Selected quad for the lemma: heaven_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
heaven_n	father_n	son_n	trinity_n	2,382	5	9.7008	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59791	An apology for writing against Socinians, in defence of the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and incarnation in answer to a late earnest and compassionate suit for forbearance to the learned writers of some controversies at present / by William Sherlock ...	Sherlock, William, 1641?-1707.	1693 (1693)	Wing S3265; ESTC R21192	19,159	38

says The first Reformers complained of this and desired a purer and more spiritual sort of Divinity What With respect to the Doctrine of the Trinity and Incarnation What purer Reformers were these I 'm sure not our English Reformers whom he censures for retaining Scholastick cramping Terms in their Publick Prayers He means the beginning of our Litany O God the Father of Heaven O God the Son Redeemer of the World O God the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son O Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity Three Persons and One God These are his Scholastick Cramping Terms which he would fling out of our Liturgy when the season of such blessed Alterations comes I hope those Excellent Persons among us who I doubt not for better Reasons did not long since think of some Alterations will consider what a foul Imputation this is upon such a Design when such a person shall publickly declare That they ought to Alter and Reform the Doctrine of the Trinity out of our Prayers But the whole Mystery of this Latitude and Simplicity of Faith which he pleads for is that plausible Project which has been so much talked of of late to confine our selves to Scripture Terms and Phrases to use none but Scripture Words in our Creeds and Prayers without any Explication in what sense those words are to be understood As he tells us Certainly we may Worship God right well yea most acceptably in words of his own Stamp and Coinage Now at the first Proposal few men would suspect that there should be any hurt in this though it would make one suspect some secret in it to consider that Hereticks were the first Proposers of it and that Orthodox Christians rejected it The Arians objected this against the Homoousion or the Son 's being of the same Substance with the Father that it was an Unscriptural Word but the Nicene Fathers did not think this a good reason to lay it aside For what reason can there be to reject any words which we can prove to express the true sense of Scripture though they are not found there For must we believe the Words or the Sense of Scripture And what reason then can any man have to reject the Words though they be no Scripture-Words if he believes the Sense contained in them to be the sense of Scripture The Homoiousion or that the Son had a Nature like the Father's tho not the same was no more a Scripture-Word than the Homoousion and yet the Arians did not dislike that because it was no Scripture-Word nor are the Socinians angry at any man who says That Christ is but a meer man who had no Being before he was born of the Virgin Mary tho these words are no where in Scripture And is it not strange that a man who heartily believes or at least pretends to believe that Father Son and Holy Ghost are One Eternal God should be angry with a Trinity in Unity or Three Persons and one God which do as aptly express the Faith which he professes as any Words he can think of It is very odd to be zealous for Scripture-Words without the Scripture Sense If the Scripture have any determined Sense then that which is the true Sense of Scripture is the true Faith and if we must contend earnestly for the true Faith we must contend for the true Sense of Scripture and not merely for its Words and when Hereticks have used their utmost art to make the Words of Scripture signifie what they please is it not necessary to fix their true Sense and to express that Sense in such other Words as Hereticks cannot pervert There are but few words in common speech but what are sometimes differently used in a Proper or Metaphorical a Large or a Limited Sense and all wise and honest men easily understand from the circumstances of the place in what sense they are used but if men be perverse they may expound words properly when they are used metaphorically or metaphorically when they are used properly and there is no confuting them from the bare signification of the word because it may be and oftentimes is used both ways and therefore in such cases we must consider the Circumstances of the Text and compare it with Parallel Texts to find out in what sense the word is there used and when we have found it it is reasonable and necessary to express the true Christian Faith not merely in Scripture words which are abused and perverted by Hereticks but in such other words if we can find any such as express the true sense in which the Scripture-words are used and in which all Christians must understand them who will retain the Purity of the Christian Faith We do not hereby alter the Christian Faith nor require them to believe any thing more than what the Scripture teaches tho we require them to profess their Faith in other words which are not indeed in Scripture but express the true and determined sense of Scripture words And this is all the Latitude of Faith which this Stander-by so tragically complains we have destroyed viz. That we have brought the Scripture words to a fixt and determined sense that Hereticks can no longer conceal themselves in a Latitude of expression nor spread their Heresies in Scripture words with a Traditionary Sense and Comment of their own I would ask any man who talks at this rate about a Latitude of Faith Whether there be any more than One True Christian Faith And whether Christ and his Apostles intended to teach any more Or whether they did not intend That all Christians should be obliged to believe this One Faith If this be granted there can be no more Latitude in the Faith than there is in a Unit and if they taught but One Faith they must intend that their words should signifie but that one Faith and then there can be no Intentional Latitude in their words neither and what Crime then is the Church guilty of if she teach the true Christian Faith that she teaches it in such words as have no Latitude no Ambiguity of Sense which Hereticks may deny if they please but which they can't corrupt in favour of their Heresies as they do Scripture words It is an amazing thing to me that any man who has any Zeal any Concernment for the true Christian Faith who does not think it perfectly indifferent what we believe or whether we believe any thing or not should judge it for the advantage of Christianity and a proper Expedient for the Peace of the Church for all men to agree in the same Scripture words and understand them in what sense they please tho one believes Christ to be the Eternal Son of God and another to be but a mere man which it seems has no great hurt in it if they do but agree in the same words But if the Faith be so indifferent I cannot imagine why we should quarrel about Words the fairer and honester Proposal is That every