Selected quad for the lemma: judgement_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
judgement_n	according_a	truth_n	word_n	1,678	5	4.0059	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A63872	Testimonium Jesu, or, The demonstration of the spirit for the confirmation of Christian faith, and conviction of all infidelity a sermon preached before the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor and aldermen of the city of London, at the Guild Hall-Chappel / by Bryan Turner.	Turner, Bryan, 1634 or 5-1698.	1681 (1681)	Wing T3271; ESTC R24645	24,766	38

Eutychianus Whether it was Oraculum daemonum aut figmentum hominum he assures us not To me it seems grounded on some Opinions of the Primitive Christians concerning Antichrist's appearance but how miserably it fail'd St. Austin observes that in the very year Gaudentius and Jovius overthrew the Temples of the Heathen gods in Cartage Et plurimi Christiani facti qui tanquam verâ illâ Divinatione revocabantur à fide postquam eam completo eodem annorum numero inanem irridendamque viderunt De Civit lib. 18. cap. 54. the Papal or Mahometan under the Character of a divine Institution For certainly this he would have done had not the ability of his own Spirit fail'd him both as to the certainty and distance of such a contingency because nothing imaginable could have bruised the heel of the Womans Seed so dangerously confirmed Gentile Idolatry and staggar'd the Faith of Mankind so effectually as this by confronting a testimony for Antichrist out of the Heathen Oracles as good as that for Christ out of the Old Testament Prophecies And therefore all that the Serpent can do in this matter is to play the after-game as subtilly as may be and inspire Mahomet when he finds him Enthusiastick and amongst a People fit for delusion and so to club to perfect the Imposture or else to transform himself into an Angel of Light the only way to mischief the Christian Church as the Bishop of Rome doth himself into the Catholick or a Jesuit himself into a Christian or a Quaker himself into a man of Perfection And because I may not scan every objected Instance in Heathen Divination I shall in general only say that who so affirms any other than the Divine can be the Spirit of Prophecy seems to suffrage with them that blasphemed against him in leaving no distinctive Character to discern the Holy Spirit by and so may ascribe to Beelzebub what is the Divine Spirit 's prerogative And I call this of Prediction the Divine Spirit 's prerogative because God in the Prophet puts all other Diviners upon this Test Isa 41. 21 c. Produce your cause saith the Lord Bring forth your strong reasons saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth and shew us See Isa 47. 3 4 5 6 7. what shall happen let them shew the former things what they be that we may consider 'em and know the latter end of them or declare us things for to come Shew the things that are to come hereafter that we may know that ye are gods Allowing then that the sphere of Jesus's Interests is as large as the concerns of his Churches in all Ages the Prophecies of Enoch Noah Jacob and Others before his Incarnation or of Agabus St. John and Others after it make no Objection against this Truth That the Spirit of Prophecy is the Testimony of Jesus and nones else so that no cause distinct or opposite to his can produce it all divine Revelation centring in him to which give all the Act. 10. 43. Prophets witness 't is theresore called the Spirit of Christ in the Prophets 1 Pet. 1. 11. and 't is observable when this Divine Spirit was to convince the World of Sin for not believing it silenc'd all the Oracles in the World both true and false I mean both Jewish and Heathen Act 16. 16 17. 19. 16 19. which might be made use of in opposition to the Gospel And that 's my first Observation 'T is the Testimony of Jesus i. e. peculiarly and nones else Secondly 'T is not the Person employed Man or Angel on whom the validity of this Testimony depends but 't is The Spirit of Prophecy not only as revealing God's mind but as predicting to confirm the Revelation i. e. 't is the Testimony of Omniscient Veracity or of the prime Verity for nothing can furnish out the Spirit of Prophecy but a Science and Truth that is indefectible and infinite For the account of certainty in the Divine Prescience as to Contingencies and the products of Liberty must not be resolv'd into the Decree as if God certainly foreknew this would be the product of Liberty therefore because he decreed it for the Decree makes all Contingencies equally possible unless we introduce Fatality But the certainty of Prescience must be resolved solely into the Infinity of Science There is no searching of his understanding Isa 40. 28. So then whether it be Man or Angel that 's acted by the Spirit of Prophecy whether Moses or Balaam Simeon or Caiphas it matters not contrary to Maimonides's Rules about Qualifications the Testimony is the Spirits of Prophecy the attestation to the Revelation is made by the Prime Verity and the force lies in the presumptive truth of Nature's concession What God says is true or as St. John expresses it If we receive the witness of men the witness of God is greater 1 Joh. 5. 9. For all things in the World are true or false as they have or want the Testimony of the * Thus the Sun evidenceth it self by its own light and all other things visible by that illustration of Light it lends them either transiently as to the Air or permanently as to some Precious Stones c. Prime Verity whether that Verity record its Testimony in the settled Laws and Volumes of Nature upon which the study of Philosophy and all Secular knowledge depends or in the prescripts of Revelation called for distinctions sake Supernatural knowledge i. e. therefore this or that Knowledge is true in the nature of things because their causes and effects are apprehended as the first Cause and the Divine Truth did constitute them And so in Revelation this or that created Knowledge and Judgment is true or false which apprehends it according to the word and meaning of the first Revealer or otherwise We see this in Humane affairs where the grand decision of Truth depends entirely upon an Oath and therefore upon an Oath because an Oath is the attestation or appeal to the Prime Verity which Testimony upon Oath being ever esteemed most Sacred till the Licentious and Atheistical prophaneness of our Swearing Age essayed to unhallow and make it common Therefore it must follow That whatever is attested by the Prime Verity itself is true without any other or against any other contrary Evidence and 't is this that renders the Faith of Christian Mysteries reasonable Now the Declarations or Revelations of the Spirit of Prophecy Self-evidently appear to proceed from the Prime Verity because no knowledge but the Divine and Infinite can reach the Spirit of Prophecy i. e. can confirm Revelation by certain Prediction And if I mistake not this wounds the Leviathan who has taken his pastime in these waters of the Sanctuary and may shew him that Divine Faith may and ought to be resolved into Divine Truth that so its certainty might be stedfast as any knowledge in the World for whosoever may minister to this Faith its relyance must be upon

Finger of God I am sensible the Common Opinion presses me most with this Objection as if my Doctrine evacuated the conviction of our Saviour's Miracles and patroniz'd the Jews Infidelity in not believing for the Works sake But as has been observ'd by a Judicious Man this is a Dr. Jackson mistake for the Jews had a certain Rule of Tryal whereby to discern that the Works of Jesus were wrought in God and not in Beelzebub and that Rule was no other than the Spirit of Prophecy which like the Light as it Self-evidently manifests its own Divinity so by its Illustration it manifests other things which Spirit of Prophecy in the Old Testament those Oracles committed to the Jews had foretold that the Messiah so born so Rom. 3. 2. qualified so circumstantiated as Jesus and none other ever was should do these particular Works of wonder So that the Miracles of Christ were to them truly Signs and therefore convictive not solely because Divine operations for that was the question but because they were Contingencies determinately foretold And this is plain from our Saviour's Answer to the Pharisees requiring a Sign Matt. 16. 3. Can ye not discern the signs of the times or as St. Luke This time Chap. 12. 56. where in St. Luke Christ adds as awakening their Common reason Yea why do you not of your selves judge what is right which argues that they had a Rule to judge by i. e. why do ye not of your selves without my granting your request of a Sign judge out of the Prophets that I am the Messiah The works that I do in my Father's Name-bear witness of John 5. 36. me i. e. who I am Why how the Answer Christ made to John the Baptist Disciples Matt. 11. 4. resolves it Go tell John what ye see and hear the blind see the lame walk c. i. e. Go tell him that Isaiah's Prophecy you see is ALL Christ's Miracles were Signs to the Jews because presignified by the Prophets whom the Jews believed and in the Oeconomy of Grace the Messiah was therefore sent to that People first who had the Records of the Spirit of Prophecy I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel Why Mankind had as much interest in him as they but the most satisfactory convictive way of propagating his Faith to Mankind was from them which is the reason it was to be preach'd to all Nations Beginning from Jerusalem Luke 24. 46. fulfilled by me Isai 35. 6. and 61. 1. and then let him and you consider who I am Where Christ to that grand Question which was the Pharisees as well as John's in answer produceth the Testimony of the Spirit of Prophecy and hereby he proved his works to be Divine or that he was sent by the Father as he himself speaks and then I allow most unquestionable and demonstrative Convictions And why was not this that which aggrandiz'd their Sin into blasphemy against the Holy Ghost Matt. 12. that they wilfully withstood the Convictions not only of the Spirit of Power but of Prophecy too of which latter they were such competent Judges whatever they were of the former Nay 't is further observable in this matter that after Jesus had prest the Jews with the two first Witnesses in Heaven viz. the Father's Voice and the Son's Miracles Joh. 5. 36 37. he finally laies the stress of his Convictions on the Writings of the Prophets Had ye believed Moses ye would have believed me for he wrote of me i. e. Joh. 5. 46 the grand Witness I appeal to at the bar of mens Judgment is the Spirit of Prophecy in the written Records Search the Scriptures and all this to prove what Christ v. 39 had said v. 30. that the Father sent him Where after all the other Testimonies produc'd he finally relies upon the Spirit of Prophecy But if ye believe not his writings how shall ye believe my words where Jesus himself v. 47. plainly acknowledgeth That in humane Judgment the test both of his Words and Works and all his Pretensions of Divine mission mentioned v. 30 c. was the Spirit of Prophecy as predicting So that I see not but we may conclude without any derogation That Christ's Miracles receiv'd the force of their conviction from the Spirit of Prophecy not of Power only and so the Apostles Miracles did too for as Christ's Miracles were determinately foretold by Moses and the Prophets so the Apostles Miracles were by Christ Both were Signs i. e. foretold Christ's Works in all the Old Testament the Apostles Mark 16. 17. These Signs shall follow them and elsewhere And this was the Gospels Confirmation God bearing them witness both with Signs and Wonders and divers Heb. 2. 3 4. Miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost The first of Signs convictive as being the Testimony of Omniscient Verity the second of Miracles awakening the Senses and thereby the Understanding to consider that Conviction as the force of Omnipotence most effectually in this dull state can the last of Gifts as qualifying the Gospels Ministers to so difficult an employment Lastly After all their Miracles both Jesus and his Apostles back their Doctrine with this Testimony of the Spirit of Prophecy and hang the weight of their Convictions thereon This is that which was spoken or thus it is written throughout all the New Testament And I think 't is most remarkable That after all possible satisfaction given to their Senses Christ proves the truth of his Resurrection from this Testimony and 't is spoken signanter Then opened he their understandings that Luk. 24. 45 46. they might understand the Scriptures i. e. he explain'd the Scriptures intelligibly to them and said unto them Thus it is written c. From all which consider'd I may conclude this first Reason why the Spirit of Prophecy is The Testimony because 't was that Tally could not be counterfeited given therefore to prevent delusions for the Rules of Tryal were easie and certain and no Divination could bear the test but what had the Spirit of God its Author or else deserv'd not the name of Prophecy Secondly 'T is The Testimony because all Ages are under its conviction equally more than they are of any others abstracting from this And my reason is because this Testimony is permanent and the rest without this are transient though this adjoyned makes even them permanent too Ex. gr 1. The Father's Voice as I remember was only heard at the Baptism and Transfiguration of Jesus 2. The Word incarnate was personally present only in the Daies of Augustus and Tiberius 3. The Holy Ghost's Visible descent was but once at Jordan and once at Jerusalem the Day of Pentecost And these as generally interpreted are the Three in Heaven So likewise for the other Three on Earth 1. Holiness or Moral goodness is the pretence of every Philosopher a standing and laudable Testimony I confess and therefore the grand design