Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	build_v	peter_n	rock_n	5,754	5	9.5900	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A11789	The high-waies of God and the King Wherein all men ought to vvalke in holinesse here, to happinesse hereafter. Deliuered in tvvo sermons preached at Thetford in Norfolke, anno 1620. By Thomas Scot Batchelor in Diuinity.	Scott, Thomas, 1580?-1626.	1623 (1623)	STC 22079; ESTC S116969	53,883	90

gift and so resolutely to rest vpon the grace of the giuer as to assure himselfe and others of this crowne Presumption is faith with them and true sauing faith is Presumption When they heate him say Rom. 8. 38. I am perswaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shal be able to seperate vs from the loue of God which is in Christ Iesus our Lord they would gladly make this only a probable perswasion no certaine faith but others seeing this too grosse a dallying with the manifest scope of the Text say Saint Paule vvas assured of the certainty of his saluation of the happy end of his right way by extraordinary reuelation only But let it be so was it reuealed to him for others that beleeue too he saith so for he saith nothing shal be able to seperate vs Now then if it be reuealed to him for others let vs beleeue the reuelation and apply it with vnfained faith to our owne hearts in particular as he did to his And by the way obserue what it is that Saint Paule builds his faith vpon so that nothing can preuaile against it Is it vpon Peter that rocke Is it vpon Indulgences or Pardons of man Is it vpon personall righteousnes inherent iustice or his owne or other mens merits No It is vpon that rocke Christ Iesus it is vpon the loue and Charity of God in and through the merits of Christ Iesus our Lord which loue not death nor life nor Angell nor power nor heauen not hell can alter for Gods loue is immutable he is not as man that he should repent whom he loues he loues to the end his wayes seeme hard but the Yssues of them are the wayes of life Whereas therefore our Aduersaries accuse vs of nouel presumption for teaching a faith that may assure vs of our saluation and to elude this cleere place of Saint Paul and diuerse other the like say This was reuealed to him by extraordinary fauour Wee know and confesse that hee as a worthy instrument of Gods glory as a Master builder had many things reuealed vnto him for the edification of the Church but for this particular it was no otherwise reuealed to him then it is to euery faithfull Christian in vvhom the Spirit of God dwels as in a temple and there teacheth them to offer Sacrifice and to cry Abba Father with teares and grones that cannot be expressed Well may there bee a difference in the measure of the reuelation not in the matter reuealed Wee know saith Saint Iohn 1. Ep. 3. 14. that wee are translated from death to life c. and after verse 23. He that keepeth his commandement dwelleth in him and he in him and heereby wee know that he abideth in vs euen by that Spirit which he hath giuen vs. So the persons are wee not I not Saint Iohn alone but wee all that beleeue and loue for this faith and loue are inseperable Againe wee are translated not it is probable wee shal be but wee are vvhich makes it certaine by faith as if it were done and accomplished Lastly we know this and wee know it by the Spirit which God hath giuen vs the same Spirit that taught Saint Paule and Saint Iohn is our tutor too For other reuelations Christ himselfe hath silenced all pretences and shadowes and giuen absolute authority to the Scripture opened and interpreted by the Spirit of God to resolue all scruples in case of conscience Luk 16. 19 And this wee may see cleerely in the Parable of Diues and Lazarus where Diues after he had failed of his personall suite and could not obtaine a drop of mercy for himselfe yet requested Abraham to send one to his friends to forewarne them of the state he was in not that they might pray for him for that vvas to no purpose the tree was falne but that they might by repentance and amendment auoyde the danger themselues To whom Abraham giues this answere They haue Moses and the Prophets let them heare them so he turnes them to the Scriptures wherein the will of God is reuealed to euery man what they should shun what they should doe what they should beleeue and how they should liue And when Diues persisting in his suite saith Nay father Abraham but if one went vnto them from the dead they will repent Abraham replies definitiuely and resolutely If they heare not Moses and the Prophets neither will they be perswaded though one rose from the dead So wee see he that doubts the Scripture or beleeues any thing against it vnder pretence of reuelations from heauen or hell or Purgatory or the like fictions of Ghosts and Spirits appearing is in a wise case and may be drawne into a fooles Paradise but neuer into the true Paradise and so wander in this way which seemes right but the end thereof are the Yssues of Death To shut vp this point obserue the certainty of this iudgement as the Apostle Saint Iohn before in the 1. Ep. 3. Chap 14. verse speakes in the present Tence we know that wee are translated to note the certainty of their translation to glory so heere Salomon saith It is the way of Death and the end thereof is so to note the certainty of the thing And this is a plaine proofe of the Spirits assistance to discerne the end and determination of a thing before the end be come when otherwise it were too late to doe it For it is too late for Diues to repent in hell when the end is come he should haue attended better to Moses and to the Prophets before and beleeued the word of God not the foolish traditions of his forefathers against the Word or the idle old-wiues tales of his foremothers besides the Word he should haue attended the admonition of the faithfull Pastor and Prophet and not to the fained Legend of his flattering Patasites trencher-fed Chaplaines The perfection of all humane judgement is to iudge by the end and issue and euen heere wee often erre too but if man goes farther of himselfe by nature it is but coniecture and presumption arising from long experience in obseruation of like circumstances as the effect leades vs to the cause but yet euen then wee cannot say it is or certainely it shall bee but it may be so it may so fall out it may be the end of Death But the Spirit of God sees the end before it comes he sees the thoughts afarre off and iudgeth and warneth men aforehand inwardly by good and holy motions outwardly by the Scriptures and he that will not beleeue the holy Spirit of God in the Scriptures it is but iustice if God giue him ouer to a reprobate minde that he should be seduced and beleeue lies who would not receiue the truth of God but was transported with respect of times persons places and other humane Motiues And heere before wee

as this Therefore learne to vnderstand the Doctrines that crosse and contradict one another and whilst thou beleeuest Christ saying This is my body beleeue so as thou maist not crosse the Articles of thy Faith but know it is his body after no carnall and fleshly maner for the flesh profits nothing Ioh 6. but after a spirituall and diuine manner Not food for thy stomacke thy teeth thy belly but food for thy soule thy vnderstanding thy faith And so hee cals the bread his body heere as himselfe a dore and a vine and a rocke and Peter astone in other places of Scripture And therefore consider after Christ ascended he neuer appeared to his Apostles in body againe as he vsed to do often before Act. 7 55. But in heauen he appeared personally to Stephen to confirme his faith And when before his ascension he appeared to the twelue with whome Thomas Didimus was Iohn 20. he did not vrge Thomas to beleeue any thing contrary to his sense of seeing hearing and feeling but rather willed him to confirme his faith by seeing and seeing what before he doubted And then hee addes Happy are those which see not and yet beleeue he doth not say Happy are they who beleeue contrary things to that they see as they must do who beleeue the bread to be changed into his naturall body which they see and feele to be true bread still but Happy are those who beleeue when they see nothing to the contrary hauing the word of God which cannot contradict it selfe for their warrant As wee do beleeue his Resurrection and Ascension which wee saw not and his comming to Iudgement in glory which we hope to see Thus when thou shalt heare Christ command thee to take Bread and Wine in the Sacrament 1. Cor. 11. and a Priest countermand this and will thee to take bread only Saint Paule commanding thee from God to pray with vnderstanding 1. Cor. 14. 16. and a Romane Priest willing thee to pray in a strange tongue God himselfe blessing Matrimony and permitting all men to marry and the Apostle Paule saying Mariage is honorable with all men and in speciall tearmes a Bishop or Deacon ought to be the husband of one wife ● Tim. 3. 2. c. and hearest a Romane Priest say the contrarie nay inioyne thee to do the contrary and to binde thee by an othe to do it Then thou that hast eares to heare heare what S. Iohn saith to thee 2. Ioh. 10. 11. If any come vnto you and brings not this doctrine that is brings any contrary doctrine to Christs receiue him not to house neither bid him good speed And heare what God gaue his people in charge of old in the like case Deut. 13. 1. 2. 3. If there arise among you a Prophet or a dreamer of dreames and giueth thee a signe or a wonder And the signe or the wonder come to passe whereof he spake vnto thee saying Let vs goe after other Gods which thou hath not knowne and let vs serue them Thou shalt not hearken vnto the wordes of that Prophet or that dreamer of dreames for the Lord your God proueth you to know whether you loue the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soule So thou art not to beleeue him though he confirmes his Doctrine by miracles nay suspect him the more and the rather for that for miracles are the principall shelters and pretences of Antichrist as thou maist see Math. 24. 24. 2. Thes 2. 9. So then beleeue nothing which contradicts the Scripture for the Scripture cannot be contrary to it selfe because it proceeds from the Spirit of God which is the Spirit of vnity of loue and of truth And to shut vp all this with a familiar example which the weakest apprehension may conceaue the sleightest memory retaine Not long since there vvas a tryall before the Iudges of Assize at Thetford betwixt two townes for a Common Oxborough Gooderstone in which both claymed interest The one towne chalenged by prescription and pretended vse and proued the vse by them their forefathers time out of minde The other parties produced an auncient Composition in writing vnder the hand and seale of the Lords and Tenants on both sides The Iudge then determined that against a writing there could be no prescription though without a writing prescription would be currant Because the writing controuled their present custome and shewed Ab initio non fuit sic there was a time when their old vse was not therefore their claime was false In prouing their vse against this composition they proued themselues intruders incrochers trespassers euill neighbors It was so farre from doing them good as it might haue done them hurt laying them open to euery mans action whom they had offended So heere wheere the word is silent there heare Antiquity heare the Church honor tradition preferre prescription custome vse If thou doest not then thou shewest thy selfe a selfe-wild Schismaticke or an obstinate Hereticke But where the Scripture speakes where thou hast that writing vnder hand and seale that old composition betwixt God and Man appointing Man his limits there let not man presume to intercommune with God but let the tongues of men and Angels be silent And whatsoeuer doctrine crosseth that crosse thou it out of thy Creed or God will crosse thee out of the booke of life Heare Saint Paule aduising the Collossians Let no man beare rule ouer you vnder shew of a voluntary humility and worshipping of Angels Col. ● 18. intruding into those things which he hath not seene vainely puft vp by his fleshly minde So whatsoeuer humble shew or pretence he hath he is puft vp who presumes to crosse the doctrine of the Scripture And though he comes in sheepes clothing Mat. 7. 15. with shew of mortification and contempt of the world yet inwardly he is a rauening wolfe and desires to swallow widowes houses vnder the colour of long prayers Mat. 23. auricular confession and almes And though he seemes a worme and no man and creeping humbly vpon his belly lickes the dust of the earth yet beware he may be a subtile serpent and no silly worme for vnder the like faire shew Sathan deceiued our Ancestors in Paradise Therefore attend Saint Paules admonition carefully where he saith Gal. 1. 8. But though wee or an Angell from heauen preach any other Gospel to you then that which wee haue preached vnto you let him be accursed And as if this were not sufficient obserue how he riuets this commandement or admonition againe Gal. 1. 9. and againe saying As we sayd before so say I now againe If any man preach any other Gospel vnto you then that yee haue receiued let him be accursed What you haue receiued you know in the Lords Prayer the Tenne Commandements and the Creede for these are Epitomees and abridgements of all If therefore Saint Paule or an Angell an Angell