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	paul_n	2,210	5	6.2789	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85709	A patheticall perswasion to pray for publick peace: propounded in a sermon preached in the cathedrall church of Saint Paul, Octob. 2. 1642. By Matthew Griffith, rector of S. Mary Magdalens neer Old-Fishstreet, London.	Griffith, Matthew, 1599?-1665.	1642 (1642)	Wing G2016; Thomason E122_17; ESTC R4434	34,095	58

That this spirit may make them all like Jethro's Magistrate men of courage fearing God and dealing truly so shall all their deliberations and determinations tend to the glory of God the reall honour and happinesse of His sacred Majesty and the peace and prosperity both of Church and Common-wealth To which I doubt not but all true Protestants will say Amen And thus having shewed first what you are here exhorted to do viz. to Pray and next for what you are exhorted to pray viz. for Peace It now onely remains that I acquaint you for whose peace it is that you are exhorted thus to pray viz. for the peace of Jerusalem for so stands the Text O pray for the peace of Jerusalem Jerusalem signifies the vision of peace It was the Metropolis of Palestina and it was so denominated from two parts in it one of which was call'd Jebus the Mount on which God commanded Abraham to offer up his son Isaac otherwise call'd Mount Moriah or Sion on which afterwards the Temple was built and Davids tower The other part was call'd Shalom and it was erected at first by Melchisedech King of Righteousnesse as Lyra notes in his Glosse on the 28 Chapter of Genesis And now if you put the two words expressing the two parts together it makes Jebushalom and for Euphonies sake Jerusalem And by this very name the holy Catholike Church is often set forth in Scripture as in the 41 Chapter of Isaiah Isa 4● 27 where God promiseth by his Prophet that he will give to Jerusalem one that brings good tidings that is a Saviour to the Church as Oleaster and others expound it And in the 4 Chapter to the Galathians Galat. 14.26 the Apostle saith that Jerusalem which is above is free which is the mother of us all Upon which words Hugo Cardinalis glosseth thus In hoc quod dicitur sursum notatur altitudo quod Jerusalem pacis multitudo quod libera libertatis amplitudo quod mater omnium charitas foecunditas that is In this that the Church is call'd Jerusalem is intimated multitude of peace that she 's said to be above denotes altitude of place that she is free shews her ample liberty and that she is the Mother of us all sets forth her charity and foecundity Jerusalem then is here a type of Christs Church for whose peace and prosperity we are bound in duty to pray continually Now the reasons why the Church of God is stil'd Jerusalem are many give me leave onely with a light pensil to touch some few of the chief For First as Jerusalem was the Metropolis of Palestina and all the Jews esteem'd it as their Mother so the Church is Mater credentium The Mother of all true beleevers as Saint Cyprian speaks Illius foetu nascimur saith he illius lacte nutrimur spiritu ejus animamur c. And so truly is she our Mother in a qualified sense that the same Saint Cyprian and after him Saint Augustine affirm peremptorily Non potest habere Deum patrem qui non habet ecclesiam matrem He cannot possibly have God to his Father who hath not the Church to his Mother And therefore no marvell though our present Sectaries which renouncing the Communion of the Church will have none of her to their Mother cannot endure to use the Lords prayer in which they must say Our Father Secondly as the Israelites were enjoyn'd by God at least three times every yeer to come Exod. 23.4 and appear before him in Jerusalem Even so are we all bound to meet in the Church which is the Congregation of all Christians and herein all true Christians do meet together in the unity of judgement and affection When God in the first Chapter of Genesis had gather'd together the waters unto one place Gen. 1.10 it is said that he saw that it was good And thereupon Saint Basil excellently notes that if the gathering together of the elementary waters was good then the gathering together of Gods people Apo. 17 15. who are the mysticall waters spoken of in the 17 of the Apocalypse must needs be very good yea if the one was good the other must needs be better And therefore I may truly say to such Sectaries as out of an affectation of singular holinesse separate themselves from the Church as sometimes Mr. Calvin himself did to the Anabaptists When under colour of perfection you can endure no imperfection neither in the body nor yet in the cloaths of the Church you must be admonish'd that this your seperation is caus'd by the devil who puffs you up with pride and seduceth you with hypocrisie Thirdly as Ierusalem was the chief seat both of the priesthood 1 King 9.10 and Kingdom for Salomon built the Temple and the Pallace together So in the Church there is both the Kingdom and Priesthood of Christ whereby both as a King he raigns over and as a Priest he instructs all the true Subjects and Citizens of the same Yea in the first Chapter of the Apocalyps Apoc. 16 he makes all the living members of his Church Kings and Priests in a qualified fence Or as St. Peter calls them 1. Pet. 2.9 a Royall priesthood Quid enim tam regium saith Leo quam subditum Deo animum corporis sui esse rectorem Quid tam sacerdotal● quam immacula●as piotaris ●astias de altari cordis offerne Psal 76.2 Fourthly Jerusalem was the onely place in which God was known and worshipped His Temple was built there there he spake unto them both with his own mouth and by the mouth of his holy Prophets there was the Oracle between the Cherubins there was the chair of Moses and there the law was both duely propounded and eke truly expounded unto the people 1 Tim 3.15 And in the Church God is known and worship'd aright for this is the Pillar and Ground of Truth saith the Apostle That is The Church serves to the truth for those speciall ends and uses which pillars do to men For One use of pillars is to preserve the remembrance of things past to posterity to which end Absolom rear'd his pillar and thus doth the Church keep the truth of God as it were upon perpetuall record A second use of pillars is to expose to open view such things as are fastned upon them as in our Cathedralls the Arms Scutchions and Epitaphs of worthies deceas'd are hung upon pillars and such a kind of pillar is the Church to the truth for it exposeth all the Canonicall Books to the People of God A third use of pillars is for the supportation of the fabrick which is built upon them and such a pillar is the Church to the truth Gods true Religion and all truth necessary to salvation is to be had in the Church which doth indeed support the Common-wealth and therefore they which with Sampson in the 16th chapter of Judges thrust as this pillar with all their might will ere they be

waters in perills by our owne country-men in perills by the heathen in perills in the city in perills in the wildernesse in perills on the sea in perills among false brethren c. And since we are in the midst of so many perills oh what need we have to fall to our prayers Psal 36.9 The Prophet David in the 36th Psalme speaking to God saith A pud te est fons vitae with thee is the well of life And if with the Psalmist we shall liken Gods mercy to a well or fountaine then may prayer be resembled to a bucket wherewith the water of this living fountaine must be drawn up And as the woman of Samaria in the 4th chapter of Saint John sayd to our Saviour in another case Iohn 4.11 The well is deep and thou hast nothing to draw with c. So may I truely say in this the fountaine of Gods grace is unsearchably deep and you have nothing wherewithall to draw thence the least temporall corporall or spirituall blessing save only this bucket of prayer James 1.5 For what Saint James speaks of saving wisedome in particular if any man lacke wisedome let him aske it of God in prayer is undoubtedly true of all good things whatsoever for they all descend from the Father of lights and therefore if any of you lack any of these you must aske it of God in prayer You must come to God in faith as to an ever-running and over-running fountain of inexhaustible goodnesse and you must use prayer as a conduit-pype to convey the sweet and saving streams thereof unto your selves Apoc. ● 6 And if Saint John in the 4th chapter of the Apocalyps rightly compare this world to the sea then may I with Saint Chrysostome nor lesse aptly liken prayer Velis remis to the sayles and oares wherewith we must be wasted through this turbulent sea to the haven of happinesse And as Marriners while they be at Sea do ply their Sayls and Oars hard that so they may arrive at the Harbour where they would be Even so needs must we apply our selves close to our prayers if ever we mean to obtain from God this blessed Peace in the Text. And so I passe from the Necessity to speak somewhat of the Efficacy of Prayer Many excellent things are spoken in Scripture to set forth the power of Prayer as that it both shuts and opens Heaven Iam. 5.16 17. For Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are saith S. James and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain and it rained not on the earth for the space of three yeeres and Six months And he prayed again and the heaven gave rain c. Yea prayer commands the whole host of Heaven for at Joshuah's prayer the Sun stood still in Gibeon Ios 10.12 and the Moon in the valley of Ajalon Prayer hath stayed the fury of fire Dan. 3.27 2 King 6.6 and made Iron swim upon the water Prayer hath made the barren womb fruitfull as in the first Chapter of Saint Luke Zachary thy prayer is heard and thy wife Elizabeth shall conceive and bear a son Luke 1.13 Prayer cures the sicknesse of the body as in the fift Chapter of S. James Is any man sick let him call for the Elders of the Church and let them Pray for him and the prayer of faith shall save the sick Iam. 5.14 And Prayer cures the sin of the soul too as of David the Publican ●he Thief upon the Crosse and divers others who as soon as they pray'd were pardon'd Not to trouble you with a world of other Instances the singular power of prayer may be discover'd to the full if you 'l ascend but these three degrees First that which subdues all flesh living viz. Death 1. Cor. 15.27 yields notwithstanding to the force of prayer as we read of the Shunamites childe Lazarus the widows son of Sarepta the Rulers daughter and some others who by the vertue of prayer have been rais'd from death and restored again to life Heb. 2.14 Secondly the Devill who in the 2. Chapter to the Hebrews is said to have the power of death is notwithstanding vanquish'd sometimes by the power of prayer Mat. 37.21 as in the 17 Chapter of Saint Matthew where our Saviour saith expresly This kinde of devills go not out save by prayer and fasting Not by fasting alone as the Papists fondly imagine and therefore make it a meritorious work for fasting without prayer is but an image of holinesse and a picture of hunger but it is prayer quickned with fasting that must do it Thirdly and lastly God himself who hath power over death and the devil is after a sort overcome by prayer else why doth he call out to Moses in the 32 Chapter of Exodus to let him alone It seems that the fervent prayer of Moses at that time Exo. 32.10 did not onely vincere but vincire after a maner binde Gods hands and so hinder him from powring the Vials of his wrath upon the people Gen. 32 24 And in the 32 Chapter of Genesis the Patriarch Jacob by wrestling prevail'd against an Angel which the Prophet Hoshea expounds of the power of prayer for it is absurd to think Hosh 12.4 that by bodily strength Jacob could prevail against an Angel but the truth is as the Prophet speaks By prayers and tears he had power over the Angel and was therefore call'd Israel And S. Paul alluding thereunto in the 15 Chap. to the Romans useth the very phrase Rom 15.30 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Now I beseech you brethren for the Lord Jesus Christs sake and for the love of the spirit that you strive together with me in your prayers to God He would have the wrestle for so the word in the Originall properly signifies with God by prayer and by wrestling to overcome him It is very much that a true Christian is able to do in this kinde if he would stir up the grace of God in him and put forth his strength It is our own fault that we pray not as we ought if we prevail not with God as our forefathers have done That then we may now obtain this peace in the Text. Oh let us all bend and buckle our selves to our prayers and herein let us wrestle with God as Jacob did and not leave him untill he leave a blessing behinde him even this blessed peace which we are all here exhorted to pray for And thus having touched the Dignity Necessity and Efficacie of Prayer I have done with the matter of this duty I come now to acquaint you with the manner of the same In which as I said before there be five circumstances implyed whereof The first is that this your prayer must be generall for the Verb is here in the plurall Number Expetite not pray thou but pray ye It is an indefinite expression and an indefinite proposition say Logicians is