Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	ancient_a	church_n	doctrine_n	1,896	5	6.2759	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51916	Sermons preach'd on several occasions by John March ..., the last of which was preach'd the twenty seventh of November, 1692, being the Sunday before he died ; with a preface by Dr. John Scot ; to which is added, A sermon preach'd at the assizes, in New-Castle upon Tine, in the reign of the late King James.	March, John, 1640-1692.; Scott, John, 1639-1695.	1699 (1699)	Wing M583; ESTC R18158	123,796	330

enjoys the bright beams of Heavenly light whilst all the World besides groans under worse than Aegyptian darkness This is the true Gideons fleece which is watred with the dew of Celestial Grace whilst the other parts of the Earth lyes dry and parch'd not unlike some barren and cursed wilderness This in St. Austine's comparison is the true Ark in which alone we can be secure from the deluge of God's wrath Thus great is their happiness who are in the Church of Christ But some difficulty there is to find out the true Church as Tertullian observed of Old faciunt favos vespae faciunt Ecclesias Marcionitae the most dangerous Wasps have their Cells saith he even so the worst of Hereticks are ready to cry out the Temple of the Lord are we That therefore we may not mistake Leah for Rachel or embrace a Cloud instead of a Iuno we must carefully observe that description St. Paul gives us of the true Church he tells us it is founded on the Doctrine of Heaven or if you had rather take it in the words of the Text it is saith he that houshold of God which is built upon the foundations of the Apostles and Prophets From the words thus far explained I shall crave leave to prove these four things First That the Doctrine of the Apostle and Prophets is the foundation on which the true Church is built Secondly That this Doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets is sufficiently delivered to us in the Holy Scriptures Thirdly That the Church of England is built upon this foundation of the Apostles and Prophets And Fourthly That such as continue in the communion of this Church are as happy as were those Ephesians of whom St. Paul says they were no more strangers and forreigners but fellow-Citizens with the Saints of this houshold of God I begin with the first of these to shew you that the Doctrine of the Apostles and Prophets is the only foundation upon which the true Church is built The Church of Ephesus if we 'l believe St. Paul was the houshold of God or a true Church of Christ and it seems it was so because built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets we are sure these inspired Ministers of the Holy Iesus preached and planted none but the true Religion and we may be sure it can be no bad Church which owns and professes the same Religion I know there are several marks given of the true Church such as Unity Universality Antiquity Succession Sanctity and the like but tho' these where they are found are Great Ornaments to a Church yet the best and most infallible mark to know it by is its conformity to the Doctrines delivered by the Apostles For the true Church as the Apostle speaks elsewhere is the ground and Pillar of Truth but it will not deserve this honourable Character if its Doctrines be repugnant to the Doctrines delivered by the Apostles It 's said of the best and most Catholick Christians Acts 2. 42. That they continued stedfast in the Apostles Doctrine And therefore such as follow the Primitive example will be far from deserving the brand of Hereticks Does not our Saviour himself tell us that his Sheep will hear his Voice and not the Voice of Strangers And where is this voice of Christ to be heard but sounding in the writings of these Apostles and Prophets This therefore is the sure word of Prophecy whereunto saith St. Peter ye do well if you take heed nor is this any other mark of the Church of God then what is generally own'd by the antient Fathers Tertullian brings in the Church speaking such words as these Sum Apostolorum sic teneo sicut illi testamento caverunt I am Heir saith she to the holy Apostles whatever Truth they left me in their Writings whatever Doctrines they bequeath'd me in their Testament these I firmly believe these I will constantly hold Ireneus calls the Gospel columnam firmamentum Ecclesiae the Ground and Pillar of the Church St. Chrysostome treating at large upon this Question How the true Church may be known returns this answer more than once The true Church is best known by the holy Scriptures saith he that is the Christian Church which agrees with these sacred Oracles and that is the Heretical which is repugnant to them None speaks more largely or more excellently to this point than the great St. Austine who in his admirable Book against the Donatists writes thus The question between us and the Donatists is where we shall find the Church What therefore shall we do shall we seek it in our own words or in the words of our Lord Iesus Christ I think we had rather seek it in his words who is the truth and best knoweth his own Church Let not therefore these Speeches be heard amongst us This I say and this thou sayest but let us hear Thus saith the Lord There are certain Books of God to whose Authority we both stand we both consent we both believe there let us seek the Church there let us try our cause I will not have the Church demonstrated by Man's teaching but by the holy Oracles of God Setting therefore aside all such matters let them shew forth the Church if they can not by the speech and rumours of the Africans not in the Councils of the Bishops not in the Writing of any Disputer not in Visions and Revelations not in Signs and false Miracles because God's word has abundantly prepared us and made us ready against these things But let them declare it out of the Prescript of the Law the predictions of the Prophets the Songs of the Psalms the testimonies of the Apostles the words of the Pastor himself whether they have a Church or no let them declare only by the Canonical Books of the holy Scripture these be the instructions these be the foundations these be the supporters of our cause Thus far St. Austine and because he is so clear and so full to this case I shall not need to trouble you with any further Authorities especially since the Church of Rome doth acknowledge in her Trent Catechism that no Church is Catholick that does not profess that faith which is built upon the foundation of the Prophets and Apostles She must not hold any new faith say they but that which was delivered of old by the holy Apostles And it follows in the same Catechism the Nicene Fathers did well to add the word Apostolick to their Creed saying I believe one Catholick and Apostolick Church namely that all might know that is the only true Catholick Church which is Apostolick That therefore must needs be the truest mark of the Church which both Romanists and Protestants own to be so and indeed without this all those other marks which are pretended will signifie nothing Unity without Apostolical Doctrine is so far from being a mark of the Church that it may not only be found in the Societies of the worst of Men

Ordained and whereof he hath given us assurance in that he hath raised him from the Dead Tho' we are not certain when the day of Judgment will come that we may be alwayes preparing for it yet you see it is certain that there will be such a day and that Christ our Mediator is ordained Judge A happy day for all that are truly pious they need not fear this Judge who is no other than their Merciful Saviour But it will be a day of darkness and gloominess unto the Wicked these will then mourn when they shall see this Son of Man coming with great Power and Glory so much we are told in the Text Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven and then shall all the Tribes of the Earth Mourn and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven with Power and great Glory For the better understanding of these words we will enquire First Why Christ is called the Son of Man Secondly What is here meant by the Sign of the Son of Man Thirdly That this Son of Man will come to Judge the World Fourthly That he will come with great Power and Glory Fifthly That all the wicked of the Earth will then have just cause to Mourn First Let us briefly enquire why Christ is called the Son of Man Some learned Men observe that he is called so in the Scriptures more than forty times and there are two reasons of the Name 1st He is called the Son of Man in token of his Humanity Christ our Blessed Mediator was both God and Man and therefore as he is often called the Son of God to denote his Divinity so he is as often called the Son of Man to denote his Humanity 2ly He is called the Son of Man to denote that state of Humiliation to which he condescended for our sakes It was usual for the Jews to style Princes and Potentates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sons of strong Men but such as were poor they styl'd Beni-Adam Sons of Men. Christ therefore aspired to no higher title than that of Son of Man He was pleased to humble himself for us He as the Apostle speaks became poor that we might become rich Born he was of the poorest Parents such as neither had an House of their own to lay him in when he was born nor able to procure any place besides a Stable for his reception into this World And as he was born in this poor condition so tho' the Birds of the Air have Nests as he speaks yet whilst he lived he had not of his own where to lay his Head Nay further yet when he came to die we know he was beholding to the Charity of Ioseph of Arimathea for a room in his Sepulchre No wonder then if Christ be ambitious of no more Honourable Title than this of Son of Man since he made himself so vile so mean so contemptible for our sakes Thus I have briefly shewn why Christ is called so often the Son of Man it denotes the truth of his Humanity as also that state of Humiliation to which he condescended for our sakes I come now in the second place to enquire Secondly What is here meant by the sign of the Son of Man It would spend too much of our time to mention all those conjectures which learned Men have made concerning this Sign since it is a matter we may be safely ignorant of I shall only set down two of the best interpretaions I have met with 1st Very many learned Men both Antient and Modern do by the Sign of the Son of Man understand the Cross. St. Ierom St. Chrysostom and Venerable Bede upon this place affirm this Sign to be no other than that of the Cross. The Ethiopian Church is so peremptory in this matter that it is put into the Articles of their Creed as the Learned Gregory informs us There is hardly any thing the Antient Fathers are more unanimous in than this And to say the truth there is some tolerable Reason for this Antient Opinion For what can be more Honourable to our Lord and Saviour or more full of Terror to his Enemies than that the Cross of Christ which they counted foolishness and more than so esteemed the greatest reproach of the Christian Faith should at that day be made the Herald to Proclaim his Coming and call all Nations of the World to appear before him But tho' this interpretation be backt both with Reason and great Authorities Yet 2ly There is another interpretation that seems as plausible if not more plausible than it For the learned Vossius Mede Twisse Millet and several others do understand by the Sign of the Son of Man who is a Sign This kind of Dialect this manner of Speaking is frequent in the Scripture thus the Law of Faith is all one with Faith that is a Law the Law of Sin that is Sin it self which dwelling in unregenerate Persons reigns as it were by Law So the Sign of the Son of Man that is the Son of Man who is a Sign And that which gives the greatest Authority to this Opinion is that St. Luke in the parallel place interprets it so Chap. 21. 27. where the word Sign is left out and the Verse runs thus Then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a Cloud with Power and great Glory And St. Mark renders the words the same way Chap. 13. 26. If therefore St. Mark and St. Luke may be allowed to be as good interpreters of St. Matthew as any other by the Sign of the Son of Man we may understand the Son of Man himself whose Glorious appearance in the Clouds will be a certain infallible sign that the day of Judgment is come Thus I have shewn you what Conjectures learned Men have made concerning this Sign of the Son of Man Some understand the Cross others Christ himself whose Glorious appearance will be a certain sign of the approaching Judgment I come now in the third place to shew you Thirdly That this Son of Man will come to judge the World None but that God who made us has any right to judge us As we have received all things from him so as Stewards must we render an account of all things to him Indeed this Judgment belongs originally to the whole Trinity but the outward administration of it shall be committed to the Son of Man So we are told expresly in the Text Then shall ye see the Son of Man coming in the Clouds of Heaven Thus you see the Judgment of the last Day is committed to the Son of Man and indeed it is committed to him because he is the Son of Man our Saviour tells us so expresly John 5. 20 27. As the Father has life in himself so hath he given unto the Son to have life in himself and has given him Authority to execute Iudgment also because he is the Son of Man Ye see the Son of Man will come as

shines the brighter when others are unsettled by the turn of the Times or by the crafty subtilties of Schismaticks and Hereticks And the honourableness of such stedfastness will appear more at large by these few Particulars 1. This Steadfastness is an Argument that men have formerly taken just pains to inform themselves about matters of Religion As Ignorance is a Stain to Human Nature so Knowledge on the contrary must be the Honour and Glory of it This is one of the greatest perfections of the Soul without which as Solomon tells us the Mind cannot be good and as Knowledge in the General is thus honourable so no Knowledge is so Honourable as the Knowledge of Religion Religion is the chiefest concern of Mankind and consequently ignorance of this is the most shameful brand and yet such ignorance as this for the most part are they guilty of who prove unfaithful to the Church of God Hence St. Paul 2 Tim. 3. 6 7. speaking of some who suffered themselves to be perverted by Seducers he calls the silly Women such as are ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the Truth Nay elsewhere he styles them Children in understanding who are tossed to and fro with every wind of Doctrin For a man therefore to be steadfast in the Truth must needs be Honourable because it argues him to be a Knowing Man and that in matters of the highest importance 2. Stedfastness in Religion must needs be honourable because it is an Argument of the greatest Wisdom To be accounted wise is a piece of Honour men have always been covetous and ambitious of and there are none think they have a better title to it than such as change their Religion to serve their Temporal Interests Indeed our Saviour tells us That the Children of this World are in their Generation wiser than the Children of Light It must be acknowledged they are wiser as as to worldly Affairs and by renouncing their Religion they may make better provisions for the remainder of their Life here But alas What is a man profited if he gain the whole World and lose his own Soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his Soul Esau in the judgment of St. Paul was a very prophane Person when he sold his Birth-right for a Mess of Pottage and Iudas made but a sorry Bargain when for thirty pieces of Silver he betrayed his Saviour and his Soul together such worldly Policy is not the best sort of Wisdom He is truly the wisest man who prefers his Soul before his Body Heaven before Earth and Eternity before a Moment Now none is such a Wise Man as this but he who adheres stedfastly to the Church of God and values his Religion above Estate Life and all the fading Enjoyments of this transitory World 3. Stedfastness in Religion must needs be Honourable because such shall be honoured by Christ in an especial manner at the day of Judgment God has promised that those that honour him he will honour Now we have no better way to honour God than by owning his Truth and adhering to his Church Religion is the great concern God has in the World for the Honour and Advancement of which all those Miracles were wrought which are recorded in the Bible It is not therefore possible to please God more than by being true and faithful to Religion Hear what Honour our Saviour promises to put upon such at the day of Judgment Whosoever shall confess me before men saith Christ him shall the Son of Man confess before the Angels of God Luke 12. 8. However sincere Christians may be reviled and evil intreated by a wicked World it seems they will be own'd and honour'd by their Dearest Saviour and if there be one Crown of Glory larger than another he will bestow it on such as are faithful to the death I might if the time and your patience would permit add several other Arguments to shew the Honourableness of those Persons who continue stedfast in the Communion of God's Church but these I am confident will suffice at present I shall therefore conclude with a word of Exhortation beseeching you to continue stedfast in the Communion of the Church of England It will not be prudence in me to make any Reflections on other Churches but this I hope may be said without offence that I know not any Church this day upon Earth with which we may more safely Communicate than with the Church of England The Church of Rome is deservedly reckoned one of the Ancientest Churches in Christendom and yet if we may believe Baronius one of the best of their Historians the Church of England is Senior to it more than five years The Government of this Church is known to be Episcopal That Government which was instituted by Christ and was the only Government in the Church for fifteen hundred years after the Times of the Apostles And as this Church is governed by Bishops so we have had a continued Succession of them from the very beginning to this present day as may be learned from Godwins Catalogue of Bishops and Parkers Antiquitates Britannicae The Faith which our Church professes may be found in her Creeds which are the Apostles the Nicene and the Athanasian Creeds the only Creeds which were owned by the Primitive Church so that if we may be saved by that Faith which was thought sufficient by the Apostles and the best of Christians we need not seek a new one from any Church in Christendom No Church can pretend to more Loyal Principles or recommend it Self more to the Favour of Princes by the constant Fidelity of its Members than the Church of England This also is that Church which enjoyed Lucius the First Christian King and had the honour to have born in it the First Christian Emperor and Empress namely Constantine the Great and the most Religious Helena These are great and signal Honours such as no other Church is able to boast of and I shall add one greater than them all namely that the Religion of our Church was sealed by the Blood of King Charles I. the first Royal Martyr that ever was in the World This certainly is a Church none of us have the least reason to be ashamed of and as little reason to be afraid to own since we are so well assured of their present Majesties Gracious Protection I shall therefore conclude this Discourse as St. Paul does the 15th Chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians VVherefore my Beloved Brethren be ye stedfast unmoveable always abounding in the VVork of the Lord for asmuch as you know that your Labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. To God the Father c. SERMON VI. Luke xxiii 39 43. And one of the Malefactors which were hanged railed on him saying If thou be Christ save thy self and us But the other answering rebuked him saying Dost thou not fear God seeing thou art in the same condemnation And we indeed