Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	answer_v	speak_v	word_n	2,632	5	4.2165	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13017	The heauenly conuersation and the naturall mans condition In two treatises. By Iohn Stoughton, Doctor in Divinitie, sometimes fellow of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge; and late preacher of Gods word in Alderman-bury London	Stoughton, John, d. 1639.; Burgess, Anthony, d. 1664.	1640 (1640)	STC 23308; ESTC S113792	78,277	283

Nature Gods enemies The third word Enemies Gods enemies the predicate in the Proposition attributed to the Subject because it implies a relative disposition betweene two and Inimicitia Enmitie as you all know is nothing else but the reciprocall affection of a morall opposition viz. Hatred betweene two persons in a reasonable nature in which there must concurre those three Conditions First that it is betweene two Secondly that it be reciprocall for if the hatred be but on the one part not on the other it is truly hatred indeede but it is not properly Inimicitia Thirdly that it is onely betweene persons in a reasonable nature for the same reason because among them onely can be found the reflexion of the like affection of Hatred for a man may hate a toade or some such creature and that by a secret antipathy yet that is not enmity by reason of the defect of that condition therefore this word Enemies I understand both Actively and Passively Wee are enemies to God and hate him and God is an enemy to us and hates us and so in both respects All men are by Nature Gods enemies Now to handle both these briefely First joyntly The ground of both is a dissimilitude which is betweene God and us as we are by nature we are men of polluted hearts and polluted lippes God is a God of pure eyes that can behold no iniquitie Wee are wholly infected with sinne and corruption but God is He to whom the Cherubins and Seraphins doe most justly cry Holy Holy Holy Lord God of Sabboath and if the Trinity were multiplied by it selfe that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were thrice three times redoubled as yee have it nine times written in Plantines Edition in the fourth of the Revelation yet how farre were it from that which the Saints acknowledge in God who are said there not to rest day nor night saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty and how much more short of the infinite holinesse in God whose Attributes are himselfe and therefore he is even Holinesse it selfe No marvell then seeing there is such dissimilitude betweene them nothing on mans part but sinne and pollution nothing on Gods part but Sanctitie and perfection no marvell seeing such a dissimilitude if we say there is such dislike that they are mutuall Enemies for if the morall maxime which is most true be received this cannot be avoided which followes out of it by an easie consequence according to the Law of contraries Similitudo est mater amoris But Secondly by the opening of these distinctly This will better appeare and first for the former We are by nature enemies to God Perhaps some will say to me here and doe wee hate God How can that be that he should be hated who is the perfection of Beauty the pitch of Nobilitie the patterne of Wisedome the Idea of all Vertue in a word who is goodnesse it selfe whereas the Object of hatred is some evill alway And doe we hate God who hath made this world this all and us in it a a little world 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as they called Athens the principall of all the rest and as it were an All in all who governes all things by his providence and by whose favour wee have all that wee have In whom we live and move and have our being so that if hee had not bound us to love him by the transcendent excellency of his nature yet he hath even brought us by the infinitenesse of his mercie towards us and can wee repay all this Love with Hatred And doe wee hate God Scientia neminem habet inimicum nisi ignorantem say the Heathen that have not knowne his Nature hate him but as for them that live in the bosome of the Church that have sucked milke out of the breasts of the Spouse of Christ they cannot chuse but draw in the love of God their Father with the milke of the Church their Mother And doe we hate God Or doe not you rather like some 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an hater of mankinde say mankinde is an hater of God and fasten a false accusation a slander upon them all unjustly Indeede to answer this if I speake this without the warrant of the Word of God then say if you will that my tongue is noslander but if I bring that to avouch so much as I have said of every unregenerate man consider well whether I have not slandered them with a truth I neede not put you in minde of this place which as I observed before sayes it in effect but I will produce a parallell place which will give better light to this and greater strength to the matter in question Col. 1. 21. And you that were sometimes strangers and enemies in your minde by wicked workes yet now hath hee reconciled Where you see you have the same phrase of reconciling and lest men signifie this obscurely you have further you that were strangers and enemies in your minde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where that was but intimated and insinuated onely in the former wotd is literally and punctually expressed And that there are some indeede that hate God that are his enemies appeares generally out of infinite places of Scripture where there is mention made of Gods enemies and more particularly in the 139. Psalme 21. Uerse Doe not I hate them O Lord that hate thee And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee I hate them with a perfect hatred I count them my enemies And tell me what mans is that title of honour that Elogium that Paul gives the Heathen and naturall men in the Catalogue Rom. 1. where he hath heaped up the most of them together Backebiters haters of God despitefull c. there you have among the rest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 haters of God And if that be not plaine enough I thinke the eight Chapter of the Romans speakes home enough to this purpose where you shall finde these words in the seventh verse 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where according to the streame of our interpreters the subject is emphaticall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not the inferiour faults as the Papists would have it but the highest the most refined portion of the unregenerate 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the predicate is emphaticall 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the abstract for the concreat as though there were no composition of substance and quality of constitution and corruption but all were turned into meere and simple enmity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The wisedome of the flesh saith the old translation the carnall minde saith the new is enmity against God and if the common axiome be true mens cujusque is est quisque I thinke it may be thus resolved at last The carnall man is an enemy to God And what doe they want thinke you of being Gods enemies or what injury should a man doe them if he called them so of whom the Apostle speakes in 2 Tim. 3 4.

from his Justice they must needs hate him in both respects As Author legis prohibiting all Malum Culpae which they love by severe lawes and as ultor peccati inflicting upon them Malum Poenae which they hate vindicating their Malum Culpae by sharpe punishment and these are so predominant in them that they cast an aspect of deformity upon other the most lovely attributes of God an aspersion of bitternes upon the most sweete among them so that his infinite perfection and incomparable mercy are so farre from altering and inchanting them that they drive them further from him because though they can see in them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet not finding 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they see perfection of beauty but they cannot see affection whereupon to ground propriety And therefore they thinke they doe as indeed they doe make so much the more against them and hence it is that though they cannot hate God for them directly yet they hate him with them and indirectly for them as infinitely aggravating by accident the hainousnesse of their crime as well as the grievousnesse of their condemnation And thus you see the truth is salved and the objection satisfied which if it be not sufficiently opened out of the testimony of the word and the generall ground of mans sinfullnesse I will further shew how that makes a man enemy to God And first you may easily understand it out of the generall nature of sinne which standing so opposite to God the love of it must needes argue the hatred of God for as our Saviour requires obedience as a tryall of the truth of his Disciples love to him If you love me keepe my Commandements Then the Argument will be as strong to conclude backeward If you keepe not Gods Commandements ye hate him But this hath beene intimated already the second more particularly Sinne is enmity to God and that two wayes First Immediately in himselfe Secondly Mediately Immediately against in all those three degrees of hatred which I mentioned before First Comparative Hatred which is when something is preferred before God in our affection and prized above him and this is done in every sinne otherwise how could it come to passe that we should cleave to it or any inferiour thing rather then to God nay forsake God to cleave to it How could we disobey God to obey a filthy lust and that this is truely hatred appeares by that of our Saviour Matth. 6. 24. No man can serve two Misters for either he will hate the one and love the other or else he will hold to the one and despise the other Ye cannot serve God and Mammon nor God and pleasure and the like Where you see such an opposition that if we love any thing beside God so as to be a servant to it we are beside the love of God that should make us his servants we will hate him we must be so farre from serving any thing before him that we have no liberty to serve any thing beside him if we meane to stay in his service this Text excludes not onely all superiors that may outstrippe him but all equalls that may compare with him yea all comportures and competitors with him in our love and service If this be not plaine enough then that is Mat. 10. 37. He that loveth Father or Mother more then me is not worthy of me compared with Luke 14. 26. If any man come to me and hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and children and brethren and sisters yea and his owne life also he cannot be my Disciple Whence it appeares that remisser love is but hatred and so to love any thing more then God is to hate him and the reason is plaine both in generall because if those two so unequally loved should come to thwart one another then to shew the love to the principall they would not sticke to doe reall acts of hatred against the other and so discover themselves and in particular because of the infinite eminency of Gods goodnesse above any other thing and so of our obligation to proportionable love But I need not stay long in this it being so plaine that men by nature are wholly averse from God and convert themselves to the creature and therefore enemies and haters of God Secondly the second degree is of Negative hatred namely where there is no love at all and this is easie to be observed in all naturall men toward God for whereas it is the nature of love wheresoever it is rooted to have the command of the whole man and sway it as it listeth all other affections and faculties and parts giving attendance to it as their Queene and Soveraigne and in the love of God this is to be seene in a peculiar manner and therefore we are commanded to love him with all our heart and all our soule and all our might and all our minde The understanding the will the affections all the faculties of the soule together with all the powers of the body must be wholly taken up with this love you shall find that none of these in the carnall man are any thing of kin to the love of God Love is busie in First Not his understanding the mind and thoughts will be alway running on the party beloved dies inoctisque ●ames me me desideres me somnies me expectes de me cogites me spires me te oblectes mecum tota sis meus fac sis postremo animus quando ego sumtum You know who said it and in this case and in this respect the common saying I thinke is verifyed especially animus est ubi amat potiùs quàm ubi animat Where it loves rather then where it lives But is there any such thing in the wicked toward God No surely All things concerning him are meere strangers with them and very unwelcome guests that marre all their mirth The wicked will not seeke after God God is not in all his thoughts Psal 10. 4. And if God offer himselfe as he doth many times And be found of those that sought him not they will not sticke to say either with the foole in their heart there is no God or with them in Job 20. 14. That say unto God depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy wayes Againe Love is learned in the knowledge of all the commendable parts and perfections in the party beloved But is there any such thing in the wicked toward God No surely the Booke of Nature lies open before them and will not suffer them to looke off it though they would and yet they will not vouchsafe to looke on it though they ought and reade a noble story of the Power and Wisedome and Goodnesse and Magnificence and Beauty of their Creator but seale up their eyes with a sullen ignorance which would faine feast themselves with the sight of of their blessed Maker and bury their talent of understanding which would faine be imployed to his use and improved