Selected quad for the lemma: lord_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
lord_n	affection_n	zeal_n	zealous_a	192	3	9.5013	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A76988	The arraignment of errour: or, A discourse serving as a curb to restrain the wantonnesse of mens spirits in the entertainment of opinions; and as a compasse, whereby we may sail in the search and finding of truth; distributed into six main questions. Quest. 1. How it may stand with Gods, with Satans, with a mans own ends, that there should be erroneous opinions? Quest. 2. What are the grounds of abounding errours? Quest. 3. Why so many are carried away with errour? Quest. 4. Who those are that are in danger? Quest. 5. What are the examens, or the trials of opinions, and characters of truth? Quest. 6. What waies God hath left in his Word for the suppressing of errour, and reducing of erroneous persons? Under which generall questions, many other necessary and profitable queries are comprized, discussed, and resolved. And in conclusion of all; some motives, and means, conducing to an happy accommodation of our present differences, are subjoyned. / By Samuel Bolton minister of the Word of God at Saviours-Southwark.	Bolton, Samuel, 1606-1654.	1646 (1646)	Wing B3517; Thomason E318_1; ESTC R200547	325,527	388

first mercifull end which God hath to his people in permitting errours in the Church to sift his people 2. A second mercifull end which God hath to his own people in the permitting errours viz. to exercise and quicken our graces As God suffers corruptions in our persons to exercise and quicken us he could as easily destroy them as subdue them unbe● them as conquer them so he suffers errours in his Churches on purpose to exercise and quicken his own people We had need of quickning rather then God would suffer his people to be dead he suffers the Canaanites to be as thornes in their sides and rather then dead he suffers errours in the Church and if there be any life in you this will quicken this will raise it God hath on purpose permitted in all ages some errour or other on foote to exercise the graces of that generation the Fathers were famous in their times for contending against the errours of their dayes Augustine was famous in his Contests against Pelagius Athanasius in his against Arius Cyrill in his against Nestorius Gregory Nazianzen in his against Macedonius Leo in his against Eutyches Hierom in his against Jovinianus Ruffinus c. Every age hath had its poison and its antidote There was never any generation but as there were some suffering truths in it some truth that perverse generations would not close withall so there were some infecting and poisoning errours in former times the abounding errours were the errours on the left hand and God grant that the spreading errours now be not errours on the right hand The Devill hath been so long beaten at the other that now like a wily serpent he will goe and change weapons he hath long been a prince of darknesse who hath ruled in the children of disobedience and now he would become an Angel of light if possible to seduce the children of the light You have something of that insinuated in the text Deceivers shall come in Christs name and say of your opinions loc here is Christ and this is high deceit It may be God will exercise this generation with more of this kind then others because they have learn'd Christ better they have more knowledge he hath done more for this generation then any other and therefore God may exercise us more then others And this is another end God hath in permitting errours to quicken and to exercise the graces of his people And there are foure graces or gratious dispositions that God chiefely aimes at to exercise in his people by this suffering errours abroad 1. He would exercise their knowledge or rather their conscientious study and search to know the mind of God more fully God would put them on to reade more studie more converse more to search the Scriptures more to examine what is truth and that diligently Many that are too much of Gallios temper now of whom you reade when he heard of those things which Paul preached it is said he cared not for those things This is a prophane temper of spirit and is naught A man may as well reject truth as errour if a man doe not try and examine for ought he knowes he hath rejected a truth instead of errour if he doe not sit down to examine what is truth and search whether it be an errour or a truth how should he be able to close with the one or reject the other There are many that reject the opinions of these dayes for errours because they will not be troubled to search and examine them whether they be truths or no. We are commanded to try all things 2 Thess 5.21 and how should we be grounded and established in the truth or know truth from errour if we doe not search into the mind of God and learne what is his mind and will 1 Joh. 4 1. Beleeve not every spirit but try the spirits whether they be of God anno Many a truth is rejected in these dayes because many an errour is entertained You doe by opinions as you doe by Pamphlets because there be many lies abroad therefore you will not beleeve truth Certainly this is that which God preacheth to you in these times by the multitude of opinions to search what is truth to take more paines to examine and search out the mind of God It is not enough with Pilate to say what is truth and then sit still as many doe aske questions rather for discourse sake then out of desire to be satisfied but you must search the mind of God inquire diligently 2. God would now exercise your zeale of love if you have any love in you shew it to the Lord love is a zealous affection We say the fire burnes the hotter for the cold weather the colder the weather the hotter and more scorching is the fire it is per Antiperistasin so the more errours abroad the hotter will your love and zeale burne to the truth and in the truth As the bellowes blow the fire and intend it so doth this opposition intend our affections the more or love to God to truth to others 3. God doth it to exercise a dependentiall faith upon God that he would not suffer us to be carried away with errour If you have any faith you will now exercise it faith to beleeve promises he hath said we shall be taught of God he hath said he will leade us into the way of all truth c. here is faith exercised to close with promises to sue out promises and to depend on God for the performance of them Oh now the soule gets to a promise finds sweet there and some stay it the midst of his unsetlednesse now he esteemes a promise above a world 4. A fourth grace God would exercise is the grace of prayer Now will the soule goe and improve all his interest in Heaven that God would leade him into the way of all truth that he would not leave them to be carried away in any way of errour Now doth the soule ply the throne of grace indeed tells God of his pliablenesse to entertaine any truth of God truth with penury truth with prison truth with any affliction now he goes and tells him how willing he is to let in any light of God his eyes shall be broad open to receive what God shall reveale now he goes and beggs for the Fathers teaching the Spirits leading into the way of all truth professing the universall willingnesse of his spirit to close with naked truth upon any termes Such dispositions are now drawne forth which perhaps had no occasion to appeare all thy life before and there is comfort in exercise of them the soule is comforted in their actings although he cannot yet find what is the will and mind of God And this is the second mercifull end God hath to his people in the permitting and suffering errours as to sift them so to exercise them 3. A third mercifull end which God hath to his people in suffering errours and that is to

forbid that any should lift up a hand against such an one I will say of such as Augustine saith to Procutianus the Donatist Such persons erring from the truth must be drawn home by milde instruction and not by cruel enforcement Spirituall weapons are most proper for such a conscience Carnall weapons will never accomplish their end this is sure A conscience that cannot be bribed cannot be frighted he that is above the favours he is above the tenours of the world too When the Emperour offered Basil great preferment to tempt him from the faith he rejects them with scorn saying Offer these things to children after he threatned him most grievously Basil contemns all and saith Threaten your purple Gallants who give themselves to their pleasures In vain are promises or threatnings to them to whom the whole world is despise d. A man truly conscientious though in an errour he is too bigg for the world to conquer morall weapons are the only way to deal with him his sufferings they doe confirm and establish yea and comfort him in stead of shaking and unsetling him in his way What ever is taken up upon conscientious grounds will not be left upon worldly discouragements if it be certainly there was no conscience in it or if any conscience it will quickly check him for it Men meerly forced from an errour certainly had either no conscience in it or if they had they injure conscience if meerly upon such grounds they doe recede from it It is therefore my earnest and vehement desire that men of conscience and such as are truly conscientious would separate themselves from those who falsly pretend conscience All march under your banner all shelter themselves under you and pretend conscience with you who are men of no conscience You that are truly godly and conscientious Come out from among them and be ye separate be not numbered up among Atheists Papists Socinians Arminians c. rid your selves of that generation who hold such destructive and soul-murthering errours and yet pretend conscience with you and we have done we will follow you no longer And thus I have done with two of the Rules to be observed in the prudentiall dispencing of this power viz. that it be dispenced with distinction of errours and with distinction of persons We come now to the third which is 3. This power is to be dispenced with distinction of penalties There are degrees of errour all errours are not alike culpable some errours are more sinfull more dangerous and destructive then others are and as all are not alike culpable so should not all be alike punishable Besides there is difference also in the persons who are in the wayes of errour some are seducers others seduced some are the promoters others but the followers some again are of proud arrogant turbulent spirits others are of meek humble conscientious and peaceable spirits all which layes down an unquestionable ground of distinction and difference to be made in the dispencing of this power Calvin layes down a three-fold distinction of errours 1. There are some saith he which ought to be tollerated and born withall by a spirit of meeknesse and are not by any means to divide and separate between brethren 2. There are others which though they deserve chastisement yet saith he Modicum castigationem sufficere gentle correction is sufficient 3. And there is a third sort of errours saith he which plucks up religion by the roots overthrows the foundations are full of blasphemies against God and carries poor souls into destruction c. And these saith he are to be cut off with the severest punishments And with this consents Bull●nger Beza against Bellius and Monfortius c. By which is evident from them that as they held a difference of errours Calv refu error M ch Servet p. 694. inter opusc so did they also affirm distinction of penalties All errours are not alike sinfull nor are all errours alike punishable Certainly there will be differences in opinions We know but in part and every one hath need of his grains of allowance otherwise the best may be found too light Frate●nam inter ecclesias evang licas cōmu●●o●e n non esse rescindendā ob diversas de questiooni●us controversis opiniones c. Davē ad frater communionem inter eccl evan ●estaur adbort Z●n●h in quart praecept Fox Acts and Mon. And it is as certain that there are some errours which are better healed by patience then by punishment And I could wish that those which may be cured by patience may never taste of any outward punishment Pity it were that things of small moment should ever divide or alienate the affections of those whom one God one Lord one faith one spirit one calling bands of so great force have linked together Certainly much in this case is to be borne withall The bonds of the brotherly communion between Churches evangelical ought not saith Davenant to be dissolved upon every difference in opinion but only for the denying and opposing fundamentals And as their communion is not to be dissolved so is not the Magistrates power to be provoked against such differences It is a pass●ge of Zanchy That those who would stir up Princes to have all p●ople Kingdoms Commonwealths which not overthrowing the fundamentals of Religion differ from them in any thing to be condemned of heresie excluded from favour driven out of their coasts those certainly are no friends either to their Princes or to the Church of Christ There is a Story in M. Fox in his Acts and Monuments taken out of Guil. de sanct Amor. whom he commends for a valiant Champion of Christ and opposer of Antichrist among other marks of false Apostles he sets down this True Apostles did not procure the indignation of those Princes with whom they were esteemed and regarded against such persons as would not receive and hear them according as we read in the life of Simon and Jude the Apostles the chief Ruler being very angry commanded a great fire to be made that the Bishops might be cast into the same and all other who went about to defame the doctrine of Christ and the Apostles but the Apostles fell down before the Emperour saying We beseech you Sir let not us be the Authours or causes of this destruction or calamity nor let us who are sent to be the preservers of men and to revive those dead through sin be killers of those that be alive Upon which the learned authour after this manner inferreth They then who have the favour of Princes and use it as an Engine against them who are contrary minded to them are no true Apostles I relate not this to give the least countenance to that licentious liberty which men take in differences in these daies Certainly this was farre from the intention of the authour nor would I have it extended beyond the bounds laid down but to caution men that they doe not devide their affections