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	preach_v	1,996	5	6.8683	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A25887	A great wonder in heaven, or, A lively picture of the militant church drawn by a divine pencill : Revel. 12, 1, 2 : discoursed on in a sermon preached before the honourable House of Commons, at Margarets, Westminster, on the last monethly fast-day, January 27, 1646/7 / by John Arrowsmith ...	Arrowsmith, John, 1602-1659.	1647 (1647)	Wing A3776; ESTC R441	30,018	49

Church got over both in that shee not only saw the abolition of legall ceremonies which saith he might well be signified by the moon seeing all the feasts of the Jews and whole course of their Ecclesiasticall year depended upon and were regulated by the motion of that Planet but also the extirpation of those Idols which the heathens formerly worshipped For then did Satan fall down like lightning from heaven Luke 10. 18. he fell from being adored as God to being slighted as an Impostor yea abominated as a wicked spirit Then was fulfilled that which is written Revel. 12. 9. The great Dragon was cast out the old Serpent called the Devill and Satan which deceived the whole world he was cast out into the earth and his Angels were cast out with him Yea then was that promise in part fulfilled the language whereof hath great affinity with the phrase in my Text The God of peace shall tread Satan under your feet shortly Rom. 16. 20. 2 The affronts of the world The Church got these under her feet when she gloried in tribubation was above her persecutors and had patience to endure as much as their malice and cruelty could inflict I take pleasure sayth Paul in infirmities in reproaches in necessities in persecutions in distresses for Christs sake for when I am weake then am I strong 2 Cor. 12. 10. The Apostles rejoyced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ Act. 5. 41. They in Heb. 10. 34. tooke joyfully the spoyling of their goods knowing in themselves that they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance Laurentius the Martyr when they layd his body upon a gridiron with a purpose to broile him to death is reported to have sayd I have alwayes longed for such cheere as this To mee these very flames are cooling and refreshments rather then torments Gordius desired his Executioners not to grudge him overmuch happinesse telling them that the more they tormented him the more GOD would reward him 3 The enjoyments of the World 1 John 5 4. Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world and this is the victory that overcomes the world even our faith Carnall reason paints the things of this life and sets them out in beautifull colours but faith washeth off the complexion and then their deformity appears Those Christians in the primitive times that layd their estates at the Apostles feet had first got them under their own learnt to trample upon and to have a low esteem of them in their most serious thoughts Take the goodliest things in the world there have been some in all ages found that were above them One of the Fathers will not allow temporall riches the name of Goods but accounts it enough if wee forbeare to call them evils Another thinks him too dainty for a Christian that desires pleasure on this side heaven too foolish that imagines carnall delights to be reall pleasures A third being tempted with preferments to a revolt said Offer them to children not to Christians As for me I can part with life but not with truth Many such instances there are wherein yee may cleerly discern the Moon under the womans the World under the Churches feet Her third and last perfection follows to wit having Upon her head a Crown of twelve Stars That is holding fast the pure doctrine of the Gospell first preached by the twelve Apostles and after them by succeeding Ministers which is as a Crown on the Churches head So as here three things are to be made out First That the Apostles are here meant and such faithfull Ministers as succeeded them not excluded The number exprest points us directly to the Apostles who are often called the twelve in Scripture There were no more chosen at first Luke 6. 13. and when Judas was faln from his Apostleship Matthias was substituted in his roome to make up the number yea though there was a superaddition of Paul and Barnabas yet in memory of the first election they are still spoken of as twelve long after that in the Apocalypse I will not trouble you with discoursing of the twelve stones taken up out of the midst of Jordan the twelve Spies sent out to search the land of Canaan the twelve Oxen under the brazen Sea the twelve Lyons that supported Solomons Throne the twelve Officers appointed by him to provide for his houshold all which are by some made types of the twelve Apostles Neither will I insist upon that notion which Hierom presumes to be unquestionable and sets a nec dubium est upon viz. that those twelve wells of water and seventy palme trees at Elim Exod. 15. last did undoubtedly prefigure the twelve Apostles and seventy Disciples It may perhaps be worthy of more consideration that as the Iewish Church had twelve Patriarks from whom the twelve Tribes of Israel descended so Christ ordained twelve Apostles to be as fathers of his Israel under the Gospel the Christian Church And that the Spirit in Revel. 4. 4. where mention is made of twenty foure seats and twenty foure Elders sitting upon them alludes both to the twelve Patriarks and the twelve Apostles which put together make up those twenty foure by whom the whole Church under both Testaments is represented It appears by what hath been sayd that the Apostles are certainly meant in this place The reason why I conceive other Ministers not excluded is because the Angels of the seven Churches are called stars Revel. I. l●st as well as the twelve Apostles here Which is The second thing to be cleered viz. That the Apostles and all faithfull Ministers are like stars Wherein it were easie to be large seeing they and the stars resemble each other in many things But I will content my selfe with a few 1 As the stars are heavenly bodies shining but with a borrowed light so the Apostles of old were and all godly Ministers ever since have endevoured to be men of an heavenly conversation heavenly men and earthly Angels as Paul was styled by Chrysostom They shine as lights in the world acknowledging all the light they have to be derived from Christ as the Sun of whose fulnesse they all receive That which one of the German Divines made his Motto fully speaks every one of their hearts Nil scio nil possum nil sum quoque quod tamen esse Scire posse aliquid dicor id omne Dei est They are most ready to professe that of themselves they know nothing can doe nothing are nothing that good is and that whatsoever good they are or do or know they owe it wholly to the free grace of God in Christ 2 As the Stars are in continuall motion for the good of the Universe so were the Apostles for the good of the Church Paul ceased not to warne every one night and day with tears Acts 20. 31. went from Jerusalem round about to Illyricum preaching the Gospel