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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	assertion_n	author_n	great_a	70	3	2.0695	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96833	The examination of Tilenus before the triers; in order to his intended settlement in the office of a publick preacher in the Common-wealth of Utopia. Whereunto are annexed the tenents of the remonstrants touching those five articles voted, stated and imposed, but not disputed, at the synod of Dort. Together with a short essay (by way of annotations) upon the fundamental theses of Mr. Thomas Parker.	Womock, Laurence, 1612-1685.	1657 (1657)	Wing W3343; Thomason E1625_1; ESTC R204120	128,806	312

stumbling stone and through their wilful infidelitie and perverseness he shall become to them a rock of offence but whosoever buildeth upon him by a lively faith and a holy obedience shall not be confounded verses 31 32 33. For as he hath tasted death for every man Heb. 2. 9. 1 Gor. 8. 11. 2 Pet. 2. 1. according to the Scriptures even for them that perish and bought with the price of his heart blood them that denie him as St. Peter saith so the father would not that any should perish but 2 Pet. 3. 9. 1 Tim. 2. 4. That all should come to repentance and be saved and to that end He now commandeth all men every where to repent Acts 17. 30. and to kiss the Son Psal 2. and submit to his scepter who is the propitiation for their sins and the sins of the whole world 1 John 2. 2. having made our ot●nement and our peace Col. 1. 20. and purchased grace and eternal redemption for us Rom. 5. 11. John 1. 16. Heb. 9. 12. 2 Pet. 1. 3 4. Heb. 12. 28. sufficient abilities and glorious priviledges whereby we might be inabled and incouraged to serve him acceptably with reverence and godly fear and is the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him Heb. 5. 9. These are all express parts of the divine Revelation and therefore part of the object of our faith and therefore infallible assertions of sacred truth What slender distinctions are invented and what Texts of Scripture wrested to elude some of them I shall take my opportunitie to represent when you will vouchsafe to give me a friendly meeting to debate these and other emergent doubts touching these great points of controversie In the mean time I could wish you would not exclude from the exercise of their ministery men legally ordained thereunto if they be otherwise well qualified though they differ somewhat from you in these matters But I am single and must submit my vote to the suffrages of my brethren Chair-man Brother Doctor we may think upon your advise and doubts hereafter but for the present we must agree as one man to carry on the great work of reformation we have in hand and therefore Gentlemen what say you to Mr. Tilenus Do you approve of him as a man well gifted and fitly qualified for the Ministery Mr. Fa●ality Noe by no means we do not like his Principles Mr. Pre●erition Noe by no means we do not like his Principles Mr. Indefectible and the rest Noe by no means we do not like his Principles Call him in Chairman Sr The Commissioners are not satisfied in your Certificate You may be a godly man we do not deny but we have not such assurance of it as we can build upon and therefore we cannot approve of you for the Ministery and that you may be at no more expense of purse or time in your attendance we wish you to return home and think upon some other imployment Tilenus Sr I could wish I might be acquainted with the reason of this my reprobation unless the Decree that governs your Votes or proceeds from them be irrespective I think I am not so ill beloved amongst the most learned of the Godly Clergy though differing a little in judgment from me but I can procure a full Certificate from the chiefest and most moderate of them Chairman That is not all the matter we have against you what have we to do with moderate men we see your temper and want of modesty in that expression and therefore you may be gone Tilenus Then Gentlemen I shall take my leave and commend you to more sober Counsels and resolutions Isaiah 9. 16. The leaders of this people Heb. they that call them blessed Cause them to erre Jer. 23. 30. Therefore behold I am against the Prophets saith the Lord that steal my word every one from his neighbour Luk. 11. 52. Ye take away the key of knowledge Ier. 23. 32. Behold I am against them that Prophesie false dreams saith the Lord and do tell them and cause my people to erre by their lyes and their lightness Mat. 15. 6. Mark 7. 13. Thus have ye made the word of God of none effect by your tradition Ezek. 34. 4 5. The diseased have ye not strengthened neither have ye healed that which was sick neither have ye bound up that which was broken neither have ye brought again that which was driven away neither have ye sought that which was lost but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them And they were scattered because there is no shepheard 1 Tim. 6. 3-5 If any man teach otherwise and consent not to wholsome words even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which is according to godliness From such withdraw thy thy self For if the blinde lead the blinde they shall both fall into the ditch Mat. 15. 14. But they shall proceed no further for their folly shall be manifest unto all men 2 Tim. 3. 9. THE FIVE ARTICLES Controverted betwixt the REMONSTRANTS and CONTRA-REMONSTRANTS Commonly called ARMINIANS and CALVINISTS To the Reader WHEN those points of doctrine maintained by Melancthon and other Moderate Lutherans to be managed by the acute wit Solid judgment and great Learning of James Hermine Publick Reader in the University of Leiden they appeared to the unprejudiced Examiners so much more consonant as well to the sacred Scriptures and right Reason as to primitive Antiquity and so much more agreeable to the Mercy and Justice and Wisdome of Almighty God and so much more conducing unto Piety then the tenents of the rigid Calvinists that they quickly found a cheerful reception and great multitudes of followers in the Belgick Churches Hereupon their Adversaries having so passionately espoused the contrary opinions and being so vehemently carried on with a prejudice against these that they might the more effectually decry and suppress the Propugnators of them caused some of their Confidents to repesent them and their doctrine under such odious Characters as were indeed proper to their own opinions It was given out that among their Heresies they held First that God was the Author sin and Secondly that he created the farre greatest part of mankinde onely of purpose to glorifie himself in their damnation with several others of like nature which indeed are not only the Consequence and Results of Calvins Doctrine but positively maintained and propagated by some of his followers That thy credulity Good Reader may not be abused and betrayed by such practices the following papers are hereunto annexed to give thee in a short view a true account of the difference that is betwixt the disagreeing Parties with the grounds thereof Farewell The first Article touching Predestination What the Remonstrants hold THAT God to the glory and praise of his abundant goodness having decreed to make man after his own image and to give him an easie and most equal law and adde thereunto a threatning of death to the transgressors thereof

nor totally notwithstanding the most enormous sins they can commit Dr. Damman I confess you have done the Divines of that Synod no wrong in setting down their tenents but what objections have you against the doctrin Tilenus I shall insist only upon this and 't is so comprehensive I need mention no more it doth not only evacuate the force and vertue but quite frustrateth the use of the ministerie of the word and all other holy ordinances instituted by our Saviour Christ and commanded to be continued for the edification and benefit of his Church to the worlds end Dr. Dubius How can you make that appear Tilenus For the ministery of the word it is imployed either about the wicked or the godly the wicked are of two sorts either Infidels despising or Carnal persons professing the holy Gospel the Godly they are of two sorts or two tempers likewise or we may consider them under a two-fold estate either as remiss and tepid or else as disconsolate and tempted so that the ministery of the word is designed to a four-fold end in respect of man 1. The Conviction and Conversion of an Infidel 2. The Correction and amendment of the Carnal 3. The quickning and provocation of the tepid and slothful 4. The comfort and consolation of the afflicted and tempted But the former doctrin of the Synod of Dort is so far from being serviceable to any of these four ends that it is directly repugnant to them all and therefore not consonant to that holy Scripture given by inspiration of God which is profitable for all those ends as the Apostle saith 2 Tim. 3. 15 16. for doctrin for reproofe for correction for instruction in righteousness that the man of God who is a helper of the peoples joy 2 Cor. 1. 24. may be perfect thoroughly furnished unto every good work That this may the more evidently appear I desire you with whom that doctrin is in so high esteem to make a practical attempt of it herein I desire you to be true to your own principles and not to shuffle as usually in your popular sermons wherein the Synodical and Calvinian principle in your Doctrin is alwayes confuted by an Arminian exhortation in your Application in the mean while I am content to personate successively those four sorts of men and for method sake I pray address your discourse first for the Conversion of Tilenus Infidelis Dr. Absolute Most gladly will we undertake this task that we may convince you of the errours in which we see you are immersed provided you do not studie to be obstinate nor alledge any other reasons to justifie your recusancie and averseness to the Christian faith then what you clearly deduce from the doctrin of the Synod and the Divines thereof To begin the work then we will take it for granted that you acknowledge a Deitie and demand of you what Attributes this Deitie i● according to your apprehension invested and cloathed with Tilenus Infidelis The School of nature hath determined that question by so many irrefragable arguments that I am convinced long since that there is a soveraign Power called God and when I consider such beams and characters of wisdome and knowledge in the soul of man such impressions of truth and justice upon his conscience with so great a varietie of goodness in all Creatures I must conclude that God the maker of all these is an Eternal being infinitly wise good and just I believe further that this most wise God in communicating so much goodness unto man intended hereby to oblige him to pay according to his abilitie such homage and service as is due to his soveraign excellencie and bounty and in performance hereof we may be confident to finde protection and reward Mr. Simulans The God whom we profess and worship and he alone is such a God as you have described but more merciful and gracious infinitly then you have been acquainted with to whose service therefore ●e do most earnestly invite you Tilenus Infidelis I thank you for your pretended kindness but if you can produce no fairer glass to represent the nature of your God then the doctrin of that Synod I must tell you I shall have no temptation or inducement at all to believe in him for that doctrin is so far from exalting the attributes of wisdome goodness and justice in him that it doth in a high measure impeach them all Mr. Fatqlitie You will never be able to make that good Tilenus Infidelis I beseech you hear me patiently For his wisdome first I conceive that is extreamly eclipsed in that he hath made choice of no better means to advance his own honour but hath stoopt to such mean unworthy designs to compass that end as all but tyrants bankrupts would be ashamed of Dr. Dubius How so Tilenus Infidelis Your doctrin if it does not belie the majesty you profess to worship supposeth him to have made a peremptory decree whereby his subjects are necessitated to trade with Hell and Satan for sin and damnation to the end he may take advantage out of that commerce to raise an inconsiderable impost to augment the revenues of his own glory Mr. Preterition We have his own word for it M●t. 20. 15. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own Tilenus Infidelis 1. Your Scripture must not conclude me while I personate the Infidel but 2. We are not now arguing what God may do by his absolute power and right of dominion but what is agreeable to his infinite wisdome And 3. your text speaks of a free disbursement of his favours but our discourse proceeds upon the account of appointing men to sin and punishment Now I hope you will not call sin Gods own though your doctrin concludes him fairly to be the Author of it and for punishment he is pleased to call that opus alienum not his own but a strange work But if your God for his mere pleasure only and to make demonstration of his absolute power hath appointed to eternal torments the greatest part of his noblest Creatures without any respect to sin as some of your Synod do maintain not regarding his own image in them what is this but to play the tyrant and where then is that infinite goodness which you profess to be in your and I expect to be in that God whom I fear and honour A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast Prov. 12. 10. yet his mercy is to be but a copy transcribed from that original in God Luke 6. 36 but if your God be of that temper the righteous man may very well be a precedent of mercy unto him Mr. Preterition Indeed some of the Synod do maintain that rigid way but the Synod it self determined otherwise viz. that Almighty God looking upon mankinde as fall'n in the loyns of Adam pass'd over the greatest part of them leaving them in that lapsed estate not affording them sufficient grace for their recovery

judgement was governed by his passions of love and hatred these by his lust And for his bitter Speeches Bucer gave him the title of a Fratricide Reverend Mr. Beza confesseth also of himself that per quindecim annorum Spacium quo alios docuit justitiae viam nec sobrium se factum nec liberalem nec veracem sed haerere in luto That for the space of fifteen years together wherein he taught others the way of righteousnesse himself trod neither in the way of truth nor bounty nor sobriety but stuck fast in the mire of sin Men that have had triall of the powerful workings of sin and grace and been brought upon their knees like the great Apostle with a bitter complaint O me miserum O wretched man that I am These are your None-such Divines which methinks our Saviour gave an intimation of in that passage to Peter Luke 22. 32. tu aliquando conversus confirma fratres tuos Mr. Narrowgrace He attributeth so much to the Ministery of the Gospel that he seems to be superstitiously addicted to it and turnes it into an Idol Whereas we know of it self it is but a dead letter and therefore Maccovius handling that question Whether the word God may be savingly heard before regeneration concludes negatively and to avoide his Adversaries argument he affirmes that that hearing of the word which produceth faith doth presuppoose regeneration To this agrees the opinion of some Divines who think that Regeneration is effected after another manner then faith is To which purpose Johannes Rysius in his Confession saith thus Fides Dei gratiâ per verbum concipitur Regeneratio vero a Deo per Christum sine ullius rei Creatae interventu proficiscitur Faith is conceived by the grace of God through the word but Regeneration pro-ceeds from God through Christ without the intervention of any created thing whatsoever Mr. Take o' trust I conceive Sir when we see the ministery so much ecclipsed and undervalued as it is if there were nothing else in it Christian Policy should teach us not to vent such doctrines as are apt to bring more contempt upon it But the Holy Ghost hath set it at a higher rate by cloathing it with titles of a greater reputation He calls it the word of grace the word of faith the word of life the Joh. 6. 63. Heb. 4. 12. 1 Cor. 14. 24 25. word of reconciliation the ministration of the Spirit the word that is able to save the soul the power of God unto Salvation the word of God that effectually worketh in them that beleeve Mr. Know-little I conceive the Ministery of the word hath these excellent titles bestowed upon it in regard it is the instrument by and through which God doth infuse into the understanding and heart his special grace or rather that regenerating virtue which alone doth powerfully effect the work of regeneration so that the outward word as an instrument conferreth nothing at all to that effect but is onely as the tunnell whereby water is poured into a vessel and yet that water receives no tincture at all from the nature or quality of the said tunnell Mr. Takeo'trust I have seen this alledged But they say we should consider that the nature and propertie of the word is to be intelligible in expression and to carry such a sense as is apt to move the party to whom it is addressed by working upon his understanding and inciting his heart to love or hatred hope or fear and this is the true efficacy the word is indowed with But if the word contributes no more to our conversion or regeneration than the tunnell that only conveighs the liquor to the filling of the vessel then it matters not whether the word be intelligible yea or no for that regenerating virtue being a distinct power infused besides it the word doth not work as a verbal id est a rational instrument but onely concurr's as an instrument destitute of sense and reason And therefore as it matters not what mettall the tunnell be made of whether wood or brasse or tinn So had the word no other kinde of instrumentalitie than that hath it were all one whether the language were barbarous non-sense as is usuall amongst some Sectaries or significant And to what end then did God confer the gift of tongues upon his Apostles and they take such care to condescend and apply themselves to the capacitie and apprehension of their hearers Besides if the word hath no more to do in this work than is pretended why should it consist of precepts and those establish't with promises and threatnings For a precept so establish'd especially doth prescribe the thing under command as a duty and concurr's unto that duty as the reason moving and obliging a man to performe it But if that special grace or regenerating vertue so infused doth alone effect a mans regeneration taking nothing at all from the word how can that effect be said to be the performance of his duty and an act of obedience to the command of the word Mr. Knowlittle 'T is a question whether there be any precepts properly so called under the new Covenant yea nor no Some absolutely denie it But we confess it and they may be said to concur to our conversion and believing per modum signi as a sign or object representing what God by his free grace is said to effect and work in us Indeed they declare what man ought to do but they serve rather to discover and convince his weakness than promote his duty Mr. Takeo'trust This doctrin doth cancel the very formal reason force of all the Commands of Christ and makes the word of God intended for an instrument of mans conversion to serve only for an object and meer doctrin for his faith and repentance to converse with for they are not to be wrought it seems by this means but immediately effected and wrought of Almighty God in the heart by a special action and operation and consequently all the exhortations and precepts as such all the promises and threatnings complaints and obtestations wherewith the word of God aboundeth to be nothing else but empty signs and busie trifles if not a ludicrous stage-play conducing nothing to that effect which they pretend to be designed for But that faith and regeneration which flowes from it are both wrought in a rational way by the outward ministery of the word moving and inciting the understanding and heart of man will evidently appear to be the doctrin of Christ and his Apostles 1. For faith take that expression in our Saviours prayer John 17. 17 20. Sanctifie them through thy truth thy word is truth Neither pray I for these Apostles alone but for them also which shall believe on me through their word See Joh. 20. 31. 1 John 5. 13. And Rom. 10. 17. Therefore faith commeth by hearing and hearing by the word of God 1. That he understands faith working by love which the Gospel determines