Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	apostle_n	call_v	word_n	2,466	5	3.9220	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41561	Some observations upon the keeping the thirtieth of January, and twenty ninth of May by J.G.G.	Gailhard, J. (Jean)	1694 (1694)	Wing G129; ESTC R17606	41,903	64

is Sin The Conscience of Man though it be deceived and Erroneous yet hath a binding Power and it is a matter of great Danger for any one to go against it all Men must seek to inform their Conscience aright by the Word of God which is the only true Rule to guide our Conscience by Let every Man be fully perswaded in his own mind Rom. 14.5 But though it be a Sin for a Man not to seek to have his Conscience rightly informed by the Word of God yet in him 't is a double Sin to do any thing against his Conscience If therefore thou seest a Man who is otherwise Conscionable in all his ways fearful to do that which thou knowest and art fully perswaded he may lawfully and ought to do pity him inform him instruct him and with Arguments and in a meek way labour to bring him out of his Errors but Scorn Hurt and Condemn him not The Second Ground is The one is able to use and do lawfully the thing he knows to be lawful and take no hurt by it The other though he knows the thing to be lawful thorough his weakness findeth he is not able to use it but shall receive hurt by it All things saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 6.12 are lawful for me but I will not be brought under the Power of any And certainly this is the thing that restraineth many a good Man from the use of several Recreations which he doth not doubt to be lawful in themselves because he finds his own Weakness to be such as he cannot use them without receiving much hurt thereby And this should restrain many more from them if they had care of their own Souls as they ought to have This Tenderness of Conscience which some sort of People want they condemn it in those who have it and call it Trifles Peevishness and Niceties but if they be grounded in the World they are Truths of God though some Truths be comparatively greater than others as our Saviour saith yet is not any one Truth of God to be accounted small of little or no Moment even of those Points of the Law which he calls but Gnats in comparison of others Our Saviour saith Matt. 23.24 These ought ye to have done Matt. 23.23 and not to leave the other undone They are all great things that God hath written and revealed in his Holy Word all the Truths uttered by the Apostles on the day of Pentecost are called the great Things Acts 2.11 or the Wonderful Works of God yea the least Truth of God that he hath revealed in his Holy Word is to be esteemed of greater Moment than Heaven and Earth Luke 16.17 It is easier for Heaven and Earth to pass than that one tittle of the Law should fail 'T is every ones Duty to seek after the Truth and to stick to and not depart from it when 't is found He who like David Psal 119.128 doth not hate every false way every Error in Matters of Religion Errors about the smallest as well as the greatest thing and doth not value that which God hath taught in his Word he hath not that Esteem of God's Word as he ought to have As a Man can make himself Abominable to God with the least Sin such as eating the least forbidden thing as a creeping thing Levit. 11.43 as it was under the Law so a Man doth by willingly receiving the least Error or willingly forsaking the least known Truth See how earnest the Apostle is in disswading from receiving an Error which of all Errors they could receive seemed the least Dangerous 2 Thess 2.1 2 3. as about the day of Christ's being at hand To receive any thing as Divine Truth which God hath not taught us though it carries never so good a shew of Piety and Devotion is certainly a very dangerous thing else the Apostle would not have been in this case so earnest as he is in that instanced already out of the second of Galatians about eating and drinking with Gentiles we see how steady is St. Paul that he would give no place by subjection no not for an hour Ver. 5. If some Politicians had then been to confer with him they would have said alas Paul why art thou so Obstinate and Peevish in such a Trifle 1 Cor. 7.19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing as thou hast taught But he gives this reason why he was so resolute in opposing an Error of that Nature That the Truth of the Gospel might continue with you These things being thus made out is it not a sad thing That we have amongst us Men that were and now if they could would as much as ever be pressing for the Execution of those Laws whereby they may trouble any of their Brethren And as David saith Psal 35.20 They devise deceitful matters against them that are quiet in the Land They are glad when they have the least colour of Law to justifie any of their unwarrantable Practices against those who dissent from them but they do not regard good Laws for the Glory of God as those we have for the due Observation of the Sabbath and against Swearing Drunkenness and Uncleanness c. these they look upon as not worth being taken notice of by them That sort of Men far from advising and promoting a necessary Reformation of Abuses in Religion according to the Word of God the only Rule for such things though 't was their Duty they hindred and opposed it and persecuted them that were for it slandering them with the names of Fanaticks Schismaticks Obstinate Factious And not satisfied with this meerly for Non-conformity which is properly upon the account of Conscience and Religion they deprived Ministers not only of the publick Exercise of their Office but also of doing it in private as in the Capacity of Chaplains School-masters Tutors and when they met in private to serve God though they prayed for the Government they were Fined turned into Prison where some died and many more things of that nature were acted whilst Papists our common Enemies who by these means were since in a fair way to have ruined us all enjoyed Peace and might hear Mass without Disturbance except some times for a shew I am not so much out of Charity with all those who had an hand in the Persecution at that time carried on as to believe but that some were not so acted by an inconsiderate Zeal but that they knew better than they seemed to do it did not consist with the Lights they had to approve of every thing they did or saw done the former Principles of some of them were too much contrary to their then present Practices but that sometimes they must needs have had Checks of Conscience And now there are some alive who once were against offering Violence about Matters of Ceremonies who if God had not by an Act of Indulgence and Liberty provided against it

now they are upon the Stage of another side would be as forward as most to renew and prosecute former Courses So far doth Interest sway with some Men when over-rul'd by it they know better than what they do or would do What else is this Rom. 1.18 than to speak in St. Paul's words To hold the Truth of God in Vnrighteousness All such persecuting Men I may compare to some who being upon a Journy instead of mending and going on their way fall out with beat and abuse their Fellow-travellers in words and deeds And though I love not to renew the Memory of these sad Divisions and Miscarriages yet they cannot so soon be out of mind We meet from Brethren with the like Usage as the Children of Israel did from Pharoah Exod. 5.17 Ye are idle ye are idle therefore ye say let us go and do Sacrifice to the Lord Ye talk of Reformation go and Conform not to the Gospel but to the Canon and Ceremonies of the Church as by Law established How have they who spoke for it been traduced as Innovators Disturbers of and Enemies to Church and State Such was the Lot of the first Reformers from Popery there hath been and there still are those who hate the very name of Reformation it hath commonly been the Custom of the Enemies of God's People to pick out a ground of Quarrel and to engage the Superior Powers against them the occasion is either Religion or State or both 1 Kings 18.17 The Prophet Elijah is by Ahab called he that troubleth Israel and his Enemy Chap. 21.20 Hath thou found me O mine Enemy that is to Kings In the case of Daniel Dan. 6.5 7. We shall find no occasion against this Daniel except we find it against him concerning the Law of his God said the Princes of Media And then caused the King to make this Decree mentioned in the place Psal 94.20 Thus sometimes Mischief is framed by a Law Wicked Men and Persecutors do prosecute their Designs under Notions different from the Truth Thus the Jews not only called our Blessed Saviour a Friend to Sinners a Samaritan who had a Devil but also accused him before Pilate Luke 23.2 of having by them been found a Fellow perverting the Nation forbidding to give Tribute to Cesar and calling himself a King And he was Crucified not as the Son of God but as an Enemy to Cesar and as a Malefactor John 17.20 Acts 23.1 St. Paul was persecuted not as a Man who had lived in all good Conscience before God until the day he was brought before the Council Phil. 3.6 Acts 21.28 and not as touching the Righteousness which is in the Law blameless but as one who taught all men every where against the people against the Law and the Temple and as a pestilent Fellow a mover of Sedition amongst all the Jews throughout the World Acts 24.5 6 14. one who had prophaned the Temple An odious Charge indeed but false as that of Heresie which he clears himself from Such false Aspersions and evil Practises should be left for the Father of Lyes the Slanderer and for his Children But let those who profess themselves Christians study to be such indeed and put on Bowels of Charity laying aside all Malice Anger Divisions which so much discredit our Holy Religion and give our Adversaries very great Advantage In God's Name and for the sake of the Lord Jesus let all former Animosities and Miscarriages be forgotten and forgiven and let Men put to themselves this question Rom. 6.21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now or ought to be ashamed and let all and every one in their Station joyn Hearts and Hands to carry on a thorough Reformation where it is wanting and therein let the Word of God be our Rule nothing of Humane Invention Willfulness Passion Prejudice or Self-ends in the carrying it on To lay such a Stress upon their As by Law established is no great Commendation for a Church and the Religion it doth profess 't is not good to stand too much upon it the Stamp of any Humane Law makes it never the better Christian Religion was not a jot the worse for not being by Law established in the Apostles time nor afterwards in the time of Persecution under the Roman Emperors neither was the Heathenish Religion or rather Idolatry the better for being then by Law established Neither is the Protestant Religion the worse in those Popish Countries where it is not setled by Law nor the Popish the better for being so setled This Argument used here against Dissenters is the same as was by Papists at the beginning of Reformation and by Jews against Primitive Christians 'T is not any Humane Authority that can make any Religion either better or worse and Dissenters may not be called Upstarts or Innovators for from the very beginning of Reformation we found those who wished for a thorough Reformation in Worship as well as Doctrine according to the Purity of the Gospel whence they were called Puritans and declared against retaining of those Ceremonies which ever since were the occasion of Dispute and Division I hope here we do not set up for a Catholick Infallible Church and that the words Church as by Law established are not an equivalent to it such a Doctrine is proper for a Church of Rome but not any Reformed Church We know this was the Exception against St. Paul Acts 18.13 This Fellow perswadeth Men to worship God contrary to the Law Yet the Apostle was in the right and they in the wrong as well as those others who called him and Silas Disturbers of the publick Peace Acts 17.6 Those who have turned the World upside down come hither also Our Reformation at first was good but in this World nothing so good but it may admit of some additional degree of Goodness and Perfection commonly the best things do not come all at once but by degrees As to our Reformation we may say as Jehoshaphat 2 Chron. 20.32 33. He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord Howbeit the high places were not taken away for the People had not yet prepared their Hearts unto the God of their Fathers Still something was wanting which was supplied by Hezekiah for then the high places were thrown down 2 Chron. 31.1 The like Brand was by the Spirit of God put upon Jehoshaphat's Father's Reign King Asa who did many good things and his Heart was perfect all his days 2 Chron. 15.16 17. but the high places were not taken away We ought at last to throw them down we are seriously and earnestly exhorted to remove that Idol of Jealousie set up in the House of God I mean particularly bringing a Dead Man into the Church upon the Thirtieth of January Jude 9. We know Michael the Arch-angel contended with the Devil about the body of Moses which he would