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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	new_a	scripture_n	word_n	2,910	5	4.2982	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A95414	The scriptures sufficiency to determine all matters of faith, made good against the Papist: or, That a Christian may be infallibly certain of his faith and religion by the Holy Scriptures. By that great and famous light of Gods Church, William Twisse D.D. and prolocutor of the late assembly of divines.	Twisse, William, 1578?-1646.	1656 (1656)	Wing T3424; Thomason E1698_2; ESTC R209446	47,921	167

the hearts of all men It is true the Author of the Book De Vocatione Gentium talks of such a manner of instruction by Gods VVorks but I pray do not compare that in clearness to the Word of God what ground have we for the right interpretation of signs and wonders beneath above Astrologers would make us believe they read strange things in the Constellations referred to mens Nativities but what ground have we for this Calculation what Abraham the father of the faithfull discoursed thereof in his Astronomicall Lectures read by him in the plain of Mamre we have received no tydings hereof from the hill Amarath in Aethiopia I know that in holy Scripture Thunder is called the voice of God I know also that the Lord-spake unto the Patriarks but that word is not written winds and storms also are said to fulfill his VVord by a Metaphor because what he will have done by them is done by them as if they were most obedient and faithfull servants unto their Master whom yet they know not any more than Ravens doe though in Scripture-phrase and by a figure of speech they are said to call upon him Now we are upon another point namely as touching the Scriptures the written Word of the Prophets and Apostles and the question is about the clearness of them or the intelligible nature of them to all such as will understand And to such faith Solomon knowledge is easie which I take to be spoken of the knowledge of God by the Scriptures whereunto I am sure our Saviour refers the Jewes and the Apostle would not have us affect to bee wise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 above that which is written It is true when that was delivered thy Law is a Lanthorn unto my feet none of the later Prophets had committed their Prophecies unto writing much less were the Books of the New Testament written then But in reference to all the Books of the Old Testament our Saviour spake when he said Search the Scriptures for in them you think to have eternall life and they are they that testifie of me Joh. 5. And as for the Books of the New Testament the Gospels were written that men might acknowledge the certainty of those things whereof they had been instructed by word of mouth Luk. 1.4 which could not be were they not intelligible by a studious Reader and Paul was in bonds when he wrote of the whole Scripture that it was profitable to teach to convince to correct to instruct in righteousness that the man of God might be made absolute being made perfect to all good works 2 Tim. 3.16 17. Now if we deny the intelligible condition of Scripture the profitable nature of it therewithall must utterly be removed The Apostles we know by preaching converted many surely the Word preached was understood by the hearers otherwise it had wrought but a wilde conversion Now look what they preached that is committed to writing in the Acts of the Apostles and in their Epistles written unto severall Churches The knowledge of the figures of the Prophecies of the Revelation and the like is not necessary to salvation and great reason they should be carried in a mysterious way like as the mysteries of Christs Person and of his Office in breaking the Serpents head were carried a long time in the clouds of types and figures had it been known that the Messiah must be crucified before he reigned the Devill would not have been so forward to possess the heart of Judas with a project of betraying him into the hands of his enemies to procure his death So the Revelation in the New Testament and many of the like nature in the Old concerning the Devills and Antichrists practice no marvell if they be mysteriously carried that neither the Devill nor Antichrist should understand them untill they were accomplished Nevertheless the Lord by his Spirit which dictated them can inspire his servants with an understanding heart to know the meaning of them when the time comes appointed for the communication of this knowledge many shall pass to and fro and knowledge shall be increased as if the opening of the world by Navigation and Commerce and the increase of knowledge should meet together in one time and age as one wittily observeth we have seen of late yeers a strange progress made in opening the mysteries of the Revelation and other mysterious Prophecies of the Old Testament even to admiration The time when first Antichrist should be discovered and protested against is found out in Daniels Numbers lest we should wonder at the Fathers ignorance hereof For as Christians at their first conversion from Idolls to serve the living God did forthwith look for the Son of God his comming from heaven to deliver us from the wrath to come 1 Thes 1. last Yea and some were of opinion in the Apostles dayes that it should be within the age of a man whereupon Paul wrote his second Epistle to the Thessalonians wherein he gives to understand that an Apostacy must come first and the man of sin must be revealed and before that the Roman Empire must be broken 2 Thes 2. compared with 1 Thes 4.15 So in Austins dayes that good Father projects that the comming of Christ might be 400. years off nay suppose 500. he would not go further presuming that the Beast which slaughtered the Lords witnesses should not continue above three years and an half Now we have no cause to wonder at this when we consider what Daniel hath written concerning this and how blessed a thing it should be to live at that time when Antichrist should be proclamed to the world and revealed Dan. 11. For then nothing remained to be looked for but the blasting of him with the breath of the Lords mouth and the utter abolishing of him by the brightness of his comming The reconciling of Ezekiels measures of new Jerusalem with Johns measures in the Revelations is a great mystery and held to be desperate yet now it is made feisible nor so onely but cleared throughout So the number of the Beast 666. how long hath the Christian world groped after the meaning of it as a blind man after his way What various notions hath the investigation hereof produced in mens brains after that of Ireneus accommodated to the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and at length for want of a better the best Stndents in these mysteries driven to come back thither again But now the vanity thereof nevvly discovered and that at full even by every Text calling us expresly to calculate this vvhich is not to rest in this number but by Calculation of this to finde out another number which will notably decipher unto us that Beast And indeed the number of the Beast 666. is opposed to the number of Christs Church 144. and the number most momentous arising by the Calculation thereof is the number 12. the root thereof and no other calculation belongs to a single number than that which is called

Scriptures as well as an Elect this being no grace of Sanctification but of Edification but to know the Scriptures to be the Word of God the Wisdom of God and the Power of God that I take to bee peculiar to a regenerate spirit in whom the Spirit of God dwells as the fountain of the life of grace of which in-dwelling of the Spirit a child of God may be conscious in a comfortable manner without boasting I count it an absurd course for any to justisie his interpretation of Scripture to be sound because he hath the Spirit we are ready to dispute the meaning we give of Scripture and to prove it against all opposites made against it and we look not that any interpretation of Scripture we give should be received any further than we make it appear to be the truth of God to the consciences of them we deal with Obj. If any should here object that the Scriptures themselves bear witness of their own cleerness according to that Thy Word is a Lanthorn to my feet and a light unto my paths I answer All the Commands of God are his Word and so are all his Works which are through his Word for it is confessed by all that God sets forth his Word by Nature the Creature Signs Wonders beneath above and by infinite wayes also the Scriptures witness that many things neither are nor can be written Therefore the VVord of his Voice is taken diversly in the Scriptures and so by consequence all that is called Gods Word is not necessarily to be understood of the Scriptures Hereunto add that at that time many parts of Scripture were not yet written wherefore the evidence of the thing manifestly proveth that this is not spoken of the whole Argument and Letter of the Scripture for as much as the Figures of the Prophecy of the Apocalyps and infinite other things belonging to the fulfilling of those Prophecies were hidden from the Prophets themselves and the Fathers much more then from others and are yet hidden Christ himself speaks in parables to the end that men may hear with their ears and not understand The Scripture it self in very many places witnesseth that the Word of God is secret obscure hidden and discovered onely to the Spirit or to the Godly onely to whom God reveals it so that in the Scriptures there are more testimonies of their obscuritie than of their clearness yet is not the Scripture hereby either rejected or slighted For even before the Law was given and written men had a certain light by the help whereof they might if they would have found out the truth more clearly than we and although in the New Testament a great light be risen yet must we not think that in the Old Testament there was a meer blindness whence we may reason that God thought it not usefull for us to reveal all things to us but though all things perhaps be not necessary to be known yet nevertheless there may be had a certain and infallible way of interpreting by the help whereof the most and most necessary Controversies may be decided of which if triall be made a cleer light and meer harmony may be shewn in such Scriptures as according to the opinion of many are obscure it is possible also that there should be not a few other wayes of illustrating that which is obscure although this ill-tried way be not used alone for they may bee both admitted and used agreements comming from the same spirit and word where there is no demonsiration Consid The further I wade in this business the worse I like my imployment and hereupon I resolve I will no more be imployed in any such business unless I am fairly dealt withall that I may know who is the Author I am to deal with at least of what profession he is in Religion for upon the perusing of this Section some doubts arise within me concerning the intention of the Author carrying himself in a covert manner that he may be unknown which doth much move me Henry the seventh of England was wont to say hee desired nothing more than that he might know his Adversary that encountred him we do not use to buy a pig in a poke nor will I hereafter encounter with I know not whom nor of what profession he is Here the Author returns to oppose the cleerness of Scripture considering it hand over head and so opposing it whereas our Saviour requires that we should search the Scriptures that is study them wel and inquire after the true meaning of them No man searcheth after that which is before his eyes yea we are commanded to search for wisdom as we search after gold and silver and a man will be content to search deep for treasure It was wont to be said that in profundo latet veritas Truth lies deep how much more should we be content to search diligently and dig deep for the treasures of that truth which is according unto godliness after the treasures of that wisdom which makes us wise unto salvation Then again we distinguish between things necessary to salvation and other things Things necessary to salvation we say are plainly contained in Scripture many other things are not so Here we have a wilde answer at the first All the Commandments of God are his Word and so are all his Works which are through his Word 1. To say so are all his Works is to say all his Works are his Word which yet forthwith is corrected by saying they are through his Word Yet of old I have read in Chrysostome of a double Book of God the Book of his Word and the Book of his Creatures and that God at the first did teach his Creatures 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by his Works afterwards 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by his written VVord It is most true The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth his handy works Psal 19. And the invisible things of God even his eternall Power and Godhead are seen from the Creation being considered in his works Rom. 1.20 So by the administration of his providence in governing the world He leaves not himself without witness giving us rain and fruitfull seasons filling our hearts with food and gladness Act. 14.17 Yet the knowledge of God hereby being gathered onely by discourse of naturall reason men may fail of finding God though they grope after him Act. 17.27 and the wisest of Philosophers hath denied the Creation and maintained God to be a necessary Agent And they who granted and acknowledged the beginning of the world as all they who were before yet utterly denied that the world was made originally out of nothing and therefore the Apostle tells us that by faith we believe the world was made Not only Gods Commands are his VVord but the revelations of the mystery of Godliness and these are the things most remote from our capacities As for the Law as a rule of life that is more or less written in