Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	babylon_n	person_n	zion_n	38	3	10.1954	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A47191	Truths defence, or, The pretended examination by John Alexander of Leith of the principles of those (called Quakers) falsly termed by him Jesuitico-Quakerism, re-examined and confuted : together with some animadversions on the dedication of his book to Sir Robert Clayton, then Mayor of London / by G.K.	Keith, George, 1639?-1716.	1682 (1682)	Wing K225; ESTC R22871	109,893	242

Spirit which we plead for as the common priviledge of all true Christians And was not the Spirit which the Apostles had the Infallible Spirit And if I. A. thinks he has the same Spirit either he must needs acknowledge that he has the Infallible Spirit and is so far infallible or then he must say that the Spirit of God is changed so that whereas it was Infallible in the Apostles and Primitive Christians it is become Fall●ble in I. A. and his Brethren And if he have the same Spirit which the Apostles had but in the least measure how is it ●hat he hath said above that the Dictate of the Spirit within is worthy of a thousand Deaths Let I. A. extricate himself of these contradictions if he can And further I ask I. A. whether the Psalms he and his Brethren Sing in their Meetings be these Spiritual Songs which the Primitive Christians did Sing and such as we Read of particularly in the Church of Corinth where Psalms are reckoned among the other peculiar Gifts of the Spirit such as Revelations and Interpretations where it is manifest that the whole Assembly did not all Sing the same words with their voice but every one did Sing as they received it from the Lord and as he did put it into their Hearts and such were the Songs of Zachariah Mary and Elizabeth who Sung and Blessed the Lord by the Holy Ghost And seeing I. A. saith That they cannot Sing unless what they Sing be turned into Meeter I ask him whether the Songs of Zachariah Mary and Elizabeth were Sung by them in Meeter or Rhyme and with Musical Dittyes and Tunes Artificially Composed or whether they had a Precentor or any that went before them And whether such kind of Officers were in the Church in the time of the Apostles as Precentors that went before the people And whom they were all to follow accordingly as he Sang after ●his or that Tune of Musick Artificially Composed Or rather have ye not Learned all this from the Papists And was it not Guido Aretinus ● Popish Monk that invented the Scale of Musick commonly called the Gamut according to which the Precentors are Learned to Raise the Psalms All which is but the bare Act of Man and such who plead for Vocal Musick in the Church from the example of David and the Law they may also on the same account plead for the use of Musical Instruments in the Church not only as lawful but as necessary which yet the Episcopal Church here wanteth and not only so but Dancing also as a part of Divine Worship which was used in time of the Law and especially by David And thus by I. A. his Argument both Instrumental Musick and Dancing shall be necessary parts of Gospel Worship And as concerning wicked mens Singing it is most clear that as they are not to Pray while remaining wicked so nor are they to Sing because all true Singing is a real part of Divine Worship which is to be done in Spirit and Truth but no wicked nor unrenewed person can so do And seeing all wicked persons professing Christianity are Captives in Spiritual Babylon how can they Sing any of the Songs of Zion in a strange Land Can they Sing that new Song which the Redeemed from the Earth Sing Rev. 14. was not the Lord displeased with their Singing even under the Law when the people did degenerate and become perverse And did he not threaten that he would turn the Songs of their Temple into Howlings And yet according to I. A. the most perverse and abominable corrupted persons may and ought to Sing Psalms But what Harmony can such Singing make in the Ears of the Lord while the Heart is so discordant to the Law of God And although I. A. hath his best and greatest Patrons for his Musical Singing with Artificial Dittyes and Tunes and Rhymes out of the Popish Church as also for his pleading that wicked persons may Sing David's words without making a Lye I shall here Cite a very fair acknowledgement out of a late Popish Writer to the Truth of what we alledge against I. A. The which Writer is Iohannes Bona in his Book called The Principles of the Christian Life Part 1. Sect. 44. They are ●yes saith he and empty words when any com●●tteth wickedness and singeth in a Psalm unto God I have hated iniquity and abominated it Psal. 118. He that is altogether in his Dishes and saith I have forgot to Eat my Bread Psal. 101. 1. He Laugheth the whole day and exceedeth in vain joy and saith my Tears were my Bread day and night he obeyeth not the Commandments and he Singeth They are Cursed who decline from thy Commandments Psal. 118. Such Prayers saith he are Accursed provoking the wrath of God toward such and they deserve to be punished with severe Pains Now albeit this Testimony is from a Papist I hope no Sober person will call it a Popish Doctrine but rather a Christian Truth which the Evidence of Truth hath extorted from him And it is a shame that I. A. should be more blind who pretends to more knowledge CHAP. XII J. A. in his pretended Survey of the 9th 10 th and 11 th Queries doth ground his Discourse so much partly upon mistakes and partly upon barely supposed alledged principles which he doth not prove that I shall need to say very little directly in Answer to the whole from his pag. 119 to pag. 131. only some of his most considerable mistakes and bare Suppositions I shall take notice of the which being denyed and removed his whole Superstructure falls of it self First He blames the Queriest or Writer of the Queries For falsly accusing the or sl●ndering the Church in Brittain as he calleth it as if they did hold their Ecclesiastical Constitutions formally as such for an Infallible Rule and their Catechisms and Confessions of Faith equal to the Scriptures But I Answer the Query maketh no mention of those terms formally as such But simply whether they hold their Directory Confession of Faith and Catechism to be an Infallible Rule and equal to the Scripture Again Secondly what is proposed in the Query is not positively concluded one way or another as the Nature of a Query doth plainly demonstrate And yet Thirdly he plainly affirmeth pag. 129. That the whole Articles and Difinitions contained in the Catechism and Confession of Faith materially considered are very Gospel Rule and Scripture Sentence either expresly and formally or materially implicitely and by good consequence taught therein How then can he have any face to accuse the Inquirer for asking such a thing which he doth openly acknowledge And here let the Reader take notice that the Catechism and Confession of Faith whereof I. A. giveth so great a Commendation is not that of the Episcopal Church but the Presbyterian viz. that made by the Assembly at Westminster which is expresly cited by him cap. 31. art 4. it is not then as seemeth the

Taught and some other Arts. Nor is it the use of these things but the abuse of them and laying too great a stress upon them that we oppose Nor do we deny but Grammar Logick and especially the knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek Languages may be of good use and service to him that is a Minister of Christ in a subordinate and subservient way when he hath to do with men especially that g●ory in these Arts and in the abuse of them contend against the Truth such adversaries may be lawfully redargued from their own principles and the points of their own weapons turned against them as the Lord giveth fr●●dom fo to do although the simple naked Truth out of the mou●h of a man having none of those Arts has more prevailed against a Letter-learned Adversary many times than many Learned men have done whereof a famous instance is recorded to have befallen at the Council of Nice where a simple Lay-man convinced again-saying Philosopher so called when the Learned Bishops and Doctors could nothing prevail upon him the which passage is at length recorded in Lucas Osiander his Epitome of the Church History Centur. 4. But the said I. A. seemeth to dispute not only for the lawfulness of Grammar and Logick as they are Taught in Schools but for the absolute necessity of them to a Minister of Christ. For he saith Would they then have a Minister not knowing how to Speak and Write Sense To which I Answer And thinketh he that none in all the Church of Scotland knoweth how to Speak and Write Sense but they who have Learned the Art of Grammar I suppose there are many thousands in that Church who never Learned any Art of Grammar that have as good Sense and can both Speak and Write to as good Sense at least in their Mother Tongue as I. A. and perhaps to better too if that Proverb hold good That an Ounce of Mother-wit is worth a Pound of Clergy And do we not commonly Learn to Speak and Write our Mother Tongue without any Rules of Grammar and these who so Learn to Speak and Write only by Reading and Hearing without Rules of Grammar speak well enough to be understood And what great or intollerable defect is it if a Minister of Christ having sufficient knowledge and Piety requisite to that Office should Speak or Write a little Incongruous Grammar doth or should that Unminister him Is not a blemish or error in Life and Conversation much more intolerable although such is the Vice of the Times whereof some good men have formerly complained that he who breaks a Rule of Grammar is more noticed than he who breaks the Rule of Piety Nor doth the Translation of the Scriptures out of Hebrew and Greek argue the absolute nec●ssity of those Languages unto the Ministers of Christ seeing men who are not Ministers might have done that And now since the Scriptures are Translated which we acknowledge is a great Blessing of God the Knowledge of these Languages seemeth less necessary on a general account seeing whatever errors or weaknesses may be found in the present Iransstions they contain the form of found words in respect of the more necessary things And therefore the Scriptures thus Translated to him who is indued with that Spirit that gave them forth may well enough suffice though he hath neither Hebrew nor Greek Which for all this pretended necessity the far greatest part of those called Ministers in these three Nations have not so much skill of but that they are as much obliged to the Translation as many others that make no such Vaunt And it is a great question for all this pretended necessity of Hebrew and Greek whether many called Ministers in these three Nations ever once in all their life Read an intire Chapter of the Bible in Hebrew or indeed can so do And I see no cause why there is any more absolute necessity for a Preacher to have Hebrew and Greek than any ordinary true Christian for if true Faith Knowledge and Piety can be attained as well without Hebrew and Greek as with it then why is it made abs●●lutely necessary in the one rather than in the other Nor do we plead against the lawfulness or good use that may be made of Tongues because they began at Babel as I. A. doth alledge but seeing they began at Babel or Babylon we may lawfully infer they are not absolutely necessary to give the true knowledge of God nor to make true Preachers seeing there were men that did both truly know the Lord and also Preached him in Truth before the many Languages came in Nor is I. A. his Argument for the necessity of School-Logick less impertinent He that knows nothing saith he how to define divide judge and Argument aright if any such were is in no better capacity than the Ass speaking to his Master Take there saith he the Quakers Minister very fit for Balaam ' s Sadle if he had but four Legs Ignorance I see is the Mother of the Quakers Devotion By this Argument I. A. as it seemeth concludes that all men who want School-Logick are no more men and have no more the use of their Rational Faculties to define divide judge and Argument aright than Balaam's Ass and thus he puts many thousands and ten thousands of his Fellow-Church-Members in the same List with Balaam's Ass and maketh them as unskilsul to define divide judge and Argument aright as Balaam's Ass only because they want School-Logick And is this a Vindication of the Church of Brittain so to defame the greatest part of all her Members by comparing them to Balaam's Ass only for want of School-Logick which I suppose scarce the hundreth person has any knowledge of Indeed I confess it hath been but too familiar for such men to repute the people as Asses for want of those School-Arts and they have but too much used them in times past as Asses and also Rid upon them But whether is not I. A. short of Balaam's Ass which saw the Angel of God and had its mouth immediatly opened by the Lord to reprove the Prophet to none of which I. A. hath any pretence and why doth I. A. conclude That Ignorance is the Mother of the Quakers Devotion Because they have not commonly School-Logick and judge it not absolutely necessary to any Christian or Minister of Christ. Then by I. A. his Irronical and Sarcasme none have true Devotion but these who have School-Logick the which reflection striketh as much against his own Church Members as us And I suppose there are many thousands in the so called Church of Scotland that may think I. A. deserves a sharp reproof for such an idle Satyr as to conclude because we establish not School-Logick as necessary● to Devotion That therefore Ignorance according to us is the Mother of Devotion When the Protestants blame the Papists for holding Ignorance to be the Mother of Devotion I understand they mean the ignorance of the

willingly and sincerely acknowledge that the Righteousness of Christ in what he did and suffered for us outwardly in his own person is imputed unto us for Justification and so much I did acknowledge in my Book already mentioned But we further say that all to whom that is imputed which Christ did and suffered for us outwardly must witness a real and true Conformity both to the Death of Christ and also to his Holy Life and walk without which all mens imputing it unto themselves is but an airy Dream and Imagination There is yet another gross perversion used by I. A. in his pretended Survey or Answer of the sixteenth Question as if the Quakers so called Seem to deny that there was any Spiritual Worship in the time of the Old Testament And thus because it is said in the Query that Christ set up the True Worship in Spirit and in Truth above 1600 years ago but nothing but great Ignorance or prejudice can from this inferr that there was not any degree of it in the World in former times And I. A. might as well argue against the Scriptures that because God saith in the last days He would make a New Covenant with the House of Israel and Write his Law in their Hearts That therefore nothing of this sort was formerly in the World And thus I have done with I. A. his long and tedious pretended Survey of this Question having omitted nothing that seemed unto me Material and having found in his whole Discourse consisting of about 19 pages scarce any thing but gross mistakes and perversions CHAP. XVIII HEre again I. A. in his pretended Survey to the 17th and last Question beginneth with a most gross perversion As if the Quakers because they would have men to cease from all their own works meerly acted in the strength of mans Will and natural Power without the supernatural and Spiritual aid and assistance of the Spirit of God would have men to be as senseless Trunks doing nothing the bare Rehearsal of which is sufficient Refutation Another charge little less gross is That the Quakers hold only Babylon to be within in mens hearts for which he citeth the aforesaid Book called The Principles of Truth in several pages To which I Answer Although the said Book saith That Babylon c. is ●ithin yet it doth not say it is only within but on the contrary it plainly affirmeth that all who are in outward Worships without the leading and enabling of the Spirit of God painted over with glorious Words but inwardly full of Abominations belong to the Kingdom of Babylon And well may that unclean and deceitful Spirit that acteth all such persons who are levened and governed therewith and thereby be called Babylon by a Figurative Speech even as the Soul of a man is commonly called the man which hinders not that the people in whatsoever Profession they may be who are acted by that evil and Antichristian Spirit are Babylon And as for the Pope and Popish Church as we do cordially joyn with the best and most sincere Proantests against them as being the great and principal Members of that Scarlet Whore Mystery Babylon in whom Antichrist or that Antichristian Spirit hath its chiefest or most principal residence and therefore in no respect can be said to favour the Pope or Popish Church on that or any consideration although we with the Salvation of the worst so we most freely declare that wherever we find any degree or measure of the same Spirit of Antichrist and Babylon as too much of it is to be found in I. A. and too many of his Brethren we cannot acquit them from being Members of the same Antichristian body although in this our upright and honest Testimony we expect neither the kindness of the Pope nor yet of I. A. far less the Popes Wages or reward for being so kind to him as I. A. doth most falsly and grosly alledge And divers of our Friends have suffered deeply under the Popish Power for bearing a Testimony against him and them which neither I. A. nor his Brethren have ever done but sit warmly at home without exposing themselves to any suffering on that account Having thus as briefly as I could given an Answer to I. A. his Book against us omitting nothing that seemed to be material I shall neither trouble the Readers nor my self with his two Postscripts to Answer them in particular The substance of the first Postscript against me being already Answered in the foregoing Sheets as to what is any wise material Or if he suppose any thing is omitted let him mind me of it in his next and withall Write an intire and thorough Answer to what is already said both here and in the Treatise called Quakerism no Popery which he hath only but here and there nibled at And I may possibly if God give me freedom and convenience return him a ●urther Answer 〈◊〉 at present I suppose he hath work enough to lye on his hand and needs no more As for his Postscript against or for Doctor Everards Ghost as he calleth it I find not my self concerned to Answer him therein nor defend every word or Opinion of his seeing he never went under that Name or Designation with us Albeit I must needs acknowledge both my Friends and I such of them I mean as have read his Book have a great love and respect to his memory which all I. A. his bitter Revilings against him shall never be able to defame And we believe the said Everard hath indeed had rare and singular gifts of Understanding and Openings of Scripture from God and withal a good measure of Integrity and zeal for the Truth according to the time and Dispensation he was in and in that respect doth truly deserve to be accounted among the Witnesses of Truth in his day whatever imperfections attended him otherwise or suppose some mistakes of Judgment in some things or not so warily cautioning some of his words as could have been wished Although I judge that I. A. doth seek to fix or fasten upon him divers errors of Judgment of which he is not guilty by reason of deep prejudice against him Partly whiles he takes the said Iohn Evrard's words too Literally and Superficially which are to be understood more Mystically and Figuratively and partly while he takes that as spoken absolutely which is but spoken comparative and by way of some Similitude and but in some respect But before I make a full close I shall only take notice of two gross and absurd Assertions waving others to another opportunity in his Postscript to me The one is that the Pope and his Clergy had the true Power and Authority of Ordination and calling Ministers before the Reformation neither as Christian nor as Antichristian Not as Christian or else all Christians would have it nor as Antichristian seeing these two terms are not contradictory but contrary for many things and persons too are neither Christian nor Antichristian To which