Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	believe_v	church_n	interpretation_n	3,657	5	10.5181	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08964	The tranquillitie of the minde A verye excellent and most comfortable oration, plainely directing euerye man, & woman, to the true tranquillitie and quyetnesse of their minde. Compyled in Latine by Iohn Barnarde, student in the Vniuersity of Cambridge, now lately translated into Englishe by Anthony Marten.; Oratio pia, religiosa, et solatii plena, de vera animi tranquillitate. English	Bernard, John, d. 1567?; Marten, Anthony, d. 1597.	1570 (1570)	STC 1925; ESTC S101618	90,089	234

and Prophets and finally that the gentiles and whosoeuer else in the vniuersall world which through beléefe obtayned saluation did here This worde as it was reuealed to the fathers so the will of God makes it knowne vnto vs by expresse declaration in Bookes Wherevnto if we giue no credit neyther will we beléeue if one shall ryse againe from the deade With this worde is the Church of God made and ordayned and the same is buylded vpon the rocke Christ who is the foundation and precious stone therof For take away the scriptures of the Church and thou shalt also take the Churche quite awaye For euen as the Church did neyther founde nor make anye certaine or vndoubted scripture but receyued it in olde time with great reuerence being erected before by the holy ghost the author therof and deriued from Christ and his Apostles by perpetuall succession into all Churches and after she had receyued the same allowed it which being allowed circumspectly kept it for the instructing of euerye age so did she specially take care that nothing vnder the name of Scripture which dyd beare no certaine signe of scripture should be allowed in it ye that if an Aungell in heauen shoulde preach any other Gospell condemned him accursed This one holye catholicke and apostolicke Church that is which is gouerned by the scripture of the Apostles and Prophetes doth seuer after the example of Paule and set apart those things whereof It hath no commaundement by God from the excellent preceptes of Christ making a great difference betwéene them to the intent it may will the things which be of Christ to remaine vnuiolate and suffer nothing contrarie therevnto to be admitted But those matters which be of the churches owne constitution although they be sounde and the spirite being author of thē are set forth amongst vs yet It leaueth them at such libertie as testifiyng in plaine termes that it woulde none to cast anye doubtes in those things whereof they haue no expresse commaundement from god Whatsoeuer things It findeth in the holy Scripture which containe the lawe of the Lorde and doctrine of fayth perfected and throughly finished aboue the rest wythout any sticking It commendes allowes receyues and estéemes and also reuerenceth all things therein without choyse and election shunning al that may be the crime of new deuise that most vainely might be layde to hir charge In assuring hir iudgement It accounteth none more wyser than Christ more holy than the Apostles nor more auncient than the Primatiue Church And next after these It placeth the monumentes of such as teach thinges concerning the religion of Christ and innocencie of lyfe but alloweth nothing without iudgement and without dilygent examination thereof with the law of god Wherevpon It compelled Augustine hir most seruiceable childe to set forth this confession folowing I confesse to thy charitie saith he that I haue learned to attribute this feare reuerence onely to those bookes of the holy scriptures which are now called Canonicall so as I stedfastly beléeue that none of the Authors of them haue erred in wryting And if I shall finde any thing in those bookes which may séeme cōtrary vnto the truth I will make no doubt but that eyther the booke is faultie or that the interpreter hath not followed the matter as it is spoken or else that I my selfe vnderstand not the same Other Authors also I réede in such sort as howe great a porte soeuer they beare of holinesse and learning I may not therefore thinke them true bicause such was their opinion but for that they coulde eyther by those Canonicall bookes or else by good probable reason perswade me in a thing that swarueth not from the truth Wherefore if we make the scripture subiecte to the iudgement of men we therewithall disanull the doctrine of most holye men For it is not the worde of God but the worde of men that is gouerned after the opinion of men But this is that holye sacred treasure of the Church this is that excellent consolation of faith that high and stedfast knowledge of life that the Scripture being planted not by men nor in the hande of men but by God in the hande of God through his sonne Iesus authorised by the holye Ghost was deliuered to the Church and by the same Church published and set forth to the instruction of all posterities Wherefore such as be members of the church doe not attribute to themselues any authoritie against their heade Iesus Christ but being subiects to their heade as méeke shéepe giue eare to no other voyce then to their owne pastor to whome they owe their faith conscience and subiection and the same as the voyce of Christ doe acknowledge here and follow from whence soeuer it be vttered and whatsoeuer thing it commaundeth that is righteous and iust to be done For by iudging of holsome doctrine they know also the contrarie making a difference betwéene them that it which is sounde right and lawfull may be allowde according to the saying Proue all take the best and things contrarie and straunge therevnto maye be reiected and disprooued The iudgement wherewith we discerne approue instruct and reproue must be supported with knowledge Knowledge springeth chiefly by exercise of the spirite of fayth in the worde of god Whereby with a sensible vnderstanding we sincerely accorde those places togither which appeare contrarie to a likenesse and resemblance in themselues according to the proportion of our fayth We way the beginning with that which followeth and by diligent comparing euerie thing in it selfe we indeuour to attaine to that knowledge of the Lordes meaning For this cause Paule mooueth Timothe that he continually exercise himselfe in reading exhortation and teaching These things sayth he exercise in these remaine that thy profiting maye be knowne in all things Hereby we finde out the difference betwéene the spirite of truth and the spirite of error that whereas the spirite of Christ searcheth and séeketh for nothing but the glory of God ioined with the care and safetie of our neighbor contrariwise the other being set on and inflamed with the loue of it selfe with ambicion couetousnesse pride reuenge tyranny the immoderate loue of things priuate defileth polluteth and corrupteth all thinges so wresteth and turneth the scripture from the sense and meaning thereof as it can by a counterfeyte way séeme to defende and maintaine the verye same thing which it doth repugne and stande agaynst By this reading and exercise the traditions of the godly which of right we call the holy séede being taught may both cause a man to take héede to himselfe and by reclayming of himselfe may conuince errors which Christ prophecied should be so great and aboundant before his latter cōming that he doubted whether the son of man at his comming should find fayth vpon the earth shewed before that the verse elect if it were possible should be deceyued by them

paine due for the same For otherwise how shoulde either they which be iustified by their faith be at peace with God when as peace may in no wise be conuersaunt with feare of punishment if they shoulde be in perplexitie for feare of greater punishment Eyther else how shoulde the Saintes receyue here the full forgiuenesse of sinnes if they should be recompenst with paine due for sinne in an other worlde being departed out of this life Wherefore the holy fathers and that consonaunt to the scriptures were of the opinion that all remission of sinnes is here in this life yea and so fullye as no parte thereof is differred till any other life to come For so writeth blessed Cyprian Here is saith he the soule eyther lost or saued Here doe we prouide for eternall saluation for the worshipping of God and for the fruite of faith Neyther let any mans sinnes or yeares be a hinderaunce to hym from the attaynement of saluation To him that hath as yet any being in this lyfe there is no repentaunce to late To mercy the waye is open and frée accesse is therevnto for such as seeke and vnderstande the truth But when we are departed from hence then is there no place of repentance nor any satisfaction to be made And of the same opinion was Ambrose and other godly writers which were exercised in the holy scriptures did set forth treatyes and interpretations vpon the same The Lorde increase the faith of many and giue them a better minde that they may truely beléeue in the sonne of God and earnestly repent from the bottome of their heart who in their wordes professe christian religion but neuerthelesse in their déedes kicke and spurne against the Gospell and denye the same set sorth to so godly a purpose Who count the bloudde of the Testament but a prohpane thing and reprochfully vse the spirite of grace Who although they doe not openly scorne this holy misterie which we haue so much intreated of yet they doe not reuerently imbrace the same and with such feare and dreade as they ought to doe In the dayes of Paule Christ was to the Iewes an occasion of fall but to the Gentiles a méere foolishnesse In our dayes Christ is no lesse wonderfully spronge vp againe than in olde time he was borne and bredde at Beathlem in Iurie Nor no lesse reuiued nilling the aduersaries then when he rose vp agayne man earthquake the Sepulker being close shutte I am a fearde least Sathan the fleshe and the worlde doe driue a number to be so peruerse as Christ becommeth vnsauerie to them that they cannot taste howe swéete the lord is and how plentifully the streame of the Riuer makes glad the citye of god A sensible person cannot so muche as dreame what the ioye of the Children of God is and how daye and night without intermission they sing lifting vp their voyces and gyuing thankes vnto the Lorde their god Rightly doe we attribute vnto Christ that he will ease and refreshe our soules and will not onely discharge reuenge and set at libertie them which bée captiuated with the tirannie of Sathan but also wil leade the very same captiuitie captiue Although our troubled consciences many times are more greeuously dashed with terror of the law then they be appeased with comfort of the Gospell of peace Of verye right also doe we impute it to his bountifulnesse that he is the remedie of our woundes the rest of our afflicted consciences and the true tranquillitie of our minde This we knowe by the worde of God which is the light of our eyes and the lanterne to our féete wherein as we liue so ought we continually to be occupied therin both day and night for the finding out of such thinges as maye further vs to the attainement of blessednesse to the gouernment of our life to the comfort of our soule and the abandoning of cares from vs Howe often in the holy scriptures are they pronounced blessed which be diligent hearers and readers of this worde if vpon the same they amende their maners and applie the actions of their life to the will of God as for example Blessed are they that heare the worde of God and kepe the same Blessed are the vndefiled in the way and that walke in the lawe of the Lorde Blessed are they that search his testimonies they séeke him with their whole heart Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law will exercise himselfe both day and night And is not he of verie right to be counted blessed that hath altogither vowed himselfe to become Gods seruaunt in whose heart is hidden the lawe of his Lorde when as both things aboue and things beneath are put vnder him and serue him For the euilles which so many wayes so oftentymes light vpon vs happen for no other cause then for that we addict not our selues as meete we should vnto the will of our Creator Moreouer the Apostle doth prudently commend vnto vs the holy scripture and doth very well kindle our mindes to the studie thereof by these wordes All scripture sayth he giuen by inspiration from God is profitable to teach to improoue to correct and to instruct in righteousnesse that the man of God may be perfect prepared to all good works And againe What so euer is written the same is writtē for our learning that we through pacience and comfort of the Scriptures might haue hope For we as it were in the middes of the sea are tossed and fast bound will we or nill we to an innumerable sort of sinnes We stand continually in battell and verie often beare away the woorst We are besieged aboute in all places and the dartes flie about vs on euery side as well through diuersitie of occasions as for the necessitie it selfe of cares troubles griefes boastings and swellings Also we are so tossed as we were in the middes of waues so drawne hither and thither with variable and diuers cogitations so shaken with stormes of temptation and so often conquered and ouerthrowne in the conflict that wée haue alwayes néede of often and continuall consolation out of the Scriptures and bicause we receiue wounds euery day therefore to séeke for medicine and remedie euery day out of the same Artificers whatsoeuer they take in hande to make they perfourme the thing with such instrumentes as they haue And we if our mindes bée corrupted decaied amend and repaire the same by the scriptures of the Apostles and Prophetes and whatsoeuer else is giuen by inspiration from God and if it fal in decay we renue it againe thereby They by their Art onely adde a certaine fashion to things but to chaunge the verie matter whereon they worke as of siluer to make golde they are not able But we shewe and bring to passe a greater matter For we chaunge the vessell of wood into golde Whereof S. Paule witnessing