is all in all 1 Cor. 19 28. But that we may not speak only loosely and at ●overs we will take this excellent frame in pieces and consider its most eminent parts distinctly Now the parts of Holy Writ seem to branch themselves into these