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	church_n	lead_v	1,975	5	7.6771	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61679	A sermon against rebellion shewing deceivers to be deceived in their wicked mistakes. Preached at St. Paul's, October 20th 1661. By Sam. Stone, M.A.	Stone, Samuel, 1602-1663.	1662 (1662)	Wing S5736; ESTC R222079	26,397	53

not otherwise for St. Peter and St. Paul were at a contradiction and both parties could not have the right and Paul and Barnabas were at a contention The Spirit of truth shall guide you into all truth was the Promise of Christ He that said it is as true as his Word but well understood not in the whole circumference of the Terms but in the limitation of the Sense All truths fundamental the essential constituents of a Church the Spirit of Christ hath promised to lead his Church into And so he doth for the Church is the Pillar of Truth and the foundation of God standeth sure but as for other truth 's of analogie inference and remote consequence that like backer houses shew not at first sight in the building of faith into such truth's as these the Spirit of Truth hath not promised to lead us but sometimes leaves us to the spirit of Error who does his best to do his worst and deceive those that believe Instance whereof you may take in the most glorious Church of Christendom this of England whom the old Dragon according to his use of persecuting the Woman into the Wilderness hath endeavoured to bring in our late dayes of Tribulation into contempt and disgrace in the view of the whole World and to that end had insinuated such mischievous Delusions into the two chief Parties of her most considerable interest after once divided as the most remarkable in their own thoughts and their Disciples admiration for strictness and severity of life were grosly misled into the soulest miscarriage imaginable as to their Politicks in the case of Subjection Government On the other side they which were most regular and best principled in understanding of Government and Learning were not altogether some of them in mens observation so perfect in their Morals as they should have been and therefore to conclude in both respects aforesaid to follow a Godly Party may be deceitful although caeteris paribas all things equally considered A Godly party especially truly godly is best imitable with Wisdom and Circumspection but not simply and absolutely So much for the second deceitful Reasoning whereby Wickedness hath been much improved A third Principle of deceit whereby wickedness doth much impregnate is a reasoning from contraries as in case some person or persons do act wickedly in their way that therefore others acting the quite contrary shall be allowed and warranted as righteous in what they do because contrary Which seems indeed to carry some reasonableness and probability with it it being backt with a shew of Logick Contrariorum contraria sunt consequentia Of contraries there are contrary consequences And so in Physick Contraria contrariis curantur Evils in mens bodies are remedied by their contraries And in Philosophy likewise Contraria mutuò se pellunt Contraries expel one the other But nevertheless this kind of Reasoning is most deceitfull without wary distinguishing To which purpose we must distinguish there is a contrariety natural and contrariety moral The contrariety natural is first betwixt the Elements as Fire and Water which are mutually destructive one of the other and much like are the extreams of Virtue as Avarice and Prodigality to instance in no more which are as inconsistent and expellent of each other as Fire and Water and therefore I call them Contraries natural for though as they stand in opposition to the mean which is Virtue they are morally contrary yet as in contra-distinction of one to the other they are but natural Contraries There is also another contrariety called moral as before that is betwixt the Extreams and the Mean alias Virtue which I call Contraries being opposite as Good and Evill moral they differing as much as Wisdom and Folly which we all know to be contrary the mean which is Virtue being acted by Wisdom according to Aristotle in his his Ethicks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the extream by Folly Now to apply this Distinction If men shall reason the lawfulness of their actions by practising the sense of Contraries natural or exteme or running from one extreme to another they are foully deceiv'd In vitium ducit culpae fuga si caret Arte saith the Poet The declining of one Vice incurs another if done without Prudence which governs all virtuous actions howbeit to decline one Contrariy in a moral sense and turn to the other that is from Vice to Virture from Evill to Good from Sin to Righteousness is a ratitionall and wise practise otherwise false and deceitfull As for instance some men are lewd and vitious in their lives and conversations breaking all the rules of virtue others therefore presuming to themselves safety and lawfulnesse in their actions by running into an extream distance from them desire to avoid them in whatsoever they do although they are as good politically as to the government and laws of a Nation according to Aristotle that Malus vir may be Bonus Civis an evill man in manners may be a good Subject to his Prince as they are bad morally whence follows separations divisions and contentions betwixt them and thereupon occasionally civill dissentions and warr too even against the Prince himself because the contrary in vice is for the Prince in Loyalty Sic vitant stulti vitia This is the contrariety of fools and practisers of extreams The Church of Rome maintaines good works as causall and meritorious in the point of Justification others therefore French and Germane Divines thinking truth on their side by a quite contrary judgment have gon so farre from them into the extream as not to allow any good work at all before Justification albeit so confessedly necessary for the qualification of Faith it self in her existence and operation Sic vitant stulti vitia This is the contrariety of extreams The Church of Rome setts forth so many Ceremonies as amount to Superstition some therefore of our side to avoid that would have no Ceremony at all and so dis-robe the Church of all her externall decentials and badges of Antiquity Sic vitant Stulti vitia This is the contrariety of Fools The Church of Rome establishes as many Holydaies almost as daies and therefore our wise Assemblers and Religionists of late would have no Holydaies besides the Sabbath at all not so much as for the Celebration of the Nativity of Christ himself Sic vitant stulti vitia This is the contrariety of Fools The Church of Rome patter over their forms of Pater Noster and Ave-Maries and so many empty slight Collects as a wise Christian can sense it no better then meer superfluity others therefore would have no form of Prayer at all no not so much as the Common Prayer it self though it be the very Characteristick of our Church of England to distinguish it from other Protestant Churches Sic vitant stulti vitia This is the contrariety of Extreams Some practise the Sabbath as not keeping it at all without any observation of duty all the day long others

in electione saith he A choice of true and proper means for every true and genuine end Because we creatures are not immediate and complicate with our end as God is who himself is his own End but we are at a distance from our end and therefore must consult and deliberate upon the choice of our means in order thereunto which are most proper suitable and lawful for attainment He that thinks in the use of unlawful means or actions with them to attain the scope of righteousness and happiness therewith is like one as a late Writer wittily similizeth That rowles himself upon a bed of thorns to sleep easily or that sets his face to the East to go to bed with the Sun in the West which are meer impossibilities and repugnances Beloved Good works will be in heaven to the eternal glory of their Author when as evill works for all their good meanings will be in hell without Repentance to the eternal shame of their Actors To conclude this as he cannot well be thought to mean ill who doeth well so nor he likely so much as to mean well who resolves and continues to do ill And therefore my brethren since good meanings are so sleight an excuse for wicked actions no better than the ignorance of the Law whence they proceed and justifies no man let all those that have followed the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin not only in the calves of Bethel but also in dividing from the Crown of Juda let them all seriously bethink themselves and repent betwixt God and their souls and strive to become pricked in their hearts with remorse as were the Jews notwithstanding all their good meanings lest under the security they have by the indemnity temporal of their Lives and Estates they hazzard the salvation of their souls being no power temporary can indemnifie a soul And let all such beware further who are still feeding upon the old leaven of Malice and Wickedness whereby they nourish unto themselves discontents and murmurings in their Tents against Moses and Aaron because they are whipt a little while longer with the rods of their own making and stung with the tails of those Scorpions hatcht by their own Cockatrice Eggs Let them I say beware how they adventure upon such odious and perilous actions again under a conceit of doing lawfully by their good Meanings for believe it they will prove no better then that in Daniel Mene mene tekel upharzin being weighed they 'l be found too light when the hand-writing of judgement is upon the wall against them A second deceitful Principle is Following a godly party whereof I take occasion to speak from a passage of mine own experience for being confulted once in point of conscience by a person of a considerable quality a little after the beginning of the late Miseries Whether he might lawfully and with a safe conscience take one of the Rebellious Oaths or Protestations And I having answered him in the Negative that he might not do it with a safe conscience He replyed That he would hold with the godly and praying Party and so took it And indeed this was the vulgar Error of England at that time to follow those who had the most plausible shews of godliness in outward appearance beyond others and by advantage thereof gave the Conduct and Clarigation to the satal War Now to this I shall discourse that however Religion be indeed the best practise in the world and to follow a Godly or Religious party be the best also for a mans imitation caeteris paribus all things equally considered Be ye followers of me as I am of Christ saith St. Paul but nevertheless without much heedfulness and circumspection there may be great deceit in it For first I would know of such people who are apt to be taken with this reasoning What Godly party it is they would fain follow If they mean by the Godly party such as place their Religion in Whimzies and Humors and Singularities and Curiosities and Phansies and Affectations in Mimick mouths and Antick faces in Canting phrases and Affected Graces in Twinckling of the eyes and Ronching of the nose in long Prayer and short hair which ye know was the guise before the Troubles though now t is but the character of a Quaker or scarse that in flashes of Zeal and mazes of the Spirit in length and quantity rather than in quality and perfection of Duty in rude anhelous pantings and interrupt breathings at Devotion in passionate interjections and extempore imperfections and as many Ah Lord's as the Papists have Ah Lady 's at their Ave Maries in outside austerity and abstinence from Indifferencies as from the Lot in Recreation and from Ceremony in Religion in taking down a stone-bason and setting up a pewter-bason or taking it from the Church door and setting it at the Ministers Pew door in taking down a Saint-holyday and setting up a Parliament-holyday in ceasing to feast for the Birth of Christ and feasting rather for the dea●h of Christians and many such like If such be the Godly Party whom any people would follow we all know that this is the Party who have deceived this poor Church and Nation into all the mischief and ruine it hath suffered this is a Godly Party with an amusement enough to make Religion and Godliness it self ridiculous and contemptible in the observation of wise and indifferent men even Pagans themselves and therefore to follow such a Godly Party must needs be deceit Secondly Put case the Godly Party to be followed were the most wise and regular Church-Society yet to follow them so as to make a total resignation unto them of our Faith and Reason Consciences and Affections as the Community of the people did unto the Long-Parliament this also must needs be a deceit because the spirit of Error is apt to insinuate and creep into the best Societies of men in the World Fas ergo est aliquà Coelestia pectora falli There was folly found in the Angels and chaffe in the first floor Christ ever lay'd which if he with his fan in his hand had not purged out of their hearts Satan himself would have winowed them as wheat So shall you see the cleerest streams stained with a vein of puddle the purest pupil moated the most radiant Stars dimmed with the steams of Terrene vapors so the most eminent in place of action found of Error the very Pillars of the Church sometimes chinckt in with some stones of offence Errare possum saith St. Augustine he might Err he confest only would not be an Heretick The High-Priest may have the Urim and Thummim on his breast but neither the one in his head nor the other in his heart I know no promise of Infallibility universal except to the Church-universal as comprehending all Persons Times and Places as Chillingworth gives it or unless to the Apostles themselves and that too as they acted their Supream Apostolick Commission