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	faith_n	speak_v	2,156	5	4.5953	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51266	The grand inquiry who is the righteous man: or, The character of a true beleever in his approaches towards heaven. Whereunto is added The resolution of a case of separation betwixt man and wife, propounded to the author by a party much concerned. By William Moore rector at Whalley in Lancashire.	Moore, William, rector of Whalley, Lancashire.	1658 (1658)	Wing M2612; ESTC R214225	54,012	181

and happiness both in this world and that which is to come It requires therefore as my greatest pains so your best attention And the rather because Satan is so busie The god of this world hath blinded the eyes of them that believe not lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ should shine unto them The understanding of this mysterie is the shining of this glorious Gospel Therefore he casts clouds upon it because he knowes that the right understanding of these things is that which sets open the gates of heaven to poor penitent sinners for this is life eternal to know Christ the Lord our righteousness Therefore he imployes his instruments and they raise up the mists of error to darken our understandings Our Adversaries of Rome tell us of a righteousness of works nor only in the way of precept but of counsel works of supererogation too a doing of more then the Law requires Hence their Pardons Indulgences and the like out of those overflowing merits of the Saints Nay the Jesuite hath exchang'd his poyson a generation of vipers there is amongst our selves not worthy the mention in this place O how they rend the bowels of their dear Mother the Church even denying the Lord that bought them The rather therefore let us give all diligence to search it and to finde it out And in this discovery I beseech you not to consult with your own sense and reason that is but to consult with flesh and bloud much lesse would I have you to take things upon trust because this or that man hath spoken it but because this is the foundation whereupon is built all our interest in the joy of Saints therefore consult we with the sacred Oracles the writings of the Prophets and Apostles those holy men who spake as they were moved by the holy Ghost Sure I am that here is the infallible truth which cannot deceive us The mouth of the Lord of Hosts hath spoken this To return therefore to our purpose By the light of Scripture to discover to you Who is this Righteous Man For the right understanding of this we must know that there 's a twofold Righteousness a Righteousness of works and a Righteousness of Faith 1. The Righteousness of Works This is when a man continues in all things that are written in this book to do them when we perform a perfect exact unsinning obedience to the whole Law of God This righteousness of the Law is the righteousness of Works Rom. 10.5 Moses describeth the righteousness of the Law that the man which doth those things shall live by them So it is a righteousness in the way of doing in the way of Works Now thus we say with Paul Rom. 3.10 There is none righteous no not one I know there are some say otherwise and we hear their brags they fulfill the Law nay more then the Law requires else why do they tell us of the works of supererogation or from whence should arise that treasure of Saints merits which the Pope dispenses to redeem souls out of Purgatory So the Pharisees trusted in themselves that they were righteous but the Apostle argues it Gal. 3.21 23. If there had been a Law given which could have given life verily righteousness should have been by the Law But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin that the promise by Faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe The Scripture hath concluded all under sin that therefore we might not seek for righteousness in the way of the Law but in the way of Faith It is the Apostles peremptory conclusion Gal. 2.6 By the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified And it is a clear truth For 1. Is there any that doth all things that are written in this book and continues in so doing It is a passage in the prayer of Solomon 1 King 8.46 If they sin against thee for there is no man that sinneth not and thou be angry c. If they sin against thee but lest some should question this because he speaks it with an if therefore he brings in this sad parenthesis There is no man that sins not Not any man whatsoever not the most holy the most righteous man The words are express Eccles 7.20 There is not a just man upon earth that doth good and sinneth not Though there be just men upon earth yet no man so just but sometimes he sins Nor is it the language of the old Testament but of the New J●m 3 2. In many things we offend all Not in some things but in many things not they but we and all we he brings in himself amongst them though he was a servant of Jesus Christ and a Minister of the Gospel 1 Joh. 1.8 If we say we have no sin we deceive our selves And Christ himself hath taught us When ye pray say Our Father which art in heaven Forgive us our trespasses Why doth he teach us to pray daily for the forgivenesse of our sins but because we are daily committing of new sins even those that call God father 2. But suppose we now do all things that are written in this book and continue in so doing yet it hath been otherwise Saith Paul Before I was a persecutor a blasphemer and injurious And 1 Cor. 6.11 Such were some of you Nay not some but all Ephes 2.1 2 3. And you hath he quickned who were dead in trespasses and sins wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the air the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience among whom also we all had our conversation in times past Not ye but we also and all we Suppose then we walk at present as Zachary and Elizabeth in all the Commandements and Ordinances of God blameless yet formerly we have gone astray and if we look upon time past we must needs acknowledge we are transgressors of the Law Now who shall expiate those sins for us or quit us from that former guilt in the time of our ignorance that so we may appear as righteous in the sight of God 3. But suppose we could clear our selves of actual transgression and say with the young man in the Gospel we have kept all the Commandements of God from our youth up yet we know that we are born in sin Ephes 2.3 We are by nature the children of wrath even as others All by nature in the same condition And why children of wrath but because born in sin Job 14.4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean Not one Adam begot a son in his own likeness as for nature so corruption of nature Such as the fountain is such are the streams therefore sinfull sons because descended from the loynes of sinful parents Rom. 5.12 As by one man sin entred into the world and death by sin so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned For that or in whom the word

It is because they act not with that uprightnesse as the righteous doth Perhaps there is too much of self-pleasing and vain-glory in it So the hypocrites give almes to be seen of men verily I say unto you they have their reward But do it as you ought to do it and ye shall finde the incouragement and joy in it And 1. Do it as in the sight of God setting him still before your eyes as spectator witnesse and the judge of all your actions Gen. 17.1 I am God all-sufficient walk before me and be upright So to walk before God as alwaies in his sight this is to be upright in the eyes of God Thus Abraham walked before God that is he walked uprightly And thus Jotham prepared his way before the Lord that is in the sincerity and uprightnesse of his soul he set himself to seek the Lord. Thus Paul 2 Cor. 2.17 We are not as many which corrupt the word of God but as of sincerity but as of God in the sight of God speak we in Christ Jesus Whilst we corrupt our waies in darknesse we darken and corrupt our joyes but when we act openly as alwaies in Gods eyes then we have our rejoycings before God 2 Do it with the whole heart Ps 119.7 I will praise thee with uprightnesse of heart when I shall have learn'd thy righteous judgements And then vers 10. With my whole heart have I sought thee So to seek God with an upright heart is to seek God with the whole heart Thus Samuel exhorts the people to fear the Lord and to serve him in truth and with all their heart He that serves God in the truth of his heart will serve him with all his heart So Josiah and the people made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord with all their heart and with all their soul And David's Worthies are commended that they were not of a double heart a heart and a heart where there is a divided heart there can be no settled joy A double minded man is unstable in all his waies as a wave of the sea driven to and fro and tossed Whilest as those Samaritans that feared the Lord and served their own Gods so our hearts are divided and our joy to seek Psal 12.2 They spake vanity every one with his neighbour with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak A double heart speaks vanity and so his rejoycings are but vanity It is an entire heart that gives us an entire joy 3. Do it with a pure heart a heart cleansed from the filth of sin I do not expect that ye should be without sin whilest you carry flesh about you For who can say I have cleansed my heart I am pure from my sin But keep your hearts from the love of sin 1 Tim. 1.5 The end of the commandement is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience Where there is a good conscience an honest and an upright heart there is a pure heart O do not deceive your selves with the love of any filthy lust but pluck out that right eye your darling and beloved sin Though it be but one and as Lot concerning Zoar Is it not a little one That little sin as a thief in the chest will rob you of your comforts If the fountain be defiled must not the streams be muddy and your rejoycings like the troubled waters so they lose their clearnesse But Mat. 5.8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God It is the pure heart that intitles to th●se pure joyes 4. Do it in truth and in sincerity Heb. 10.22 Let us draw more with a pure heart An upright heart that is a true heart and a true heart is a sincere heart without fraud and without guile Sincera quasi sine cora As honey without wax or as bread without leaven so without that leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisie Thus Hezekiah wrought that which was good and right and true before the Lord his God To walk uprightly is to walk truly So David walked before God in truth in righteousnesse and uprightnesse of heart And it is the prayer of Hezekiah I beseech thee O Lord remember how I have walked before thee in truth and with an upright heart There 's a truth in our words opposed to lying and a truth in our works opposed to hypocrisie A saying in truth and a doing in truth But O damnable hypocrisie The hypocrite you know is a painted sepulchre fair without but full of rottennesse within such is their joy but a rotten joy as the summer Pear mellow to the eye but rotten at the core Job 8.13 The hope of the hypocrite shall perish Nay Cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with hypocrites as if for them God had provided 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a greater damnation But as before so I tell you again 2 Cor. 1.12 Our rejoycing is this the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world Thus you have had the motion to perswade you to the love of the waies of righteousnesse both toward God and toward men and to exercise your selves in them with an upright heart It will be your joy Now I come to the 2. Rejoyce Let such as are righteous such as are upright in heart remember that it is their duty and God cals upon them Rejoyce ye righteous Oh be not awanting to your selves but consider that happy condition wherein God hath set you maugre the malice of men or devils and let not any take away your glory Rejoyce in the Lord alwaies and again I say rejoyce Beloved though it may seem easie yet this is a duty of much difficulty It is easier for me to preach then either for you or me to practise especially in such times as these A voice of wailing is heard in our streets How are we spoiled Had we no more to look upon but only the ruines of a glorious Church to see our cattle engendring with divers kindes and begetting such monsters in Religion to see our ground sown with several seeds and the tares so choaking the good wheat to see our garments mingled of linnen and woollen and this grown so much into fashion that many follow their pernicious waies by reason of whom the way of truth is evill spoken on Are we priviledged beyond the Angel of the Church of Thy●tira Rev. 2.20 I have somewhat against thee Because thou sufferest the woman Jesabel who calleh her self a Prophetesse to teach and to seduce my people And how sad is the doom Jer. 12.9 Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird the birds round about are against her Come ye assemble all the beasts of the field come to devour And now how shall we sing the Lords song thus in a strange land But why not were the times worse then blessed be God they as yet are yet there 's joy for the righteous