Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	aaron_n	lord_n	praise_v	146	4	9.9292	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10929	The true conuert. Or An exposition vpon the vvhole parable of the prodigall. Luke. 15. 11.12. &c. Wherein is manifestly shewed; 1. Mans miserable estate by forsaking of God. 2. Mans happie estate by returning to God. Deliuered in sundry sermons, by Nehemiah Rogers, preacher of Gods Word, at St Margarets Fish-street. And now by him published, intending the farther benefit of so many as then heard it; and the profit of so many as shall please to read it.	Rogers, Nehemiah, 1593-1660.	1620 (1620)	STC 21201; ESTC S116104	291,820	402

grow more strong by thy daily feeding it in the vsing of the meanes If thou bearest any fruit God like a carefull hus-bandman will prune thee Iohn 15.2 that thou mayst bring forth more fruit other trees at last decay though formerly they haue bore fruit but trees of Righteousnesse the more they yeild the more they shall be replenished and the elder they grow the more shall they flourish and the better shall they prosper Keepe then thy grace in an honest heart and it will encrease though yet it be small like the widdowes oile in the cruise and meale in the barrell when great graces in an vnsound heart shall vanish away and come to nothing Text. To my Father Not to my brother or fathers seruants or to my harlots But to my father Hence learne Doctr. The bosome of the Lord is the only best refuge in the day of calamity Releife is to bee sought for only at Gods hands in time of misery and distresse To him are wee to betake our selues and to none but him This hath Gods Church and children shewed by their practise Dauid being in misery euer flyeth to the Lord this was his ordinarie course as might be made plaine by many particular instances fetched out of the Psalmes Where we may often reade of these and the like sayings I called vpon the Lord in my trouble and againe In my distresse I cried to the Lord Psal 3.4 Psal 120.1 Psa 142.4 Psa 116 4.3 Psal 107.4.5.6 and againe When all refuge failed mee I cried to the Lord. Such sayings are frequent This course did the Church take in time of trouble For when they wandered in the wildernesse in a solitary way and found no citie to dwell in being hungry and thirsty their soule fainting in them Then they cryed to the Lord in their trouble and he deliuered them out of their distresse Vers 12.13 When their heart was brought downe with labour and they fell there being none to helpe them t●ere also they cryed to the Lord in their trouble and he saued them out of their distresse Verse 17.18 When they were afflicted because of their transgressions and iniquities then they cryed to the Lord and hee saued them out of their distresses yea Vers 27 2● when they were at their wits end by reason of their afflictions they cryed to the Lord out of this their trouble and hee brought them ought of their distresses It were endlesse to bring what might be brought for the confirming of this truth Psa 99.6 I could tell you of Moses and Aaron amongst his priests and Samuell amongst them that call vpon his name how these called vpon the Lord and were answered But what shall I need to vnderprop so knowne a truth let mee giue you the reason and then I will shew you the vse All power to helpe is in his hands alone Reason 2 Chron. 20. as Iehoshaphat doth confesse when he saith thus O Lord God of our Fathers art not thou God in heauen and rulest not thou ouer all the kingdomes of the heathen and in thine hand is there not power and might so that none is able to withstand thee Iob. 5.6 Afflictions come not out of the dust neither spring they from the earth but from the most high God do they proceed Hos 6.1 Now who shall bind vp the wound but he that made it who shall heale but he that hath smitten to him therefore must we turne to him must we seeke for helpe Let this serue then to reproue such as betake themselues Vse 1 to other helpes in time of misery seekeing to bee releiued either by Saints or Angells in heauen or by Coniurers Witches or such like vnlawfull meanes heere vpon the earth This was King Ahaziahs sinne 2 King 1.2 who being sicke sent messengers and sayd vnto them Goe enquire of Baalzebub the God of Ekron whether I shall recouer of this disease contrary to that charge which God doth giue his people Regard not them that haue familiar spirits Leuit. 19 31. neither seeke after Wizards to be defiled by them I am the Lord your God Of this I haue formerly spoke more and therefore a word or two here shall suffice Secondly let this te ch vs to betake our selues vnto Vse 2 the Lord when sorrowes and griefes assaile vs. Seeke helpe from him and that by meanes yet onely by such lawfull meanes as he hath warranted in his Word And beware of trusting in the meanes that God hath warranted It is lawfull to seeke to the Physitian and vse of his helpe yet to trust in the helpe of the Physitian more then in the helpe of God and to seeke first and rather to the Physitian then vnto God 2. Chro. 16.12 is sinnefull This was Asa his sinne and remaines as a blemish vpon his name to this day and will doe for euer Trust not then in the meanes but in God who must giue a blessing vpon the means Let them haue their place set them not aboue their place for by one blast of God they may become vnprofitable and vnsuccessefull See therefore thou bee more desirous of a blessing then of the meanes let this bee the chiefe meanes that thou doest vse to flye vnto the Lord and powre forth thy soule before him and then be thou assured at length to haue redresse and helpe What we say of some speciall medicine that hath oft beene tryed we may say of this probatum est Gods children neuer tooke this course in vaine Text. Verba sunt poenitentiam meditantis in confessione peccati nondum tamen agentis August And say vnto him Father He doth here fore-thinke what he should speake when as he comes into his Fathers presence for as yet he was not From his practise learne Not to come into Gods presence without preparation but consider what to say and what to seeke before you speake Doctr. Preparation needfull before we speake to God Eccles 5.1 Hos 14.2 Reason Be not rash saith the Wiseman with thy mouth and let not thine heart bee hastie to vtter any thing before God Wee must conferre with our owne hearts and prepare them before we come into the Lords presence To this doth the Prophet Hosea seeme to exhort Israel Take vnto you words and turne to the Lord and say vnto him The reason of this Solomon giues in the place before cited For God saith he is in heauen and thou art vpon the earth as if he should say God is full of Maiestie and wisedome but thou an infirme and wretched creature He is both Lord and Iudge but thou a miserable and sinnefull worme And therefore it concernes thee to consider aduisedly what to speake This serues to reproue many Vse who rashly come into Gods presence without any preparation or due meditation of what they are to say or craue Small is the number indeed of such as doe pray but smaller is the

wisdome to forbeare and watch a fitter opportunitie when our reprehension may do most good And if these are to be reproued then much more are Vse 2 such to be condemned who sport themselues and make themselues merry in prouoking of others and stirring of them vp to wrath As in causing the cholericke person to chaffe and fret the contentious person to fight and quarrell and the like These doe but lay stumbling blocks before their brethren Math. 18.7 and Woe be to that man by whom such offences come It is the Diuels office to stir and prouoke others vnto euill now what doe such but take the Diuels office from him and follow his trade and occupation Thirdly seeing it is a part of wisdome sometimes to Vse 3 yeeld to the wicked and forbeare contradicting of them especially when they are incensed then let vs all learne this point of wisdome and not prouoke them It is no good discretion to rouze vp a Lyon or to take a Beare by the tooth or for to pluck a mad Dog by the eares or to thrust our hands into a Hornets nest much danger is likely to follow vpon such like courses Oh that we could once learne this lesson that we would yeeld a litle and forbeare a while incensing others by our contradiction This gaine saying humor hath bred our woe Dr Halls Vowes lib. 2. Medit. 52. though men beleeue it not The Pelican finding a fire nigh her nest and fearing the danger of her young ones seeks to blow it out with her wings when foolish Bird by that meanes shee doth enkindle it and at length burne her wings and so make her selfe a prey in an vnwise pitty I hope you can tell how to apply it Meddle not indiscreetly when coales are kindled the blast of thy wings abate not the burning it doth rather increase then quench for a while forbeare meddle no otherwise then by prayers to God See thy owne peace and safetie in the freedome of thy thought and silence of thy tongue 2. Tim. 2.7 Consider what I say and the Lord giue thee vnderstanding in all things Secondly in that the Father maketh an apologie for himselfe we may collect Doctr. A man may lawfully speake in his owne defence Job 22.5 Iob 31. Acts 21.31 It is lawfull for a man to speake in his owne defence and make Apologie for himself when he is falsly accused wronged by the wicked Gods children haue shewed the lawfulnes of this by their practise Thus Iob being accused for cruelty oppression hypocrisie and many other sins maketh a solemne protestation of his integritie and speaketh in his owne defence at large So Paul when he was in danger to be killed at Ierusalem by the people being rescued by the cheife Captaine spake for himself vnto the people Cap. 22.1 saying Men Brethren and Fathers heare yee my defence which I make now vnto you And thus also did he plead his owne cause before the cheife Preists and Councell Cap. 23.1 And so likewise when he was brought before the Gouernour Cap. 24.10 Cap. 25.8 he made Apologie for himselfe Thus did he also when he came before Festus openly professing that neither against the law of the Iewes Cap. 26.2 neither against the Temple nor yet against Caesar had he offended any thing at all The like was his practise when he was called before Agrippa and at many other times besides Thus the Primitiue Christians when they had bin slandered vnto the people for disturbing the State for adulterie murther and other horrible sins and greiuous crimes did vsually write Apologies and put vp supplications vnto Princes that they might defend themselues in open audience But what doe I speake of these when we haue Christ his example against which can be no exception taken to proue the point When the Iewes charged him to be a Samaritan Ioh. 8.48 49. and that he had a Diuell he makes answer for himselfe I haue not a Diuell but I honour my Father and yee doe dishonour me so in many other places as Ioh. 18.23 and Luk. 11.18 19. Thus did he euer apologize for himselfe when it made for the glory of God and the good of his hearers The reasons may be these First if we should not defend our selues when we be Reason 1 thus falsely accused we should giue false testimonie against our selues and beare false witnes against our owne persons Secondly because the slanders which light on our Reason 2 persons redounds to the discredit of our profession How common a thing is it in these daies to blame the profession for any one infirmitie in a professor though of weaknesse it be committed See say they this is the profession is it not a goodly one who would beleeue what any of them say Seeing then the profession and the cause of the Gospell is thereby endamaged it behoueth vs not to be silent in answering truly when as our aduersaries doe obiect against vs falsly These are the Reasons The Vses follow And first this serueth for Admonition to vs all that we Vse 1 beware how we censure or condemne such for proud and vaine-glorious persons that speake now and then of their own gifts plead in their own defēce For some times it is requisite it should be so A mans owne good name and the Churches good doth many times require it Thus the Apostle Paul was forced by reason of the Corinthians more esteeming at least in appearance of other false Apostles then himselfe to speake in his owne praise and to commemorate his owne good parts I suppose saith he I was not a whit behinde the very ch●ife Apostles 2. Cor. 11.5 6. vers 10. But though I be rude in speech yet not in knowledge Yea he doth professe as the truth of Christ is in him no man should stop him of this boasting in the Regions of Achaia Quest But how doth this agree with Solomons prouerb Let another man praise thee and not thy owne mouth a stranger and not thy owne lips Answ Solomon there doth meane such a praising of our selues wherein we cheifly aime at our owne glory But this praising of our selues which is for necessarie defence and wherein we ayme at Gods glory and the Churches good and not made for vaine ostentation is not there forbidden When necessarie defence doth call for it and require it a man may safely speake in his owne praise and yet be no transgressor of Solomons precept Secondly it sufficeth for the truth of that and sundry other prouerbes if they be ordinarily vsually true though not generally Vse 2 Secondly Is this so that a man may lawfully stand out in his owne defence and apologize for himselfe when he is wronged slandered and falsely accused by the wicked Then let vs vse our liberty in this kinde and in such a case let vs boldly speake in our owne cause and cleere our owne innocency Gods word alloweth it And certainely