Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	know_v	name_n	write_v	5,306	5	5.6704	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65709	Aonoz tez kisteōz, or, An endeavour to evince the certainty of Christian faith in generall and of the resurrection of Christ in particular / by Daniel Whitbie, chaplain to the Right Reverend Father in God, Seth, Lord Bishop of Sarum ...	Whitby, Daniel, 1638-1726.	1671 (1671)	Wing W1731; ESTC R37213	166,618	458

that for such which they believed not to be so they being Men whose Holy Lives as well as Sufferings made a full proof of their exact Integrity If neither they could universally conspire to effect this thing nor can it be suspected that Providence should suffer them to do a thing so contrary to its great design of love unto Mankind If lastly it is morally impossible that since the second Century those Writings should be either forged or accidentally corrupted in matters of concern and moment they must remain sufficient Records of the Christian Faith Corol. Hence it follows That those Writings must be the very Works of those Apostles and Evangelists whose Names they bear since no Man could pretend they were so had they not really been such but they must put a cheat upon the World and substitute their own Inventions for the Word of God Indeed they have been handed down for such by a more general Tradition and of a firmer Credit then any of those Books of Virgil Cicero or Martial which we indisputably own as theirs For it was a Tradition of the whole 12 Christian World which owned and cited and received them for such from the Apostles days as is apparent from the Epistles of St Clement Barnabas Ignatius Polycarp the Works of Irenaeus and Justin Martyr whil'st others which pretended to the same Original were universally rejected by them Besides they did attest them so to be by many Sufferings which they had no Temptation to endure besides the truth of their Assertion and many Wonders to confirm their Testimony It was a Tradition which concern'd things of the highest moment and which it was their greatest Interest to be well assured of they being the sole ground and matter of their support at present under the sharpest Tryals and of their future hopes and therefore Writings they were concern'd to get and hear and read and keep Books written to whole Churches Nations yea the whole 13 World of Christians who could not have received them easily had the Apostles by whom they were at first converted given no Intimations of them Books of the greatest opposition against the Superstition both of Jews and of Gentiles and which denounced against them the greatest Plagues and Judgments such as obliged them to search as much as it was possible into the Truth of what they said And yet these Books were not denyed to be the very Works of those Apostles and Evangelists whose Names they bare Books which no cheat could be concern'd to forge nor could obtain that belief which was not due to them without the greatest Forgery Books which could not be spread abroad as they were in the Apostles Names whil'st they were living unless the Apostles had Endited them nor be esteemed as if they were the greatest Charter of the Christian Faith and the Apostles be so forgetful of them as not to let those Persons know it for whose sake they were written Books which pretended to a Commission from the Holy Jesus to leave a rule of Life and Doctrine to Mankind which was intrusted in the Hands of none but the Apostles and Evangelists all others still pretending to deliver what they received from them Lastly They being written partly to confirm and to ascertain to us the story of Christs Birth Life Passion Resurrection and partly to engage us to believe partly to put an end to Contentions and rectifie those Errors which had crept into the Church in the Apostles days and which did need a speedy Reformation partly to justifie themselves against false Brethren and to assert the Truth of their Apostleship and partly to preserve their Proselytes from such as did pervert the Faith and partly to instruct them how to bear up in Fiery Tryals and to support the Soul under those Miserie 's the Christians suffered and therefore on those Grounds which did require their quick dispatch on that Errand and to those Churches unto which they did intend them it is evident the Apostles must intend that early notice should be given of them and so accordingly commit them to their new-born Proselytes and Babes in Christ and so the Records of our Saviour his Life Death Resurrection Miracles must be divulged throughout Iudea whil'st the far greater part of Men were able to disprove them if they had been false ANNOTATIONS On the 4th Chapter 1. TErtullian tels us Percurre Ecclesias Apostolicas apud quas ipsae authenticae earum literae recitantur sonantes vocem repraesentantes uniuscujusque 2 Collected and consigned by S. John Veteres narrant Johannem Asiaticarum Ecclesiarum rogatu Germanum Scripturae Canoncm constituisse Euseb 3 Those many wavering Spirits nutant enim plurimi maximè qui literarum aliquid attigerunt Lact. l. 5. c. 1. 4 Those Hereticks who upon other motives did renounce the greater part of the New Test Cerinthus allowed only the Gospel of S. Mark Valentinus only that of S. John Iren. l. 3. c. 11. Marcion onely that of Luke Tertul. cont Marcio c. 4. Epiph. Haeres 42. Iren. l. 3. c. 11. the Ebionites rejected all the Epistles of S. Paul and embraced only the Gospel of the Nazarites 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orig. in Cels p. 274. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb Hist Eccl. l. 3. c. 27. vid. Valesium in locum Ejusdem farinae erant Severiani Tatiani ex quibus conflati sunt Encratitae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euscb Hist Eccl. l. 4. c. 27. Hieron catal script Eccl. in Tatiano De Encratitis vid. Theod. haeret fab l. 1. 5 Soe universally acknowledged and consented to Euseb calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hist Eccl. l. 3. c. 25. 6 Soe generally dispersed for even the passage of S. Irenaeus which tells us of some barbarous Nations Qui fidem crediderunt sine literis sine charta sine atramento scriptam habentes in cordibus suis salutem doth shew plainly that other places not deemed Barbarous enjoy'd them as also doth the question following Quid autem si neque Apostoli quidem scripturas reliquissent nobis 7 Multiplyed into divers versions Cum enim fides Christiana ab ipsis Apostolorum temporibus recepta est nec sine scriptur is esse potest Ecclesia probabile est à primis nascentis Ecclesiae incunabilis harum versionum originem accersendam esse Walton Proleg in Bib. Polygl Of the innumerable latine versions that were extant in S. Augustine's daies we have one styled by S. Jerom. in Esaiam c. 14 49. Communis vulgata and by S. Gregory Epist ad Leandrum Vetus probabile est inquit Waltonus ipsam ab ipsis Ecclesiae primordiis in usu fuisse cum Ecclesia Latina sine verfione Latina esse non potuit eamque Ecclesia Romana in communi usu reciperet Of the Syriack version he speakes thus Ab Apostolicis viris factam concedo quod praeter generalem Ecclesiarum Orientalium traditionem cui multum in hoc loco tribuendum cum nulla

vanquish his two potent Heathen Adversaries Eugenius and Maximus against all humane probability as is attested by the 26 Poet Claudian the 27 soldiers who engaged in those warrs and by the 28 Christian writers of that age and is said to have been foretold with other matters of like nature by an 29 Ermite whose 30 name was celebrated in the Christian Church for the prediction of things future 31 If that miraculous rain and thunder which Antoninus did obtain for the confusion of his enemies and the refreshment of his army when almost dead with thirst was the result of Christian prayers as his 32 Epistle and the Christian writings do averr All these are instances of Providence and of that kindness which God bears unto his Servants Some Heathens I confess ascribe this wonder to the powers of 34 Magick but not to urge how insignificant they are in matters of this nature and how incredible to those who do not own a Providence the Emperour as his own 35 works inform us was a professed enemy to all such devilish Arts. § 7. 5ly IF any Revelations Jos 7.9.14.20 Judg. 18.23.29.1 Sam. 23.11.12.2 Sam. 2.1.5.19.23 or Predictions of things contingent in their various circumstances have been delivered from the mouth of prophets Oracles or any other way of Divination used or recorded by any sect of men If from the Urim and the Thummim the Jews receaved dayly answers and had it been a constant cheat what could induce them upon all occasions to consult it or to abide in that profession which bottomed upon such a lye when other † 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orig. in Celsum l. 1. p. 28.29 Nations about them had or were believ'd to have true Oracles nay how impudent and shameless had it been to put the Question 2. Kings 1.3 is it because there is no God in Israel that you enquire after Baal if verily there had been none in Israel who could have satisfied their curiosity If there were any thing but Gross and shameless forgery in that Gift of Prophesie of which the Acts of the Apostles and the Canonical Epistles speak and the Effects whereof a Vid. in s c. 5. sect 2. Eusebius mentions as things experimented among Christians or in the Prophesies and Prophets of which we read so often in the records of the Jews which prophets they most highly reverenced though still denouncing Judgments against them and representing them as a most stubborn Apostatising Nation In a word if Heathen Jew or Christian have been supernaturally assisted in these things they must derive this power from that all ruling wisdome which orders all things according to the pleasure of his Will Now to omit all other instances in which t is easy to abound God by the prophet Esay said of Cyrus whom he expresly named a Joseph Ant. Jud. l. 11. c. 1. 210. years before his birth he shall perform my pleasure even saying to Jerusalem Isaiah 44.28.29.45.1.2.3 thou shalt be built and to the temple thy foundation shall be laid and Agen Thus saith the Lord to Cyrus whose right hand I have strengthened to subdue nations before him and turn the backs of Kings to open before him the two leavd Gates and the Gates shall not be shut I will go before thee and will break in peices the Gates of brass and cut in sunder the bars of Iron I will give thee the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places Now that these things might be accomplished this Cyrus first subdued Croesus then the Jonians and then Nabonidas king of Babylon thus did he turn the backs of kings and subdue nations and answer what Astyages's dream did signify viz. that from his daughter sprang a vine whose branches spread themselves throughout all Asia Who calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 apud Euseb praep Evang. l. 9. c. 49. That Babylon had Gates of brass Abidenus witnesseth and therefore by Cyrus's conquest of it the Gates of brass were broken And that God gave unto him hidden treasures Pliny informs us in these words † Cyrus devict â Asiâ pondo 34 Millia invenerat praeter vasa aurea aurumque factum in eo folia ac platanum vitemque Quâ victoria argenti 500. Millia talentorum reportavit craterem Semiramidis cujus pondus 15. talenta colligebat l. 33. c. 3. Cyrus having conquered Asia besides the Golden vessels and other Gold which he found ready wrought met with 34000. pounds of Gold with certain leaves a plane and a vine tree of Gold and carried thence five hundred thousand Talents of silver and Semiramis her standing cup that weighed fifteen talents And that the manner of his conquest was punctually such as was delivered by the prophet Jeremiah viz. Jer. 51.28.36 that God by the kings of the Medes and Captains of that Nation would dry up her sea and make her springs dry will appear from what Herodotus hath plainly told † Tòv 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Herod l. 1. p. 78. ed. Goth. viz. that by the cutting of a channel he brought back the River into the neighbouring fens and by so doing made the old channel passable for his soldiers That he gave power and commission to the Jewish Nation to rebuild the temple and gave assistance to the work that he professed the God of Israel had given to him all the kingdoms he enjoyd and charged him to build his remple we have recorded in the book of Ezra C. 1. v. 2. Now to imagine that these prophesies were written after that the things were done without the least imaginable shew of reason is in it self a thing precarious and may by these presumptions be concluded false 1 That the prophets do so punctually set down the times the place and the concernment of their Prophesie The book of Esay begins thus The visions of Isaiah son of Amos which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the dayes of Uzziah Jotham Ahaz and Hezekiah kings of Judah The prophet Jeremiah speaks thus The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah in the 13. year of his reign it came also in the dayes of Jehojakim the son of Josiah king of Judah unto the carrying away of Judah captive in the 5. month 2 That they did threaten to the Jewish Nation that they should goe into captivity and accordingly both they which lived in that Captivity and returned from it acknowledged that all things hapned to them according to those prophesies as is evident in the Books of Daniel Nehemiah Zachariah Haggai all which books must be but one continued chain of forgery or else t is evident there were such Prophesies and that those Prophesies were true And 3. from the sufferings they met with from the Jews † Certissima apud Hebraeos