Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	according_a	church_n	word_n	2,678	5	4.0797	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70865	Faces about, or, A recrimination charged upon Mr. John Goodvvin in the point of fighting against God, and opposing the way of Christ and a justification of the Presbyterian way in the particulars by him unjustly charged upon it : vvith other short animadversions upon his late book called [Theomachia] or, The grand imprudence of men running the hazard of fighting against God, &c.	Prynne, William, 1600-1669.	1644 (1644)	Wing P3952; ESTC R7643	5,615	12

Faces About OR A RECRIMINATION charged upon Mr. JOHN GOODVVIN In the point of fighting against God and opposing the way of CHRIST AND A Justification of the Presbyterian way in the Particulars by him unjustly charged upon it VVith other short Animadversions upon his late Book called ΘΕΟΜΑΞΙΑ Or The Grand Imprudence of men running the hazard of fighting against God c. Rom. 16. 17. Now I beseech you Brethren mark them who rayse Divisions and offences Published by Authority LONDON Printed for Robert Bostock dwelling at the signe of the Kings head in Pauls Church-Yard 1644. Faces About OR A Recrimination charged upon Mr. Iohn Goodwin in the point of fighting against God and opposing the way of Christ CHristian Reader my thoughts are not God knows against the Authour of these Sermons in the least measure but against his dangerous Doctrine though intermingled with truths To be silent in this businesse I dare not my Conscience forbidding me To say all that might be said I cannot my imployments hindering me Therefore I have thought good to offer thee these few Animadversions to make thee to be the more awake and cautious Beleeve not every Spirit but try the Spirits whether they be of God or not FIrst of all it is to be observed he buildeth upon a rotten and unsound foundation pag. 10. affirming that we may build upon what Gamaliel spake in the Counsel as good and from God The principall end and scope of what he spake being the rescuing of the Apostles c. And there being nothing in all this speech excepting onely the historicall instances of Theudas and Judas but what is fully consonant with the Word of God unquestionably so acknowledged elsewhere the credit and authority of it for matter of truth is one and the same with those other Scriptures corresponding with it Ans. 1. I never heard so much good of Gamaliel except from Popish Interpreters who tell us out of the Traditions of Clemens and out of the Roman Martyrologies that Gamaliel was a godly man and a Disciple of the Apostles Sure I am our best Interpreters judge of him as an irreligious Polititian adieophorit neutralist Nullifidian 2. His principall end and scope was not the rescuing of the Apostles but the preservation of himself and the Councell from the wrath of the people of the Jewes whom he feared because they favoured and magnified the Apostles and from the wrath of the Romanes which he well knew would fall upon the Counsell if they should presume to put any man to death the liberty of capitall punishment not being permitted to them And this was his meaning when hee said vers. 35. Yee men of Israel take heed to your selves what yee intend to doe Beware of provoking the people Beware of provoking the Romancs 3. Though there be some truths in that which he spake in the Councell yet there are there three exceeding great errours in it One is that he makes it an uncertaine and dubious thing whether the Gospel preached by the Apostles and Miracles wrought by them were from God or from men he puts an If where he should have put a Surely Another is that he judgeth himself and would have others to judge what is of God and what not by the event according as the thing prospers or not whereas he should have judged according to the truth and the rule of the Word let the event be what it may be A third is that whatsoever damnable and pernitious Heresies doe infest a Church all men even Magistrates must refraine from the Authors and spreaders thereof and let them alone in confidence that such wayes if not of God will come to nought of themselves Pag. 21. He maketh a most odious comparrison betwixt those Ministers who appeare for the Congregationall way as he calleth it and the Ministers who appeare for the Presbyteryall way describing the Ministers of the former way thus some Ambassadours and Messengers of his Gods of a very choice anointing and indued with strength from on high The Ministers that stand for the Presbytery thus some that would be thought Pillars and prime men in the House and Temple of God Surely they that would be thought so are not worthy to have the smallest place in the Temple of God Againe he describeth the people who adhere to the former sort of Ministers thus many thousands more and those for the most part of the best and choicest servants of God amongst us The people who adhere to the Presbyterian Ministers thus the generality of people who know little of God or of his wayes If this be suitable to a Spirit of Christian moderation and humility that men shall thus commend and magnifie themselves as having greater gifts and graces then others and judge the Ministers to be presumptuous and the people ignorant who are of another opinion let every one judge whose understanding is not very much biassed with partiality Nay let us but judge him out of his own words I would gladly know how he can reconcile these things with what himself saith pag. 27. where he tells us what opinion the Gongregationall way holdeth of such as are contrary minded to it It thinketh no evill saith he it speaketh no evill of such if it conceives them upright and faithfull with God and with Jesus Christ it imbraceth them with all love tendernesse and honour as pertakers of the precious Faith with it self and nothing doubts but that they serve and worship God with as much sincerity and singlenesse of heart and are accordingly accepted by him in their way as it self In the transcribing of this Passage I have some light to reconcile him with himself There is a great If here If Presbyterians be faithfull and upright with God and not onely so but If Independents conceive them to be such He had said positively of the other way many thousands are for it of the best and choicest Servants of God But of this way hee greatly doubts whether he can say neere half so much as if Godly Presbyterians were hardly to be found and Vix totidem quot Thebarum portae divitis ostia Nili Pag. 23. He would make us beleeve that the Presbyterian Reformation needs suffer nothing nor lose an houres time by the Congregationall way For saith he What doth the poore flie sitting on the top of the wheele to hinder the Waggoner from driving on his way c. The irregularity of the Mountaines and valleys in the surface of the earth troubles no mans opinion concerning the perfect roundnesse of it because it is swallowed up into Victory by the roundnesse of the Globe c. The gleanings of Independency so called will not hinder the Vintage of the Presbytery Would God hee could make these things good Would God it were not as the Remora to the Ship If it be as the flie on the top of the wheele why hath it hindred us from driving on our way not for an houres time but for a

yeeres time and much more If Independency be the irregularity of mountaines and valleys it will at least trouble the opinion of many thousands who are not good Cosmographers concerning the roundnesse of the Globe And what should hinder a full and perfect roundnesse since every valley shall be filled and every mountaine and hill shall be brought low And if Independency doth but gleane why doth it glean before the Vintage And when after Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better then the vintage of Abiezer Pag. 23 24 25. J would gladly know saith he what or what manner of Reformation can reasonably be expected or hoped for without her the Congregationall way And here he enlargeth himself to shew that without this their way our Reformation is but a reforming of Satan a reforming of open loosenes and profanenesse into Pharysaicall hypocrisie a taking of the members of an harlot to make them the members of Christ a quashing and crushing and breaking of the hearts and bones of the one halfe of the most Religiously-affected for trading in Apes and Peacocks I wish he had told us where their Tarshish lies for holding some erroneous opinions perhaps erroneously so called That the Presbvterian Reformation is directly destructive to the edification of the Saints and doth impede their growth in grace More of this stuffe you have pag. 29 30. If matters faith he were duly and fairly examined between the two combitants in this case the way we plead for would be found via lactea the candid harmlesse and peaceable way and her corrivall or competitresse via sanguinea the trouble and strife making way c. See also p. 33. 34 37. What no Reformation without the Independent way except a Satanicall Reformation a Pharasaicall Reformation a Meritricious Reformation a Persecuting Reformation a bloody Reformation a Grace-destroying-Reformation Is this his so much pleaded for Toleration of that way that there can be no Reformation without it Is this his so much boasted of Charity of that way that it thinks so much evill and speakes so much evill of any other Reformation Where is that Presbytery that doth imbrace the ungodly or persecute the religiously affected or hinder their edification For my part I shall cast the first stone at it The Lord rebuke this Spirit of belying and calumniating the way of Christ by which God hath beene so much honoured Satan so much foyled true grace and knowledge so much propagated and advanced And what is this but a Fighting against God even that sinne which he himselfe holds out as the Achan the troubler of our Israel and that which makes the Sunne of our Peace to goe so often backwards in the Heavens Page 34. 35. he speaketh thus We suppose that the Lord Christ so far tendred the spirituall felicity and peace of his Churches as to leave them sufficiently furnished and every wayes appointed with internall provisions for the effectuall procurement and preservation of them without any concurrence of any heterogeneall or externall power especially considering that he foresaw that these Churches of his for the space of 300 years together somwhat more were not like to have any accommodation at all in this kinde from any secular or civill power Now let it be remembred that this doth quite overthrow one of the grounds whereupon those that are for the Independent way do usually justifie it When it is objected that that way provideth no sufficient nor effectuall remedy for reducing an Offending or Apostatizing Congregation the answer we receive is this Other Churches may admonish rebuke and if that do it not non-communicate such a Congregation It is replyed What if that Congregation slight all this both reproof and non-communion What say they for that cause The Apologeticall Narration pag. 19. Tells us If the Magistrates power do but assist and back the sentence of non-communion then it will be as effectuall as the Presbyterian way is supposed to be To this I say no other thing but what John Goodwin saith The Lord Christ hath provided for his Churches sufficient intrinsecall remedies without the concurrence of any externall power And so I leave it betwixt them to unty the knot Pag. 43. 44. Whereas the Vote and suffrage of a Reverend Learned and Pious Assembly might be objected against the Independency He tells us for Answer the observation of Gregory Nazianzen That he never saw good end or desireable successe of any Councell or that they procured any decrease but rather increase of evills He farther lookes upon Synods as the Eclipsings of the glory of God That there are too many learned and wise men in a great Councell for God to reveale Truth or to give truth Victory against errour by Pag. 45. As exercising Dominion over our faith Pag. 46. As swayed by one or few of predominant parts or authority as you may read Pag. 47. Let him who pleaseth compare these Passages with the Arminians their declamations against Synods Exam. Cens. pag. 288. 289. and elsewhere in their writings comparing also what is written by Zepperius Pareus Whittaker and divers other Protestant Divines of the most profitable excellent and in some respects necessary use of Councells or Synods and then observe how neer Master Goodwin commeth to the former and how far he recedeth from the latter Neither need we to stumble at that passage of Nazianzen to Procopius He had reason to say so having seen so many Councells of those Bishops who did so much favour the Arrians that he was out of all hopes ever in his days to see a free and rightly-constituted Councell Neverthelesse Nazianzen himself afterwards was present in the Generall Councell of Constantinople and did subscribe the Decrees thereof as is manifest by the Subscriptions Therefore distingue tempora If things had continued in this Kingdom as they were in the Prelates time we had said of Councells even as Nazianzen did But Tempora mutantur nos mutamur in illis Pag. 50. He giveth a sore Blowe to the Parliaments Power To hold saith he that the persons so elected unto Parliamentary Trust and Power have a power by vertue of such Nomination or Election to enact Laws and Statutes in matters of Religion and to order under Mulcts or Penalties how men shall worship and serve God as it is a means to awaken the eye of Jealousie upon them and so is seven times more destructive c. Surely this is a means to ●waken the Parliaments eye of Jealousie upon himself Shall every one in Israel do in Religion what seemeth good in his own eyes Shall the Covenant how necessary soever for the good of the Kingdom be left free that every man may take it or refuse it as he listeth May the Civil Power inflict no punishment on those that do evil and who do more evil then soul-destroying and Church-disturbing Hereticks Hath the Magistrate no coercive power in matters of Religion Let the five Apologists animadvert to this and look how sweetly it agreeth with their solemn professing that they give more to the Magistrate then the Principles of Presbyteriall Government will yeeld Pag. 52 and pag. 18 he wisheth it may be the first-born of religious Advertisements and Cautions to us That no man or rank of men whatsoever do appear especially in any high handed Opposition or Contestation nor so much as lift up an hard thought against Doctrine or Way claiming Origination and Descent from God till we have Security upon Security Proof upon Proof Demonstration upon Demonstration Evidence upon Evidence that such Ways or Doctrines onely pretend unto God as the Authors of them and that in truth they are not at all from him This is the substance of those two Passages put together Now I assume The Presbyterian way claimeth Origination and Descent from God yet Master Goodwin doth not onely lift up an hard thought against it but in these Sermons extremely oppose it and contest against it without Security upon Security Proof upon Proof Demonstration upon Demonstration Evidence upon Evidence that it onely pretends unto God as the author of it and that in truth it is not at all from him Therefore now let him give this his first-born for his transgression What if I have but one good Proof Demonstration Evidence or Security that this or that Doctrine is Heresie which yet claims Origination from God and his Word may I not appear in contestation against it nor so much as lift up an hard thought against it till I have multiplied Proofs Demonstrations and Evidences and all those as clear as the noon-day as he preacheth I fear if the Genealogie of this same Doctrine of his were searched for it should be found to have an Origination and Descent from Socinians and Arminians which I conceive I could demonstraté if I had leasure to turn over my Books However let him consider whether this Doctrine doth no ways fall upon the Excommunication of Hereticks in the Congregationall Way of which he himself speaketh thus Pag. 34. If the errour be dangerous amounting to or neer an Heresie after two or three admonitions that is according to her Warrant from heaven she casts it out of the line of her Communication to him who cast it in I mean Satan FINIS Act. 5. 26. Joh. 18 34. Luke 3. 5. Judg. 8. 2. Apol Nar. p. 19.