Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	appear_v	word_n	zion_n	42	3	8.8664	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A08025	Iacob's ladder consisting of fifteene degrees or ascents to the knowledge of God by the consideration of his creatures and attributes.; De ascensione mentis in Deum per scalas rerum creatorum opusculum. English	Bellarmino, Roberto Francesco Romolo, Saint, 1542-1621.; Isaacson, Henry, 1581-1654, attributed name.; H. I., fl. 1638.; Marshall, William, fl. 1617-1650, engraver.	1638 (1638)	STC 1839.5; ESTC S122555	138,468	472

therefore thou canst not see him because he is a spirit more high and sublime and more inward then thou art and that thou after a sort stayest without and he within in his most secret and deep retyring place But shalt thou never be admittted into that secret place God forbid Blessed are the pure in spirit for they shall see GOD saith our Saviour who cannot lye and Now we see through a glasse darkly but then face to face saith one Apostle And We know that when he shall appeare we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is saith another And how great will that joy be when being admitted to that s●cret place we shall see and possesse that light that shape that beauty even goodnes it selfe then it will plainely appeare how vaine and fading and like shadowes these temporall things were and with which men as drunken and besotted neglected the true and everlasting good things But if thou truly thirstest after GOD and If thy teares have beene thy meate day and night while they daily say unto thee where is thy GOD be not slowe or slacke to cleanse thy heart with which thou must see GOD nor be weary in erecting these degrees in thine heart untill the GOD of Gods appeare in Sion neither waxe cold in thy love to GOD and thy neighbour nor love him onely in word and tongue but in worke and truth for this is the way which leadeth to life DEGREE XI By the Consideration Of the Greatnes of GODS Power by the similitude of Corporeall greatnes GReat is the LORD and of his greatnesse is neither end nor measure Neither is he great only because his height is his omnipotence his depth unsearchable wisedome his bredth mercy spread and extended every where and his length justice like an Iron rod but also because every one of these attributes are great in the magnitude of his infinite latitude altitude longitude and profundity To begin with his power or rather omnipotence This power of GOD hath its latitude which is so placed in him as that it extendeth and stretcheth it selfe to things altogether infinite 1. First it extendeth it selfe to all things which are created for there is nothing in the whole universe from the chiefest Angel to the poorest worme and from the highest heaven to the lowest abysse which is not made by the power of GOD. Allthings saith St. Iohn were made by him and without him was nothing made and a little after The world was made by him 2. Againe it reacheth to all things which shal be made for ever for as without him nothing could have been made so neither shall any thing be made without him Of him and through him and in him are all things saith the Apostle 3. Thirdly it stretcheth it selfe to all things that can be made although they never shall be for so saith the Angell With GOD nothing shal be impossible And Christ himselfe said With GOD all things are possible 4. It also extends it selfe to the dissolution and destruction of all things made For as God could destroy by the deluge all men and creatures upon the face of the earth except a few reserved by himselfe in Noahs Arke so will he be able at the last day to destroy by fire not onely all men and living creatures but Trees Cities and other things in the earth also The day of the LORD saith St. Peter shall come as a thiefe in which the heavens shall pass● away with a great noyse and th● Elements shall melt with heate● the earth also and the workes th●● are therein shall be burnt up Great without doubt is ●hi● latitude of Gods power which no man can sufficiently admire unlesse he could number the multitude of things which God partly hath partly will and partly can make but who can number such a multitude but he onely whose knowledge is infinite 5. Againe the greatnesse of this power encreaseth much if we consider how great a work it is in a moment to dissolve with great facility the things which are made or as Judas Maccabeus speakes Vno nutu delere at a becke to destroy the whole world Let us then say with Moses Who is like unto thee ô LORD in fortibus among the Gods Now the longitude of Gods power is seene in this that he cooperateth daily with those things he hath made neither is or shal be at any time weary in cooperating for this power of God can neither be diminished weakned nor broken by any meanes being joyned with true eternity the divinity being eternity 1. Many men mervaile how the Sun Moone and Starres for so long time have continued their motions with such swiftnesse and without intermission and it were a thing worth our admiration but that we know that they are carried by Almighty GOD Who beareth all things by his mighty word 2. Others wonder how it comes to passe that in hell either the fire is not consumed with burning so long or that the bodies of the damned should not be dissolved with so long burning And this were not on●y to be thought wonderfull but impossible also were it not that he is eternall and omnipotent that makes the fire so to burne alwaies that it shall never be extinguished and so keepes the bodies of the damned in that fire as that they shal be ever tormented and never consumed 3. Lastly others there are that wonder that GOD should sustain and beare all things and without wearinesse support so great a weight almost infinite It is true that a strong Man a Horse an Oxe or an Elephant can carry a great weight but it is for a small time onely but to carry so great a masse for ever without wearinesse passeth the strength of all things created And yet they might well mervaile if GOD had strength by weight and measure as things created have but inasmuch as the strength of GOD exceeds all measure and that he is wholly infinite it is no mervaile at all if an infinite strength beare a great weight or masse without defatigation although it be for an infinite time Let us heare againe say with the holy Prophet Who is like unto thee ô Lord among the Gods The next thing to be considered is the height of Gods power which is chiefly manifested in two things 1. His omnipotencie may be called most high because he onely made most high things Those things which are under the Moone onely GOD made in the first creation and they may by the act of creatures be begotten changed and corrupted for the elements are changed by course according to their parts and of the earth are Herbs and Trees begotten of animals are animals increased and propagated fishes are borne in water clouds and raine in the ayre and comets in the fire But the heaven and starres which are the highest bodies GOD onely created onely preserves neither can the creature have any act

Prophet Esay and not have compassion on the Sonne of her wombe though she should forget yet will I not forget thee And the Psalmist Like as a Father pittieth his owne children even so is the LORD mercifull to them that feare him And least any should say that there may be parents found whose love is sometime changed into hatred The mercifull goodnesse of the LORD endureth for ever and ever upon them that feare him and for the continuance of this his mercy the Apostle maketh us secure when he calls GOD The Father of mercies and GOD of all consolation and therefore hee is not onely a Father of them that feare him but a most mercifull Father and most ready to comfort his children for hee taketh away and easeth them of the miseries of their afflictions and tribulations which hee judgeth fit to deliver them from and in that respect shewes himselfe a Father of mercies and in those miseries which he thinketh not expedient for them to be taken away hee endueth them with unspeakeable comfort whereby they may beare them with ease and in that regard hee declares himselfe to bee a GOD of all consolation Now the Apostle calleth him the GOD of all consolation for two causes 1. Because GOD knoweth how to comfort his in every kind of tribulation which certainely the world cannot doe because it oftimes understands not the cause of the affliction and therefore it was that Job called his friends miserable comforters because they knew not the cause of his disease and misapplyed the cure Or else sometimes the tribulation is so great that no humane comfort can asswage it but GOD is a most wise and omnipotent Physician hee can cure any disease and therefore the Apostle saith that he comforteth us in all our tribulation 2. Secondly GOD is called GOD of all Consolation because hee knoweth how to comfort us so plentifully that it is better to suffer tribulation with such comfort then to want both as in the case of Martyrdome Therefore no mervaile if the Apostle said I am filled with comfort and am exceeding joyous in all our tribulation and againe Which comforteth us in all our tribulations that we may be able to comfort them which are in affliction And what thinkest thou of this so large deepe daily pure and immense mercy of GOD who needs none of our goods and yet out of the abundance of his love is so sollicitous of his poore servants as if all his good depended on them What thankes therefore wilt thou returne to him what canst thou ever doe to avoyd the staine of ingratitude for such mercy at the least endeavour asmuch as thou canst to please him And because it is written Bee mercifull as your heavenly Father is mercifull and Love thine owne soule begin first carefully to finde out the miseries of thine owne soule for the miseries of the body are obvious enough and there is no need to admonish a man to pittie his body for if it want meate or drinke but one day or sleepe but one night or by chance receive a wound presently we bewaile the case of it and seeke remedy for it But the soule may fast whole weeks without food or lye languishing with infirmities or peradventure lye dead and no body lookes after it no body hath compassion of it Therefore visite thy soule often examine the severall powers of it whether they be well or not whether they profit in the knowledge and love of the true good or on the other side whether it be ill affected with ignorance or languish with concupiscences of diverse kinds whether the mind be blinded with malice or the will corrupted with the disease of hate or pride and if thou findest thy soule in this evillstate call unto GOD and say Have mercy upon me ô LORD for I am weake Seeke spirituall Physicians and use remedies in time Then pitty other poore soules where of a number perish and yet CHRIST died for them O if thou didst but know and well weigh the price of soules that is the pretious blood of the Son of GOD and withall the exceeding great slaughter of them by the infernall wolves and roaring Lyons the Devils certainely thou couldst not choose but with all thy heart take compassion on them and labour aswell by prayer to GOD as by all other meanes to obtaine their deliverance Lastly have compassion also upon the corporall necessities of thy neighbour and that not in word onely but in workes and truth remembring alwaies that Blessed are the mercifull for they shall obtaine mercy DEGREE XV. By the Consideration of GODS Justice compared with a Corporall magnitude THe Iustice of GOD in holy Scriptures is taken foure wayes 1. For Vniversall Iustice or Righteousnes which containes all vertues and is the same with sanctity or goodnesse The Lord i● righteous i● all his waies and holy in all his workes 2. Secondly it is taken for Truth or faithfullnes as in another Psalme That thou mayest be justified in all thy sayings 3. Thirdly for d●stributive Iustice Iustice in rewards according to that of St. Paul A Crowne of righteousnesse is layd up for me which the Lord the righteous Iudge shall give me at that day 4. For revenging Iustice Iustice punishing offences as it is in another Psalme Vpon the ungodly he shall raine snares fire and brimstone storme and tempest this shal be their portion to drinke The greatnesse therefore of this divine Iustice will appeare the better if we consider the latitude of universall Iustice the length of it that is his truth and faithfulnes the height of it in Gods distributing rewards in heaven the depth of it in scourging the wicked with eterna●l punishments in hell To begin with the latitude That is said to be universall Iustice or Righteousnesse in men which disposeth a man to carry himselfe in all his dealings according to all Lawes and by that hath in him all vertues aswell theologicall as morall But there is one vertue above the rest which containeth all other vertues and commands and rules the acts of them directing them to the last end and this is called love which vertue although in it selfe it be but particular and but one of the Theologicall vertues yet it may be truly called universall for it disposeth a man to behave himselfe well both to God and towards his neighbour and thereby fulfilleth the whole Lawe for so speaketh the Apostle Love doth not evill to his neighbour therefore is Love the fullfilling of the Lawe and he that loveth another hath fulfilled the Law And therefore St. Angustine saith Love begun is Righteousnes begun Love increased is Righteousnesse increased Great Love is great Righteousnes perfect Love is perfect Righteousnes Now in GOD are all vertues which presuppose no imperfection and instead of those which presuppose imperfection there is some what far better and more excellent where by it is