Linguistic DNA - Concept Modelling Demonstrator

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	apostle_n	faith_n	good_a	2,900	5	3.9902	3	false

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36019	Prove all things, hold fast that which is good, I Thess. 5.21 handled in two sermons at S. Maries in Cambridge, the first on the Commencement-Sabbath, July 1, 1655, the other since / by William Dillingham.	Dillingham, William, 1617?-1689.	1656 (1656)	Wing D1486; ESTC R19188	41,854	64

apprehensions of other men But besides this knowledge there is another kind of assent found in all believers quÃ tales given to a truth onely in respect to the divine testimony this is faith which though it be much helped by that other assent when in conjunction with it yet it is often found without it and this is that assent upon which God will have our salvation to depend and this must we therefore yield unto truth 1. Because this is God's way wherein he will save souls by Faith not by Philosophy although it may be man would have liked that way best but it pleased God through the foolishnesse of preaching to save them that believe that the glory of the power might be of God S. Paul tells us 2 Thess. 2.13 that God hath from the beginning chosen you to Salvation through Sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth and on the other side our Saviour tells us plainly and without a parable he that believes not shall be damned Mark 16. 16. 2. Because this way of faith makes most for a christian's security against falling away Faith takes the surest and fastest hold of truth By faith ye stand 2 Cor. 1. 24. but if ye will not believe surely ye shall not be established Isai. 7.9 {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Faith and firmnesse are very neare of kind in the originall the word for faith grows upon a root that signifies to nourish no danger then of withering or fading away the just by faith shall live shall indure shall persevere Heb. 10. 38. And it signifies to be firm also Hence {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Being grounded and settled and unmoved through faith as it may be well translated Col. 1. 23. But wherein may some say doth this great strength of faith lie or how comes it to be so sure an hold-fast I answer briefly 1. It is in its own nature a depending grace and doth chain the soul to God who is Adon an immoveable basis even truth it self Its root is fastened in God and from him it draws and sucks continuall supply of strength and nourishment yea further it doth link the soul to God's truth by a mutual clasping of hands as it were The soul layes hold on God by faith and God holds our faith in his own almighty hand and none can take it thence If faith do shrink and faint at any time yet God almighty will not let go his hold and so long no danger of Apostasie This mutuall complication we may see variously exprest in Scripture Sometimes the doctrine of faith is said to be delivered unto the Saints Jude 3. Sometimes they are said to be delivered into that Rom. 6. 17. Sometimes we are said to be in the truth and on the other side that to be in us we to abide in that and that to dwell in us we to keep that and that again to keep us Our faith and God's truth are as it were mutuall hostages and pawns between God and the believing soul God he engages his truth to the soul and the soul trusts God with its faith God deposites his truth in the soul and that again places its faith in God and commits it self also into his hand by believing 1 Pet. 4. 19. God trusts Paul with his Gospel counting him faithfull 1 Tim. 1. 5. as an Ambassadour 2 Cor. 5. 19. as a steward 1 Cor. 4. 1. and Paul again trusts God with his soul for he knew whom he had trusted 2 Tim. 1. 12. In which verse also we reade of Paul's {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} which was in God's keeping and in the next verse but one we heare of another {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} committed to Timothies trust and keeping If we keep God's truth he will keep our souls Christ hath praied and God hath promised that our faith should not fail but he never did so much for our rational knowledge There is faith's first advantage 2. The second advantage which faith hath above other knowledge in holding fast the truth against temptation and persecution is this That in believing the soul rests it self upon the veracity and infallibility of God whereas in other knowledge it relies upon the goodnes of its own eye-sight in observing the principles consequents the pedigree and off-spring of truth wherein it is very subject to be mistaken and is oftimes imposed upon The Devil will sooner perswade a man's reason that the world was not created by raising difficulties and puzzling his arguments than he can perswade a believers faith that God is fallible who sayes it was created The Devil wants no sophistry the more we have to do with syllogisme and deduction the more room will he find to get in his nails Again faith overcomes the flatteries and frowns of the world by seeing through them it believes God and dare not offend him knows what heaven is and will not be cheated of it as a child for a butterflie it knows what hell is and fears God rather than men who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell Thus doth faith overcome the world by believing the promises and threatnings of God and thus hath faith a preeminence over all our natural knowledge as to closing with and keeping possession of the truth Knowledge that holds it may be till a better Oratour or a more subtile disputant come but when we shall be beaten from these out-works faith will be acitadel that will hold out against all opposition for by it the heart is fixed trusting in God and the gates of hell shall never prevail against it Thus have you the first way of holding fast that which is good viz. by believing it stedfasly I shall be briefer in those that follow Secondly We must hold fast that which is good by loving it unfeignedly We have truth here presented to us under the notion of good and surely then we cannot but love it goodnesse being love's load-stone and the proper object about which it is conversant When once the soul having entertained truth doth tast and relish it delight and take pleasure in it then doth it cleave unto it as David's soul did to Jonathan's Love is an uniting affection twining it self about the thing beloved and if it be in an intense degree the thing may possibly by violence be torn from its embraces but it will first raise all its posse to prevent it And therefore the Apostle Paul bids Timothy to hold fast the form of sound words as in faith so in love 2 Tim. 1. 13. and by this we are said to cleave unto that which is good Rom. 12. 9. Let love be without dissimulation abhorre that which is evil and cleave to that which is good {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} being glewed to it as it were which is by love as the opposition there shews That we be not as children tossed to and fro and carried about with every

wind of doctrine but that we may grow up unto him who is the head and so {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} we must {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} Ephes. 4. 15. Follow the truth in love not out of fansie as children do That Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith we must be rooted and grounded in love Ephes. 3. 17. and therefore where the love of truth once decayes there truth it self staies not long after it We reade of some Rom. 1. 28. who not liking to retain God in their knowledge he gave them over to a reprobate mind And it a remarkable place that of 2 Thess. 2. 10 11 12. where it is said that the man of sinne should come after the working of Satan with all power and signes and lying wonders and with all deceivablenesse of unrighteousnesse in them that perish See what becomes of those who are deceived by the man of sinne they perish and if ye ask why so the words following will give you an answer Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved See there how necessary the love of truth is to salvation For indeed where there is no sineere love of the truth there can be no true belief of it For as the Apostle there goes on For this cause God shall send them strong delusions that they should believe a lie that they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousnesse Observe the opposition A sad place it is and I wish it were well considered by all that are so coldly affected to the truth especially by such as hate it and are so much inclined in their minds and affections to the errours of that man of sinne whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and will destroy with the brightnesse of his coming as he there threatens In the 10 verse 't is they received not the love of the truth and by the 12 verse 't is come to they believed not the truth they had lost the truth for want of love to it Would we hold truth fast we must hold it in corde as well as in capite hold it fast by loving it unfainedly Thirdly hold fast that which is good by remembring it faithfully and doubtlesse where truth is believed and beloved the mind will often be upon it quae curant meminerunt 1 Cor. 15. 1 2. Moreover brethren I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you which also you have received and wherein ye stand by which also ye are saved {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} if ye hold fast keep in memory what I preached unto you unlesse ye have believed in vain Those that do truly believe the truth will be carefull to keep it in memory which is a speciall means to preserve the faith and love of it in their hearts Memory holds fast the truth while faith and love renew their acts upon it for this cause ought we to give the more earnest heed to the things that we have heard {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} lest we leak and let them slip and so we that I say not they be spilt and perish irrecoverably Heb. 2.1 The Spirit of God confirms us in the truths taught by bringing them to our remembrance The Scriptures were written that we might believe that by hearing them preached by frequent reading them and meditating upon them as David did we might have faith begotten increased in us Therefore we ought {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} to be taken up with these duties As Paul to Timothy The minister is appointed for a remembrancer to us 1 Tim. 4.6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things then shalt thou be a good minister of Jesus Christ and when S. Paul himself went over again the cities where he had formerly preached the word the text tells us what the succese was And so were the Churches est ablished in the faith Acts 16. 5. And S. Peter thought it meet as long as he continued in his earthy tabernacle to put Christians in remembrance of the truths delivered that so they might have them alwayes in remembrance after his decease and that although they knew them already 2 Pet. 1. 12. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you alwaies in remembrance of these things though you know them and be established in the present truth Though they were already established and therefore might seem not to need putting in remembrance which is the means of establishment yet the Apostle thought it meet to do it alwayes even as long as he lived for it would further confirm them and be a means to keep them from falling from their stedfastnesse and to persevere in holding fast that which is good Fourthly another way of holding fast that which is good is by practising it conscientiously To keep the commandments is to obey them Jesus Christ tells his disciples John 15.10 if ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love as many branches as bring forth fruit abide in the vine and are fastened in it by the sap they draw S. John 1. cpist 3.c last verse He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him and he in him and hereby we know that he abideth in us by the Spirit which he hath given us S. Peter 2. cpist 1. chap. exhorts to give all diligence to adde unto faith vertue temperance godlinesse charity and the rest of the graces there reckoned up for if these things be in you and abound they will make you fruit full in the knowledge of Jesus Christ they will put forth themselves into acts and what then vers. 10. if ye do these things ye shall never fall Oft times custome engages men to continue in evil practises while they are ashamed of their principles but when good practises are backt with good principles the engagement is the stronger to continue in them and defend them An honest and good heart having heard the word keeps it and brings forth fruit with patience A good heart is the fittest cabbinet to keep the good word of God in And indeed when once the word is ingraffed upon the soul by faith it over-rules the sap of the stock and sanctifies the fruit Truth being espoused to the soul by faith and bedded by love brings forth fruit unto holinesse faith working by love and proles firmat conjugium If we would be stedfast and immoveable let us be alwayes abounding in the work of the Lord 1 Cor. 15. 58. If we would but follow that which is good as we are exhorted in the 15 verse before my text we should find that one means and a good one too of holding fast that which is good Fifthly a fifth way that we must hold fast that which is good is by professing of it constantly S. Paul was not ashamed to preach the Gospel no more must we be

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