Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	holy_a	scripture_n	truth_n	3,293	5	5.4239	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26063	A discourse against blasphemy being a conference with M.S. concerning 1. the rudeness of atheistical discourse, 2. the certainty and eternity of hell-torments, 3. the truth and authority of the Holy Scriptures : published pursuant to Their Majesties injunctions to suppress atheism and irreligion / by William Assheton.	Assheton, William, 1641-1711.	1694 (1694)	Wing A4030; ESTC R27660	15,382	49

it He expostulates with us why we will Dye and Perish And we may be confident since God is Truth it self he is very sincere in those Expostulations And as the highest Evidence of all this He sent his Son into the World not only to instruct us and to be an Example of holy Life but also to Dye for us and to reconcile us to himself Now He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all Things In Sum God is the most Indulgent Father the most bountiful Benefactor and the surest Friend He hath promised and he is able to do it to defend us in all Dangers to relieve us in all our Wants to direct us in all our Doubts Finally He will guide us by his Counsel here And if we follow his Conduct will at last bring us to his Glory Such Apprehensions as these all good Christians have of God From whence pray do you judge how unpleasant it must be to Persons thus perswaded to hear such an excellent Being Despised So great a Majesty Prophaned and such infinite Goodness Abused And therefore since Men are impatient to hear that contemned which they value and admire Or to be told that is false which they firmly believe to be true Do not turn Conversation into Brawls and Quarrels At least be so modest as not to affront the common Sense of Mankind But if you will not Worship God your self yet at least be so civil as not to Laugh at those that shall And that I may convince you what little Cause there is to be so pleasant on such Occasions I must desire you further to consider Not only the Rudeness but also II. The Danger of such Discourses And here I may rationally suppose you have so much Love for your self that you dread the Thoughts of being Eternally miserable And I appeal to your own Experience if the serious Apprehension even of the Possibility of such Torments like Belshazzar's Hand upon the Wall hath not loosned your Joynts perplext your Thoughts and dampt your Pleasures And therefore since a mistake in this matter is like to prove so fatal you ought to be well assured what you do and upon what Grounds you do proceed For it is not sufficient Security in this Case to affirm Perhaps there is no Life after this And 'T is probable there is no Account to be given in another World And you are not able to understand how there should be such a Hell such a Place of Torments c. I say this is not sufficient But if you will proceed with Reason you must then further Demonstrate That it is plainly impossible and a flat Contradiction that such Things should be Unless therefore you can prove this Proposition It is impossible there should be any future Account Any Torments in another World you do not act upon Prudential Grounds nor shew your self Master of such exalted Reason as you commonly pretend to 'T is a known Rule which all Wise Men will observe Provide for the Worst And therefore tho it should be granted to be highly improbable Or as you are pleased to Phrase it A very unlikely matter that there should be a Hell or a State of such dismal Torments yet unless you can further prove That it is utterly Impossible you are obliged in Prudence to provide for the worst Even to amend your Life and to reform those Practices which if there be a Hell will most certainly bring you thither I must confess you have a very difficult Task whilst you attempt to prove a Negative But if you will be trying of your skill I 'le shew you the Method in which you must proceed Whoever shall undertake so extravagant a Design as to prove there is no Hell He must First consider those Grounds and Reasons upon which all good Christians do believe it and he must then shew those Grounds to be Impossible and to imply a Contradiction or else he trifles and deceives his own Soul Now if any one should ask me Why I Believe a Hell Did I ever see any of that Infernal Region Did I ever converse with those Damned Spirits Did they ever tell me there is such a dismal Place I Answer No. But I therefore believe it Because God who is infallibly True hath plainly Declared it If it further shall be Demanded How am I assured that God hath thus Declared I Answer Because the Holy Scriptures which contain the mind of God and in which the surest Notices of another World are to be found I say These Scriptures do in plain Terms inform me That there is such a Hell Therefore I Believe it So that this Truth There is a Hell and the Torments of it are Eternal is proved and supported by these following Propositions 1. God hath Revealed his Will to Mankind 2. These Books we call the Holy Scriptures contain this Revelation of the Divine Will 3. This Truth That there is a Hell and that the Torments of it are Eternal is fully Revealed in these Holy Scriptures 4. What God hath Revealed in these Holy Scriptures is Infallibly True And consequently Whoever will pretend to prove it Impossible That there is such a State of Eternal Torments He must make good these Propositions 1. That it is Impossible that Almighty God should reveal his Will to Mankind Or else 2. If the Possibility of such Revelation shall be granted he must then prove That it is Impossible that these Books we call the Scriptures should contain this Revelation of the Divine Will Or 3. If both the former shall be acknowledg'd He must then prove it Impossible That such a Doctrine concerning the Eternity of Hell-Torments should be revealed in Scripture Or else 4. He must make it appear That what God hath thus Revealed cannot possibly be true As to the First DIvine Revelation is so far from being Impossible that it hath the highest Probabilities to support it You have already granted There is a God And I am sure upon due Consideration you will further grant That God is a Rational Intellectual Being A free Agent having Liberty of Choice to determine his own Actions And consequently what should hinder but that such a God may communicate his Designs and Intentions to Mankind Men you know do frequently discover not only what they resolve at present but also their Apprehensions de futuro what they purpose to perform hereafter And this faculty is acknowledged a great perfection in human Nature such as other Creatures are not capable of Why then will you deny that Capacity to so excellent a Being as ' an infinite God which yet you will grant to a limited and finite Creature And this expostulation will appear the more rational when I have further told you That if you deny the Possibility of Divine Revelation you have then the Suffrage of all the World against you All Nations and all Religions Jewish Heathen Mahumetan as well as

Christian do acknowledge and suppose it If still You can doubt of so clear a Truth Tully in his Books de Divinatione may then convince you His Authority I shall not urge for the Authority of God himself is rejected by you but it is his Reason only I desire you to observe SI sunt Dii neque ante declarant hominibus quae futura sunt Aut non dilligunt homines Aut quid eventurum sit ignorant Aut existimant nihil interesse hominum scire quid futurum sit Aut non censent esse suae Majestatis praesignificare hominibus quae sunt futura Aut ea ne ipsi quidem Dii significare possunt At neque non diligunt nos Sunt enim benefici generique hominum amici Neque ignorant ea quae ab ipsis constituta designata sunt N●que nostra nihil interest scire ●a que eventura sunt Erimus enim cautiores si sciemus Neque hoc alienum ducunt Majestate suâ Nihil est enim beneficenti â praestantius Neque non possunt futura praenoscere Non igitur sunt Dii nec significant futura V. Cicer De Divin Pag. 269. Edit du Puis Lut. 1565. Fol. Thus that excellent Philosopher argues in the Person of a Stoic The Sense of whose words I shall thus faithfully give you in this following Paraphrase If there be a God and yet this God doth not reveal his Will to Mankind If he hath made no Discovery of a future State nor given us any notice of Rewards and Punishments in another World Then Some of these following Particulars must be asserted by us Either 1st That God hath no Love nor Concern for Mankind Or else 2dly That God himself is ignorant of future Events Or 3dly That God apprehends it will be of no advantage to us to know what may possibly befall us Or else 4thly That it is a Dimunition of his State and Majesty to Communicate his Intentions to Mankind Or else Lastly If there be a future State Then That God himself is not able to Declare it But none of these Things can be affirmed Not the First For God truly Loves us and is very indulgent and beneficial to Mankind Nor 2dly Can God be ignorant of future Events because they are appointed and determined by him Nor 3dly Can it be pretended that the notices of a future State will be of no advantage to us Since this very apprehension that we must render an Account of all our Actions will make us more cautious not to live at random but to take heed what we do And therefore 4thly It is far from being repugnant to the Majesty of God to reveal his Intentions since nothing is more generous then Bounty and doing Good And Lastly God is so ●ar from being unable to Declare future Events that he could not be God unless he did fore-know them From these Premisses I may very suitably conclude with the same TVLLY Sunt autem Dii significant ergo There is a God Therefore He hath revealed his Will to Mankind The Possibility of Divine Revelation in Thesi being thus established let us next examin in Hypothesi by what Mediums you can pretend to evince Secondly That it is Impossible That these Books we call the Scriptures should contain this Revelation of the Divine Will Or That the Doctrines there in expressed should proceed from God should be dictated by his Spirit or Published by his Command Now there are but Two Ways whereby the proof of such Impossibility can be attempted Either 1. It must appear That the Contents of this Book are unworthy of such an excellent Author and that the matters therein contained are inconsistent with that due Notion of God which even natural Reason doth suggest or else 2. That the Penmen of these Scriptures were Persons of such slender Reputation that we have no reason to believe them tho they tell us expresly they received this Book from God As to the former of these pretences Tolle Lege Take this Divine Book into your Hand But do it without prejudice Read it with the same indifference you would peruse any other Author and then resolve me What Passage either Historical or Doctrinal can you find in this sacred Volume which doth in the least contradict either the Holiness Wisdom Goodness Justice Truth or any other of the Divine Attributes If you affi●m that there is some such Passage and that there are such Contradictions When you have first produced them and told us what they are I shall then through Divine Assistance endeavour your Satisfaction As to the 2l viz. The Credit of the Penmen The utmost that can be urged against their Authority is this That there being many Cheats and Impostors in the World 't is the Character of true Wisdom not to be over-credulous And therefore tho we read expresly in the Bible All Scripture is given by inspiration of God And Holy Men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost Yet this saith the Deist is but the Testimony of Men in their own Cause Who are indeed to be admitted as very faithful Witnesses if we may believe themselves and must take their own ●●rds For the true State of the matter according to his Sense is this The Writers of these Books to support their Credit and to raise themselves a Name as Mahomet from his Pigeon and Numa Pompilius from his Egeria have counterfeited a Divine Commission and delivered their Message in the Name of the Lord. To which mal●cious Suggestion I shall return this brief and I hope full Reply The highest Evidence of Divine Authority is the Concurrence of Divine Power i. e. The utmost assurance which can be given by any Person that he acts by a Divine Commission and that the Message he delivers was received from God It is the working of such Miracles in Confirmation of his Doctrin as are beyond the Power of any natural Agent Now Jesus of Nazareth the Author of the Christian Faith most expresly assures us That the Doctrines he deliver'd were receiv'd from God My Doctrine is not mine but Joh. 7. 16. 12. 49 50. his that sent me I have not spoken of my self but the Father that sent me he gave me a Commandment what I should say and what I should speak Whatsoever I speak therefore even as the Father said unto me so I speak And because it might seem unreasonable to believe him herein upon his own word he makes this plain Confession If I bear Witness Joh. 5. 31. of my self my Witness is not true i. e If I only bear Witness of my self my Witness is not effectivè or convincingly true There is another that beareth Witness V. 32 33. 34 36. of me Ye sent unto John and he bare Witness unto the Truth But I receive not Testimony from Man i. e. only from Man I have greater Witness then that of John For the Works which the Father hath given me to finish the same