Selected quad for the lemma: sense_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	scripture_n	true_a	understand_v	4,906	5	6.6209	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A30972	Autoschediasmata, De studio theologiae, or, Directions for the choice of books in the study of divinity written by ... Dr. Thomas Barlow ... ; publish'd from the original manuscript, by William Offley ...	Barlow, Thomas, 1607-1691.; Offley, William, 1659 or 60-1724.	1699 (1699)	Wing B824; ESTC R22775	44,127	90

And yet so it is Not that I think that either their Questions or Resolutions are always wise but they will surnish a wise Man with many Material Questions and with some very Material Answers and deliver him from the Danger of ever being impos'd on with School-Falacies And a Man who reads them with this Design and this Caution will find great Benefit by it For tho' I am no Admirer of School-Divinity I doubt the great Ignorance of some Persons may be ascrib'd to a Contempt of it without knowing it But then he ought also to read other Systems of Divinity as Calvin's Institutions and Zanchius whom I take to be one of the best and subtilest Writers of Calvinists and Arminius Episcopius or the late Remonstrant Philip à Limborch For a Man who will throughly enquire ought to have the different Schemes of Religion in his Head But especially to read and consider well the Articles Homilies and Canons of our Church which every one who intends to be a Minister of the Church of England ought to do Having thus far advanced you may think I bring him back again when I come to more particular Enquiries But if you think well of it you will find he is not sufficiently prepar'd for them before And now I begin from the very Foundations of Religion To enquire strictly and severely into the Reasons of Our Faith And 1. Why He believes there is a GOD. And here he must review all the several Hypotheses of Philosophy and examine the Powers of Nature and the Arguments of Atheists Tully and Dr. Cudworth will sufficiently furnish him if his Curiosity does not draw him further The next Enquiry is Whether GOD has made any Revelation of his Will to the Word And here he must consider the Authority of Revelation and the Canon of Scripture And Dr. Stillingfleet's Origines Sacrae Huetius or Dr. Cosin's Canon of Scripture will furnish him with all that is needful to be known or direct him where he may enquire further And this is the most proper time to read the Apologists for Christianity Justin Martyr Tertullian Minutius Felix Arnobius Lactantius St. Austin de Civitate Dei Theodoret contra Gentes and such like as Eusebius's Praeparatio and Demonstratio c. And now especially it is time to read the Scriptures with greater Care both to understand the Grammatical and Critical Sence of them by comparing the various Versions especially the Septuagint with the Original of the Old Testament and by our Volumes of Criticks which have more than all that is useful and to understand the true Sence of them As for particular Commentators I know not how to direct because there is so great variety of them But Ainsworth upon the Pentateuch is allow'd by all Josephus and Philo-Judaeus tho'a Platonick Jew are very useful for the Old Testament and Maimonides Nevochim and such Tracts of Jewish Writers as he may meet with Dr. Lightfoot I think has prescrib'd the best Method of Reading the Scriptures by digesting the Historical and Prophetical Books into the order of Time And the Prophesies are certainly understood by considering the times to which they relate Tho' I must needs say That the shortest and most compendious way to useful Knowledge is to study the New Testament and those parts of the Old Testament which he there finds apply'd to the state of the Gospel which will enable him the better to understand the Old Testament when he has more leisure for the thorough Study of it And for Modern Authors let him read Mr. Poole's Synopsis Criticorum allowing for the different Hypotheses of the Authors and reading with Caution Tho' if I may advise when he intends thoroughly to understand any Book of Scripture let him read it several times over and make himself Master of it Then let him read it Verse by Verse and observe what the Difficulties are and try by the Construction and Signification of the Words and the Series of the Discourse what he can make of it and after that consult Expositors This is the most laborious and slow but the most useful and will be found at last the shortest way to true and substantial Knowledge I have found such advantage by it my self that I dare recommend it From hence he may proceed to the Enquiry into particular Controversies which he is now well furnish'd for with a great compass of Knowledge And here he may begin and end if ever he can find an end where he pleases And he will easily inform himself of the best Writers on both sides As for the Fathers and Councils and Ecclesiastical Historians I think the best way at first is to examine as he has opportunity such Citations as he meets with and see to what purpose their Authority is urg'd on all sides or to read any particular Tract in them as he has occasion for it And then when he finds leisure to read them he will know how to use them This is sufficient Employment for some Years and as imperfect as the Rules are if observ'd will certainly make him a very good Divine and furnish him with useful Knowledge and before he has done half this he will need no Director I have taken no notice of Reading the Ancient Moralists and observing the Differences of their several Sects and how they differ from or agree with the Precepts of Christianity nor of the Nature of Laws c. These being suppos'd necessary Prolegomena FINIS a Sir P. P. S. W. b Genuine Remains c. a St. Ives Huntington Buckden and St. Neots a 68 when Consecrated and 85 at his Death * Five Counties and in half * Above 1300 Clergy in Lincoln Diocese * Six Shillings and Six Pence a Theologia Revelata in its full Latitude may be 1. Patriarchalis containing the Positive Revelation of God's Will and Worship made to the Patriarchs before Moses for to them the Messias was promised and Salvation by him they had the Covenant of Grace and Sacrificia 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which were Sacraments and Seals of it 2. Mosaica which contain'd many further positive Revelations of God's Will and Worship 3. Evangelica of which only at present 〈…〉 a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Suid. in Joh. Stob. vid. Photii Biblioth Cod. 167. pag. 366. Theologia 〈◊〉 Bibles pr●pe● for the Te●t of the Old Testament For the New Testament * Vid. Suidam verb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bibles Concordances a Extant Concordantiae Hebr. per Mazi Calasium in 4 Tomes printed at Rome 1621. in Bodley's Library much larger than Buxtorf's but whether better Docti judicent a Heb. 1. 3. b 2 Cor. 9. 4. and 11. 17. c Heb. 3. 14. d Tindal renders it so Faith is a sure Confidence of e Gloss. vet in calce Cyrilli 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arguo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Probatio oecumen Theophylac 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in loc a Concil Trident. Sess. 6. de Justificat cap. 8. Vid. Vasq. in

capita in loca ejusdem insignia Dissertationes c. Paris 1676. Authore Natali Alexandro Ord. Praedicatorum Doctore Sorbonico in Octavo and 23 or 24 Volumes You may consult French Men's Writings both before and since Luther such as Gerson Chancellor of Paris and Espensaeas c. for they write more freely and learnedly against the Corruptions and Errors of Rome than any another Popish Writers Having writ this at several times and scarce perus'd any part of it as I would I hope the Reader will pardon my 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and not wilful Mistakes If He desire to see any of the aforemention'd Authors they are all some few excepted in my own Library here at Buckden THOMAS Lincoln LETTER I. Bishop BARLOW 's Letter to Dr. Howell Chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln concerning his Primary Visitation Mr. CHANCELLOR WHEN I appointed this present Visitation of my Diocese it was both my Duty and Desire to have done it in Person as for several other Ends so more particularly that I might have the Happiness to know and be acquainted with my Brethren of the Clergy But my Age being now actually past 71. and Infirmities necessitate me to lay upon you that Burthen which my weak Indisposition at this time has disabled me to bear The Reason why I have not Visited before this Time was this My Predecessor visited the Year he died and tho' de Jure I might have visited the next Year yet I was unwilling to bring a burthen upon the Clergy so suddenly and therefore resolv'd not to visit until such time as my Predecessor if he had liv'd might have visited which was Anno 1677. When being call'd to the Parliament I was detain'd there and till now had no Opportunity to undertake what I had really design'd a Visitation This premised I shall intreat You to commend to my Brethren two or three things in what Words and with what Enforcement You in Prudence shall think fit 1. That they wou'd be conscientiously careful to live a pious Life and be Exemplary in walking Themselves in that way they commend to their Hearers from the Pulpit for if they Preach never so well and do not Live accordingly they will dishonour GOD and do Mischief to the People who are more apt to follow Examples than Precepts 2. That they wou'd be diligent in Catechizing the Younger People I fear too many of the Older sort may need it that they may know the Principles and Grounds of our Religion otherwise to preach to Uncatechiz'd People is to build without a Foundation 3. That they wou'd studiously endeavour to understand the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England which they have subscrib'd to and are bound to vindicate And in order to this let them read such Books as authentically contain both the Doctrine and Discipline of our Church viz. Our Liturgy Homilies XXXIX Articles and our Book of Ordination These Books are establish'd by Convocation and Parliament and ought both before and after Ordination seriously to be read and consider'd Jewel Whitaker Reynolds Hooker are excellent Authors who vindicated the Church of England against all her Adversaries with great Learning and Victorious Success and if young Students in Divinity will apply themselves to read them diligently they will find that these Books are of excellent use for the Explication and Confirmation of Our Churches Doctrine and Approved Discipline 4. And as Divines we are bound to inable our selves to know and defend our own Doctrine and Discipline than which no Church in Christendom has better or more consonant to Scripture and Primitive Antiquity so we shou'd endeavour according to our Ability to confute our Adversaries Papists and Non-conformists who as Herod and Pontius Pilate against our Blessed Saviour are Confederates against Truth and the Church of England What I have here mention'd is to re-mind my Brethren of what they know already and of the pressing necessity We now have if We love Truth and our Holy Mother the Church of England to know and confute the Impious and Blasphemous Practices of all those Recusants which at this Day disturb the Peace of the Church and State I desire You to advise the Clergy to pay their Tenths to the King duly for the Reasons in a Paper which the Reverend Mr. Skelton my Domestick Chaplain will give You And I have taken effectual order to prevent the Clergy's being impos'd on by undue Exactions from any Officer or Collector of their respective Dues within my Diocese resolving to lessen rather than augment the Fees c. which the Clergy pay With my Respects to Your self and my Brethren I rest theirs and Your Affectionate tho' Infirm Friend THOMAS Lincoln Sept. 1. 1688. LETTER II. A Short Method for the Study of Divinity in a Letter to a Friend by an Unknown Author and found in Bishop BARLOW 's Study SIR YOU ask of me one of the Hardest things I know To direct A Young Student in the the Methodical Study of Divinity If I have any Knowledge in it I must profess to You I know not how I came by it I read as it happen'd and thought of what I read and this is all I know of it It is I confess a great Defect in our Church and the occasion of many Mischiefs to it but it requires a much better Hand than mine and more Leisure than I have to prescribe a Remedy for it But if You will be contented with some free and hasty Thoughts You shall have them The constant Reading of S. Scripture with great application of Mind is a General Rule and ought to be a constant Practice whether we rightly apprehend the true Sence of it at present or not For when the very Phrase or Expression of S. Scripture and the History of it is imprinted on our Minds when we come strictly to examine any particular Doctrine of Religion various Expressions will occur to our Minds and will suggest such Thoughts to us as are to be had no other way And tho' it is not suppos'd that any Man acquainted with other parts of Learning and beginning to apply himself to the Study of Divinity can be in such a State yet the Scripture is to be read and learnt as the Grammar is by Children who know not how to apply the Rules much less understand the Reason of them And therefore part of them is to be read every Day tho' only in English which I think very adviseable for one who intends the Ministry without stopping at every Difficulty he meets with but charging his Memory with the Phrase and the Series and order of Events But to make the Reading of the S. Scripture useful he must furnish himself with all variety of Questions about Religion that he may know what to observe and enquire after And you will think it hard that I cannot direct him better than to send him to the Master of the Sentences or Aquinas's Summs or Estius upon the Sentences