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	rod_n	swallow_v	42	3	9.7806	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40659	A comment on the eleven first verses of the fourth chapter of S. Matthew's Gospel concerning Christs temptations delivered in XII sermons at St. Clements, Eastcheap, London / by Tho. Fuller ...	Fuller, Thomas, 1608-1661.	1652 (1652)	Wing F2421; ESTC R31517	55,746	204

his Tem●pt●tion Indeed those four birds divide the yeer betwixt them the Swallow coming in the Spring the S●ork as I take it in the Winter c. whilst this wilde Ha●py comes all times of the yeer no season is unseasonable to him wherein he can get advantage Let us be careful to fortifie our selves against the assaults of Satan especially let us watch against that time unknown to us when Luke 22.53 the hour and power of darkness shall meet together How many people are there servilely and superstitiously afraid of this following Eclipse they afright themselves with fear what dismal effects are portended thereby But where is that man truely affected with the taking notice of and making defence against the time when the devils temptations taking advantage of our sins shall hide the sunshine of Gods favour from our apprehensions Now chiefly provide against two times First after thou hast been guilty to thy self of totally omitting or perfunctorily performing of Prayer for then Satan discovers a breach in thy soul and will assault it Secondly at the hour of death when his rage is the greatest because his raign is the shortest who like a bad Tenant having a Lease ready to expire without impeachment of Waste cares not what havock he makes because not tied to Reparations The tempter The Devil is the tempter paramount There be other tempters The World the Flesh Wicked men but all these are subservient to Satan who in them and by them driveth on his designe of Temptation But this Tempter never before nor since took such a task in hand as here to tempt Christ Fiery darts Eph. 6.16 can make no impression where they meet not with combustible matter Granado's if cast on a Castle all strongly arched over with stone do small execution so here Satans temptations took no effect in Christ because finding no party to comply with him Ioh. 14.30 The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me Though Christ was All in all yet Satan found nothing in him namely for his purpose no Corruptions to be tinder to his fiery Temptations If thou beest the Son of God Some conceive that Satan herein dissembled his knowledge as Ioseph who did know and would not know his brethren though assured Christ was the Son of God Such a sort of people we meet with 2 Pet. 3.5 For this they are willingly ignorant of But cui bono For what conceived good to himself should the devil disguise his knowledge herein Others conceive that as an angry dog bites a stone out of meer madness though knowing he shall sooner break his teeth then batter the stone so Satans malice so far transported and blinded his judgement that he tempted Christ though knowing him for the Son of God his temptations would prove in effectu●l But I rather cast the grain of my opinion into the Seale of those Divines who conceive the devil unsa●isfied in this point and therefore his of thou be the Son of God proceeded from his desire of more perfect information therein Hence we learn Satan hath a limited and confined knowledge and is ignor●nt in many things He knoweth not the secrets of our hearts nor future contingencies reserved to God alone the reason why he returned such ridling Oracles meerly to palliate his own ignorance In such things he speaks warily with an if not that he is conscientious not to tell a lye but cunning not to be caught with a lye that by pretending of tru●h he may keep up his credit and deceive with the less suspicion Secondly from this if we collect also It is Satan's master-piece to make Gods children first doubt of and then deny their sonship For had Christ entertained this temptation at the next return Satan would have turned si into non this his conditional particle into a pure negation This he doth by two devices First by insinuating a si a suspicion of doubt into the most positive and pregnant promises of God Where God saith Call upon me in the time of trouble and I will hear thee Satan infers if he will hear thee Where Christ saith Mar. 16.16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved Satan suggests if he shall be saved In a word the devil endeavours to alter the property of all Gods promises for the worst substituting a supposition for Gods position as where God had lately said Matth. 3.17 This is my beloved Son the devil spoils a direct text with a doubting gloss If thou be the Son of God Secondly by heightning the afflictions of Gods servants to be so great as inconsistent with their sonship as here he would perswade Christs hunger argued him no Son of God except he could presently relieve himself So he tempts Gods children to believe that their poverty infamy captivity and other tribulations plainly prove them no sons of God unless they can presently rid themselves of them Gratifie not Satan in the deepest of thy afflictions with a confession against thy self Acknowledge thy self a prodigal but yet a childe no bastard a wandering sheep but yet a sheep no goat sanctified afflictions being evidences of Gods love not hatred unto thee Remember and apply to thy self Gods three GIFTS The first good The second better The third best of all The first general Ioh. 3.16 He GAVE his onely Son that whosoever believeth in him c. The second particular Eph. 5.25 loved the Church and GAVE himself for it The last and best more particular still Gal. 2.20 who loved me and GAVE himself for me Take heed to pleasure Satan by renouncing thine own sonship and apply this grand Gift of Christ with a particular faith unto thy self Command that these stones be made bread Even by the confession of Satan himself The Son of God by his mandate can instantly transubstantiate stones into bread Indeed men by the help of a figure may in some sort be said to do so Such who in the West country turn solid Lime-stones into Compost whereby they manure their Tillage and make their grain wonderfully to increase may by a Metonymie be said to turn stones into bread But this is done with a tedious going about whereas Christ's Miracles are presently and perfectly performed Immediately his leprosie was cleansed Matth. 8.3 Immediately their ●y●e received sight Matth. 20.34 Immediately the fever left her Mark 1.31 Immediately her issue of blood was stanched Luke 8.44 God onely can instantly and perfectly with such as act by commission under him as Moses did turn the substance of one thing into another See we here That Jannes and Jambres the Egyptian inchanters did their Miracles but seemingly Had Christ rejoyned My turning of stones into bread will n● argue me the Son of God seeing the Egyptian Magicians Exod. 7.12 turned their ●ods into serpents how quickly would the devil have distinguished that these things were done quoad 〈◊〉 tudinem non quoad ●●ritatem disclaiming his own deed because Aaron's rod swallowed up theirs that is it lasted and con●●●●ed when the others vanished awaye Three good things appear in this temptation of Satan 1. Truth allowing