Selected quad for the lemma: reason_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
reason_n	divine_a	faith_n	revelation_n	3,413	5	9.3938	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A33462	Capel's remains being an useful appendix to his excellent Treatise of tentations, concerning the translations of the Holy Scriptures : left written with his own hand / by that incomparably learned and jucicious divine, Mr. Richard Capel, sometimes fellow of Magdalen-Colledge in Oxford ; with a preface prefixed, wherein is contained an abridgement of the authors life, by his friend Valentine Marshall.	Capel, Richard, 1586-1656.; Marshall, Valentine.; Capel, Richard, 1586-1656. Tentations.	1658 (1658)	Wing C471; ESTC R5922	60,793	168

do the work till they come to the testimony of the spirit They may and do work and acquire in us an humane faith which may stand free from actual hesitation and doubting but not from possible dubitation for lay them all together yet they may deceive or be deceived Canus disputes strongly against Scotus Durand Gabriel and others who rested themselves on the authority of the Church by an acquired faith first before they come to an infused faith This saith he were to sit down by the Authority of man not of God and the formal reason of our infused faith would be other then the increated truth of God whereas the difference of faith gotten by helps may erre but faith infused by God cannot erre So that when we have all done and got all the help we can to rest on the Scriptures the work is not done till we by the Spirit of God have this sealed by infused faith in our souls that these books which we have translated are the very words of God Smith himself that grand backbiter of translations confesseth at last that if the translations of the Word of God do agree with the Originals that then they are the Word of God nor are they the Translations except they do and as far as they do concord w with the Originals If an Ambassadour deliver his minde by an Interpreter and the Interpreter do relate things right else he is not an Interpreter then his words are the speeches of the Ambassadour Well then though all humane reasons the consent of all the world will not help us to that faith in the Word which will help us to heaven yet they are a preparation and such a preparation to this faith infused that we cannot ordinarily look for faith infused but by the way of this faith which is gotten by the arguments reasons considerations convictions and helps wrought by the Argumentations and considerations proposed by men which do work as most often it doth in us an acquired humane faith free from actual though not from possible mistake and doubting This may be and is a faire meanes to bring us to look on the Scripture without any actual question made of it as the Word of God And then by the use of the Word to attain to a Divine faith which is infallible by reason of the Divine infallible truth rightly conceived and believed by it For it is out of question that by the Ministry of men who are not simply infallible both we may and do attain unto that faith in the divine Revelations of the Word which are or is infallible It s no Paradox to hold that a thing not infallible may by way of Ministry lead us to that certainty which is infallible For my part I hold universal tradition as far as it looks onely on the votes and vices of men to be of all reasons the weakest For the arguments from the authority of God be the strongest yet conclusions from the authority of men is an unartificial argument the weakest However what Arminius saith is true that this humane faith built on such an universal tradition may be a fit preparation to that other faith which is built on the Authority of God I am far●e from once thinking that in universal tradition men do once dreame to make the last resolution of their faith into the veracity of any such universal tradition For our faith must rest on the same that the Apostles and Prophets did rest their faith on But they did resolve their faith onely on truth uncreated and divine and not on the votes of the Church or any universal tradition Canus speaks the truth when he saith that the authority of the divine Scriptures is not to be sought from the reason or authority of men For the assent to a conclusion cannot be more certain then the assent to the premisses and proofs of that conclusion Now if our infused faith did rest onely or chiefly on the credit of the Church or universal tradition then our infused faith could go no higher then an humane and created truth I mean onely or chiefly on the voices or reasons of men and not on the voice and authority of God But what is this to translations Much every way I argue thus The end of the Church and people of God is that they should be saved Now if God set down the end he will provide the means of their salvation and that is faith and faith is not built on the authority of the Church or of universal tradition all which are the voices of men but on the Word of God Now this Word of God cannot concerne common people but onely as translated Now what shall a poore unlearned Christian do if that he hath nothing to rest his poore soul on the originals he understands not if he did the first Copies are not to be had and he cannot tell whether the Hebrew and Greek Copies be the right Hebrew or the right Greek or that which is said to be the meaning of the Hebrew or Greek but as men tell us who are not Prophets and may mistake Besides the Transcribers were men and might erre These considerations may let in Atheisme like a flood To help all this we will deliver our mind in some Propositions I. That God as I shewed did lay up the Hebrew Copies to be kept by the Jewes who were ordered by God to be faithful notaries to keep these Records and a world of places are cited out of the Old in the New Testament according as they are nowe in the Hebrew Copies and the Old Testament hath in it the life and soule of the New Testament Moses and the Prophets wrote of Christ The New Testament is but a cleare and infallible counter-part of the Old It s cleare that the Hebrew of the Old Testament stood cleare and uncorrupt without any breaches made in them by transcribers or otherwise till the time of the publishing of the New Testament as appears by the manie places cited in the New out of the Old chiefly where Hebrew words are kept and repeated as Hosanna Golgotha Eli Eli Lamasabachthani Mat. ●7 sutable unto the places whence they are taken out of the Old chiefly in Saint Matthews Gospel who was most punctual in applying and suiting the Prophesies of the Old Testament of all the holy penmen of the New Testament And it is easie to be proved that Matthew wrote after that was done which Luke wrote in the Acts of the Apostles Doctor Jackson saith a long time after Peter made that Sermon Act. 1. Saint Matthew addes and saith saith he it was called the field of blood unto this day Which argueth that he wrote his Gospel a long time after St. Peter made his Comment upon the Psalmist Acts 1. 15 16 17. Well then as God committed the Hebrew Text of the Old Testament to the Jewes and did and do●h move their hearts to keep it untainted to this day

Thomas Overbury that learned Knight his very friend indeed and then he bade adieu to that course of life As for his inward stormes they were very many and exceeding bitter together with a number of bodily infirmities attending him in his younger yeares but it was well for him that he bore the yoke in his youth And none that I know can now set out these to any purpose if ever an occasion be offered but that eminent and learned Divine Dr. Harris that knew so much of his * temptations and desettions by reason of that intimate acquaintance he had with him in those dayes being his Kinsman besides occasioned the more by the often recourse he had then into those parts for the fetching of some spiritual refreshing from that Divine of Divines Mr. John Dod that was both able and willing to speak a word in season to a broken and a contrite heart Mine intent is only as * Junius did with Ursine to pitch upon some few things of many and to confine my selfe to what I know of mine own certain knowledge having had the favour to stand in the repute of more then a common friend of his for above these thirty yeares together And this I must needs say 1. For the eminencie of his parts I never came near any that came near him in all particulars The most even of our most highflowen Eagles have commonly some peculiar Sparta which they adorne well and do very good service in it to Christ and his Church but this man had grasp't all good learning and made every thing his own so evenly to see to that he was as expert in his way as Hector in b Homer and would with Cato the elder be up in the c height in all that ever he was to act in Melancthon would say of Pomeranus he was the Grammarian of himself he was the Logician of Jus●us Jonas he was the Oratour but of Luther he was d all in all Here was one would fetch out Luthers mark if he list to turn to the School or to Case-Divinity to Austin or Chrysostome Galen or Hippocrates Aristotle or Tully to History or Philosophy to the Arts or Tongues who could tell but himself which he was least versed in He was a very living Library a full store-house of all kinde of good Literature no lesse then a little University the Mirrour of our parts above the envie of all that I knew The least draught of his pencil would have told any a Protogenes he had been the Apelles He excell'd in all that ever I saw he would set his hand to unlesse it were in his utterance in the publick Congregation and therein I must needs confesse he had a great defectivenesse God gave him great understanding of the times to know what Israel b ought to do He stood upon the Watch-tower and saw what was hid from most of our eyes and being quick of c Sent in the feare of the Lord he gave timely notice to some that stood in place which had it been heeded we had never been so fearfully pestered with those Hydraes heads that are now starting up afresh daily to the great disturbance of our people Simler said of Melancthon at his going from Tubing that none of the learned men there how many soever they were had so much learning as to know the great learning that was in that man Too too many of us were sick of the same disëase we knew not the depth in this mans breast We had many a man in this one man even all Scholarship epito nized in this profound Clerk And yet for all this that great blessing he had which he himself observed as a singular favour vouchsafed to Dr. John Rainolds that great Oracle of Oxford that he never set on foot any manner of new opinion The like is observed of learned Dr. a Whitakers stiled the Oracle of Cambridge and the Miracle of the world A mercy that most men of b superlative parts use not to be too rich in There 's scarce any strong braine without some strange fancie If the great wits of our times had kept themselves close to the steps of these rare Divines we had never seen the sorrows that we now sigh and groan under and would be glad to be shift on if we knew how 2. For the excellency of his preaching Wherein if I mistake not as I think I do not he excell'd all men I am sure all that ever I came near without the disparaging of any There be a great many that I know and a many-many more there be that I know not the Lord encrease their number that be singularly well-fitted for this great emploiment Worthies they be and must be as well as those were that attained not to the first * three This mans lot fell in the foremost rank He was an Interpreter one of a thousand His understanding was strangely opened for the understanding and the opening of the Scriptures He would bolt out that out of the holy book of God that would not come into any other mans consideration yet it should be genuine and evidently appearing to be the drift and meaning of the holy Ghost An intelligent man could never sit at his feet but he should meet with that there that would never fall from any other mans mouth nor ever drop from any other mans pen His words were as goads as miles fastned by the masters of the Assemblies They were edged with so much reason re-enfo●ced from the lively Oracles that they could not fall to the ground 'T is no wonder then that the creame of the whole Countrey as they could have their opportunities would a hang upon his Ministry Yet how plaine would he be in all his expressions he would not deliver what he had from God in an unknown tongue nor yet in termes that were too spruce and trim He had learnt his lesson well of that great Apostle that came not with b inricing words nor with any other then such as the very c Catechumeni the youngest beginners might understand He kept close to the footin●s of our own choicest Worthies famous Mr. Dod that would say so much Latine was so much flesh in a Sermon Master Cleaver Master Hildersam and such d holy men of God led by the self-same spirit He would deliver the holy and wholsome truth of God in such an holy and wholsome way that it bred very good blood in the hearts of the hearers He would stoop so low as to speak to our poor countrey-people in their own proper dialect so as they could not but even see and feel and finde out God and be occasioned to speak of him all the week after If he came to a deep mystery he would make it plaine to the shallowest capacity What ever he fell upon he would follow it so divine-like that the hearts of his Auditors would be rapt up into heaven