Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	ghost_n	holy_a	inspire_v	2,844	5	10.2489	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A42885	Instruction concerning penance and holy communion the second part fo the instruction of youth, containing the means how we may return to God by penance, and remain in his grace by the good and frequent use of the sacraments. By Charles Gobinet, Doctor of Divinity, of the house and Society of Sorbon, principal of the college of Plessis-Sorbon.; Instruction de la jeunesse en la piété chrétienne. Part 2. English	Gobinet, Charles, 1614-1690.; Gobinet, Charles, 1614-1690. Instruction sur la pénitence et sur la sainte communion. English.	1689 (1689)	Wing G904C; ESTC R223681	215,475	423

follow the Scripture except also they follow and be assured of the true Sense of Scripture for as St. Augustin in tract 18. in Jo. saith Heresy springs from no other source but from good Scripture ill understood and boldly maintained And St. Hilary l. 2. ad Constant August saith excellently well That there is no Heretick but maintains his Blasphemies by the Scripture If they fay that the Holy Ghost inspires them with the true Sense of the Scriptures and the right understanding of the Mysteries therein contained The Answer is impertinent for there was never any Heretick who had not this same Plea. Secondly If it be so why are there so many different Sentiments amongst them and that in Points of Faith Can the Holy Ghost be contrary to or contradict himself Is it possible that he should inspire both truth and falshood 3ly who is it that doth not perceive that this answer were it good would authorize as many religions as there are men for every one will easily say that he hath the Holy Ghost Lastly why do they desire that others should believe them whilst they affirm that they have the H. Ghost having nothing besides there own assertion to justify what they say since they themselves refuse to believe the Church which requires their assent by so just a title as is the promise made her by the Son of God of the continuall assistance of his H. Spirit even to the end of the world We must then conclude and hold for a certain truth that it is neither our private judgment nor our interiour perswasion however we may believe it comes from the Holy Ghost which is capable to serve us as a rule in points of Faith or can make us see which is a true and which a false revelation but it is the sole Testimony of the Catholick Church and the judgment which she forms of the divine truths which is and ought to be the rule of our belief For whilst we submit our selves to her judgment we cannot fall As we cannot but mistake and err when tho' never so little we depart from the doctrine of the Church We find in the Church four conditions required for the rule of saith To be a rule it must at one and the same time be One Certain Manifest and Visible The Church is One for as there can be but one Faith so there can be no more then one true Church as it is said in the Nicene Creed Et unam Sanctam Catholicam Apostolicam Ecclesiam The judgment of the Church is Certain in points of faith since she can never fail being as the Apostle saith the Pillar and ground of truth It is Manifest because clearly proposed and by word of mouth explained upon occasion of any Emergent difficulty in matters of faith The Church for this reason was Established by the Son of God his will is that we have recourse unto her in these occasions according as it was also practiced in the Old Testament where it is said Mal. 2.7 that the lips of the Priest do conserve knowledge and one must seek the Law from his mouth And the Apostle assures us that the same method is to be observed in the New Testament when he saith Ephes 4.11 that the Son of God hath established some Apostles some Pastours and other some Doctors for the administration of his word for the building up of the body of Jesus Christ that is his Church That we may not be like Children wavering in uncertainty and carried away with every wind of Doctrine And for this reason also St. Augustin affirms that in all difficulties which occurr concerning any questions or matters of Faith we must make our addresses to the Church If any one saith he cont Crescon fear to be deceived in the obscurity of this question let him consult the Church Si quis falli metuit hujus obscuritate questionis Ecclesiam de illâ consulat Lastly the Church is Visible as consisting of Pastours who have succeeded one another ever since the Apostles even unto this present time and as in all ages one might so at this very time one may easily address himself unto them to be instructed in all what concerns our faith This is the City whereof the Son of God speaks Mat. 5.14 which is built upon a Mountain to which all the World may have access as it was foretold by Isaias Chap. 2.3 Come and ascend to the mountain of our Lord to the House of the God of Jacob. It will teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths for the Law will come forth of Sion and the word of our Lord from Jerusalem It was to this City that St. Augustin de Vnitat Eecles c. 14. sent the Donatists when he said to them you have the City whereof he himself who built it said that it was a City built upon a Mountain and could not be hidden I have staid and dilated my self on set purpose upon this Subject of the Rule of Faith because it is of great concern in this affair and upon which all the rest as far as concerns us depends it is a Principle and Fundamental Maxim in matters of Faith That we must hearken to and obey the Church we must receive the Divine Revelations from her alone and the Interpretation she gives of the Holy Scripture and Tradition which are the two ways by which as is abovesaid God hath been pleased to convey his Divine Truths the Mysteries of our Holy Faith unto us Quest VII What Qualities or Conditions ought our Faith to have IT follows from what we have already said that Faith to be perfect must have three qualities or Conditions it must be Humble Vniversal and Firm or fixed and steddy Humble that is in matters of Faith we are to submit our selves to the judgment of the Church and not to be wedded to our proper sense nor to our interiour persuasion nor to the judgment of any particular Person as we have shew'd above Thus God ordained it in the Old Testament Deut. 17.8 where he commanded that in the difficulties which should occurr concerning the performance of the Law every one should have recourse to the Priests follow exactly their decision and that under pain of Death in case one should be refractory or disobedient And in the New Testament he hath decreed that he who will not hear the Church shall be accounted as an Infidel Vniversal that is it ought to comprehend and believe generally all the truths which are proposed by the Church to be believed without excepting any and the reason is evident because the Church which proposeth them by reason of the assistance of the Holy Ghost which is promised her without restriction is equally infallible in all her Judgments and can be no more deceived in the least then in the greatest Mystery of our Faith and as St. Augustin contra Epist fundam speaking of the Books of the Sacred Scripture saith excellently well If

and the injury it does to God we must know how great how holy how good how perfect God is being that sin takes it's grievousness from the opposition it hath with the Greatness Bounty and Holiness of God. To know the greatness of an offence we must know and well understand the greatness and dignity of the person offended For this reason to compehend the grievousness and the injury it does to God we must measure the greatness of God but where is the measure of this accomplishment of goodness and perfections so much raised above us certainly we can never find it nor by consequence the measure of that Abyss of malice and misery of which we speak here Altitudinem Coeli profundum abyssi quis dimensus est who can ever measure saith Ecclesiasticus the height of Heaven or the depth of the Sea Eccles 1. Much less can the greatness of God and the grievousness of sin be measured If God be so high in dignity Majesty that no created Spirit can reach him it is true to say that sin is so profound in malice and unworthiness that it is impossible to comprehend it Yet nevertheless we must not despair to have an act of Contrition altho' we cannot conceive the grievousness of sin For in that alone which we said that we cannot comprehend its grievousness there is all the imaginable reason intirely to abhor and hate it and lament when we are so unfortunate as to fall into it Sin then is so great an evil that no created Spirit can conceive its enormity that to understand it we must know God clearly face to face which only God himself can fully comprehend What horror what detestation ought not we to have for so great and horrible an evil and what sorrow ought we to have to see our selves by our own ungracious will become guilty of it Ponder this well Theotime and do not pass over lightly this consideration for it is admirable I say again once more there is nothing that can make us hate sin more then to know that we cannot comprehend it's grievousness and it is easy to shew it by a contrary reason but very evident viz. That there is nothing which is more capable to raise in us a love and respect towards God then when we are fully persuaded that he is so great so perfect and so amiable that his greatness and perfections do infinitely surpass all that which we can conceive of him Let us apply the same to the grievousness of sin and the evils which it includes in it self and we shall find how detestable it is O sin is it true then that thou art so great that I cannot at all comprehend the heinousness of the injury thou dost to God and not only I but all the men and Angels together Now if thy enormity be so prodigious how can I but hate thee is not this sufficient to move a horour of thee O monster of wickedness he must needs be blind that flys not from thee O abiss of misfortunes how ought I to fear lest I should fall into such deep precipices CHAP. IX Of the same Subject of the grievousness of Sin. LEt us however attempt to gather some knowledge at least of the grievousness of Mortal Sin and although we cannot Comprehend it as it is in it self let us learn what the Holy Ghost has been pleased to let us know by the Sacred Scripture Read Theotime and be attentive What is Sin It is a rebellion of the creature against his Creator a resistance against his commandements by which it refuses to obey him and be subject to his holy will. This is what we learn from that wonderfull reproach which God made to Sinners by Jeremy From the beginning thou hast broken my Yoke thou hast burst my Bonds Jer. 2. That is all the considerations which kept thee ty'd to my Service and thou hast said I will not serve Behold what Sin is and what you have committed as often as you have Mortally offended God. Consider well this definition but this is not all What is Sin It is a horrible ingratitude committed against God and a forgetfullness of all his favours Who is it that says this It is he himself by his Prophet I have brought up Children and exalted them but they have despised me The Oxe hath known his owner and the Asse his masters Crib but Jsrael hath not known me and my People hath not understood Isa 1. and in another place The beloved was made grosse that is he hath enjoyed abundantly the goods which I have sent him and Spurned against me he left God his maker and departed from God his Salvation Deut. 32. What is Sin It is a Contempt of God and his Commandements by which one declares that he makes no account of his Greatness nor power of his Promises nor Threats This is what he himself saith above My Children have despised me Jer. 3. And by another Prophet he complains But as if a Woman should contemn her lover so hath the house of Israel contemned me Ezek. 5. And by another he says She hath contemned my judgments so that she was more impious then the Gentiles and my precepts more then the lands about her For they have cast away my judgments and in my precepts they have not walked And yet by another Prophet he reproaches Sinners with their contempt The Son honoureth the Father and the Servant his Lord if then I be Father where is my Honour and if I be the Lord where is my fear Mala. 1. What is Sin It is an injury done to God in his own person and before his own face knowing well that he beholds us and without respect to his greatness and Sanctity What is it saith he that my beloved hath done in my house much wickedness Jer. 11.15 and the Prophet Isaiah saith For Jerusalem is gone to ruine and Juda is fall'n because their tongue and their inventions were against our Lord to provoke the Eyes of his Majesty Isai 3.8 What is Sin It is a revolting from God and a renouncing of his friendship and grace to follow ones own will passion pleasure interest and the like For this reason Divines after a serious consideration of the nature of sin have thought that they could explicate it no better then by saying it was a turning away from God and a turning to or embracing the creature Aversio a Deo conversio ad creaturam Behold what is done by sin Hearken to the judgment and complaint of God himself Be astonished saith he O Heavens upon this and O Gates thereof be ye desolate exceedingly for two Evils have my people done Me they have forsaken the fountain of living water and have digged to themselves Cisterns that are not able to hold water Jer. 2. The meaning is that he who sins seeks his good and happiness in the creatures where he shall never find it What greater blindness then this See what they do who offend God