Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	believe_v	christian_a	faith_n	3,911	5	5.5853	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65324	Universal Christian charity, as comprehending all true religion and happiness, demonstrated from scripture and reason in a sermon preach'd before the Right Honourable Lord Chief Justice Treby, at the assizes held at Maidstone in Kent, March the 17th, 1696 / by Tho. Watts ...	Watts, Thomas, 1665-1739.	1697 (1697)	Wing W1159; ESTC R38960	15,491	32

Heart knows that too often the most specious external Acts may proceed from a false or corrupt Principle and then tho' they may be highly esteem'd and magnify'd in the Opinion of the World they cannot be acceptable to him who is pleas'd with nothing that does not flow from a sincere and truly pious Disposition of the Soul From that Charity which arises from the Love of God which loves him as the Supreme and Original Good and loves every thing else for his sake that admires and adores his infinite Fulness and esteems other things as the Streams and Emanations from that inexhaustible Fountain When we have not a due regard to this Heavenly Standard of our Affections our Love will quickly degenerate into a silly Fondness or a covetous Desire or some turbulent uneasie violent or exorbitant Passion But when the love of God rules in our Hearts when it presides over our very Thoughts and governs the most secret and inward Motions of our Spirits it will keep all steddy and even in a due Composure without any Excess or Irregularity and I may add in a constant readiness to do good Now this is that excellent Principle of Charity which is only able to give any real Value to all other Endowments whatever and which accordingly is described in the next place by some of the most genuine and proper Effects of it to Verse 8. as that it suffereth long that it is kind that it envieth not vaunteth not it self or is not rash is not puffed up doth not behave it self unseemly seeketh not her own is not easily provoked thinketh to Evil rejoiceth not in Iniquity but rejoiceth in the Truth or with the Truth Beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things endureth all things Thus it includes Patience Benificence Contentment Humility Decency Generosity Publick-Spiritedness Meekness Temperance Good Nature Piety Devotion Truth Fidelity Joy and Compassion Peace and Union Faith Hope and the bravest Christian Fortitude with all the blessed Fruits of the Holy Spirit yea with all manner of Goodness and Morality to make us both truly wise and happy So next St. Paul commends it from its duration because that all the other Gifts and Abilities how necessary soever they might be for the propagation of the Christian Religion c should yet fail cease and vanish away as things that should be of no farther use in the other World But this alone should never fail but continue with us for ever in that Blessed State of Happiness and Perfection as you may read to my Text wherein now lastly our Apostle mentions the three most eminent Graces Faith Hope and Charity but gives the preference to the last concluding positively the greatest of these is Charity which is evident from the whole Chapter as we have thus far briefly consider'd it From whence now to proceed methodically I shall First illustrate the Words of my Text in short Secondly Endeavour to demonstrate to you this excellent Grace of Charity as comprehensive of all True Religion and Happiness from Scripture and Reason together And so Thirdly I shall manifest some grand Obligations to the due Practice thereof from the Points of Duty Gratitude and Interest First Then consider the Just shall live by Faith Heb. 2.4 Rom. 1.17 We are purify'd sanctify'd justify'd and saved by Faith Acts 15.9 c. 26 18. Rom. 5.1 Eph. 2.8 But then it must be such a Faith as worketh through Love Nothing else availing in Jesus Christ Gal. 5.6 Hope is an Anchor of the Soul both sure and stedfast Heb. 6.19 And by Hope are we comforted and saved Rom 8.24 For this were the Scriptures given that we might have hope Rom. 15.4 which worketh Patience and Assurance unto Life Eternal Tit. 2.13 c. 3 7. Among our Spiritual Armour we are to take for an Helmet the hope of Salvation 1 Thes 5.8 This is our rejoicing and will be our Glory in the Lord Col. 1.27 Heb. 3.6 But yet this must be grounded and rooted in Love and he that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as God is pure to be like him in singular Love above all as becometh his Sons 1 Joh. 3.1 2 3. Again Faith is the Substance of things hoped for the Evidence of things not seen Heb. 11.1 which gives us all Assurance and some Enjoyment of Heaven upon Earth affords us some Antepasts of Life and Glory But here they end at the Celestial Gate here is the Accomplishment of our Faith and Hope while Charity the very Bond of Perfectness uniteth us to the most Amiable the Divine Nature while Love wings our Souls into the Regions of Bliss and Immortality abides with us there and happily employs us unto all Eternity Thus Charity is the greatest of all Graces and Vertues as influencing and perfecting all nearest resembling the Supreme Deity and glorifying our Natures For Love is of God and God is Love 1 Joh. 4.7 But he that loveth not knoweth not God Verse 8. How can such then hope for Heaven Or like the bold Fiduciary presume upon Faith which only worketh by and is dead and ineffectual without Love Jam. 2.3 4. Love which is the Light that shines before Men to the Glory of our Heavenly Father in all good Works Matth. 5.16 Love which is the fulfilling of the Law Rom. 13.10 and the New Commandment of the Gospel Joh. 13.34 The true Spirit of all the very distinguishing Badge Cognizance and Characteristick of Christ's true Disciples Which now secondly with all that has hitherto been said may be a sufficient Demonstration of the Comprehensiveness of this excellent unbounded universal beatifying Christian Charity Whereto both Scirpture and Reason give such ample undeniable Testimonies as may yet farther appear from many clean convincing Proofs As there is such an Uniformity and happy Agreement between the Old and New Testament that the one seems to be but the Counter-part of the other or rather the Gospel is both the Improvement and Fulfilling of the Law and an higher advancement of Human Nature than ever it was bless'd with either by its own Light or preceding Revelation So they all concenter together in this one Grace of Charity which carries its own Reward with it in a much more real Sense than the best Philosophers held of Verture This Charity implies the whole of Man both his Duty and Happiness which the Royal wise Preacher concludes with the Fear of God and keeping his Commandments so to be prepared for future Judgment Eccl. 12.13 14. And what is all this but the plain Effect and sure Demonstration of our Love which our Lord so positively requires of us John 14 15. If ye love me keep my Commandments In this therefore does he summ up all the Law and the Prophets from Deut. 6.5 c. 10 12 13. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul with all thy strength and with all thy mind This is the first and great Commandment And the second from Lev.

Universal CHRISTIAN CHARITY As Comprehending all True Religion and Happiness Demonstrated from Scripture and Reason IN A SERMON Preach'd before the RIGHT HONOURABLE Lord Chief Justice Treby AT THE ASSIZES held at Maidstone in Kent March the 17th 1696. By THO. WATTS Vicar of Orpington and St. Mary Cray London Printed for Eliz. Whitlock near Stationers Hall 1697. To his ever Honour'd Friends Benefactors and Loving Neighbours NOT to insist upon the Publick Approbation wherewith this Discourse was Honour'd nor tho many particular Engagements lying on me thus to appear and under so general a Dedication In Gratitude to you whose Beneficent Examples give life to the Doctrine asserted I would only thus far declare to the World thereupon that where-ever any Obligation lies upon a Man Common Honesty leads him to pay the Debt so may this be accepted as an honest Instance of my Duty and Thankfulness tho' it is impossible for me according to my small Talent to discharge the total Summ Yet would I make this Publick Acknowledgments to be Just and Thankful For the Apostle make Ingratitude the Compendium of all Impiety in 2 Tim. 3. 2. These two words Unthankful Unholy And tho' in general all Men who receive Favours ought to be Thankful yet certainly every single Person has as much right to chuse the way of expressing his Thanks as he has a Propriety to his Complexion and Fortunes Moreover the truest Notion of Gratitude is never to give real occasion that our Benefactor should Repent that he bestowed his Benefit upon us Now as I would thus live and behave my self to my Friends so would I give none any just occasion to become mine Enemies but yet we must look for Tribulation in an uncharitable World and Peace only in Christ and not expect to fare better than himself and his Apostles and the best Christians did here How Innocent Peaceable or Beneficent soever we may be we shall meet with Foes in abundance and be ever Persecuted with the Virulent Tongues or Malicous Deeds of Selfish Moross Proud Ill natur'd Angry Wretches whom I do heartily Pity and Pray for as even those who can Prophanely trample upon things Sacred Proudly Insult over their Spiritual Guides and Hipocritically Devour or Sacrilegiously Invade the Churches Patrimony which Jews and Heathens have abborr'd to do How Constantly and Faithfully soever we sow our Spiritual things in greatest Charity to Mens Souls yet are we deny'd the Grateful Just and Meanest Returns and basely accounted Mens Enemies for telling them the Truth But of you my Friends have I happily Experienc'd better As Charity is your Glory and will be your Reward So Prayeth your most Obliged Orator T. W. A SERMON 1 Cor. XIII 13. And now abideth Faith Hope Charity these three But the greatest of these is Charity THis Text which affords such useful Meditations for all times may not improperly be consider'd upon this occasion and in this our solemn Lent-Season as it concludes St. Paul's most Noble Description of the sublimest Grace and compleatest Vertue in a whole Chapter which begins with very great and surprizing Assertions shewing that all Gifts how excellent soever are nothing worth without Charity to Verse 4. where by Charity must certainly be understood that grand Principle of true sincere Love both to God and Man residing in our Hearts enlivening our Souls purifying our Desires seasoning our Intentions and influencing all our Words and Actions without which we can neither think speak or do any thing that will deserve the Name of pious good or vertuous nor ever become real Christians Theresore the Apostle instanceth in these extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit which God was pleas'd to bestow upon his Church in the First Ages of Christianity Verse 1 2. Though I speak with the Tongues of Men and of Angels and have not Charity I am become as sounding Brass or a tinkling Cimbal The Gift of Utterance equal at least to the Angelical and far exceeding all humane Eloquence were the Apostles first endow'd with when the Holy Ghost actually descended upon them in Cloven Tongues like as of Fire Acts 2.3 wherewith St. Peter converted 3000 Souls in his first powerful Sermon Verse 41. which otherwise had been no better than a loud and insignificant noise without the charitable Design and Endeavour of Conversion And what better are the wittiest Sayings the most elegant Speeches or highest Strains of Rhetorick without Intention of Good 'T is the Charity express'd in the Angel's happy Message to the blessed Virgin that makes his Salutation renown'd Luk. 1.28 Some Persons may please their Humours with nauseous Flattery others satisfie their idle Fancies with meer Flourishes or tingle their itching Ears with Clamours and such may raise Pyramids to their Orators given them an aiery Exaltation in a popular Vogue But how ridiculous and empty is all that whereby neither the Speakers aim at nor the Hearers receive any Benefit What signifies the most Learned Harangues or florid Panegyricks And what less the windy Sounds Groans and Acclamations to rouse up Peoples Affections and set them a-gazing when their Understandings are no ways improv'd nor their Wills rectify'd while all they are taught lye only floating on the Surface of the Brain having no Root nor Foundation lower nothing deep enough laid for the Glorious Building upon the Heart in Christian Edification through Love Eph. 4.16 So farther says the Apostle and tho' I have the Gift of Prophecy and understand all Mysteries and all Knowledge and tho' I have all Faith so that I could remove Mountains and have no Charity I am nothing Thus Prophecy and the deepest Knowledge in the Mysteries of Religion and the Glorious Power of working Miracles were in themselves of no more Account than the other unless well us'd to a good end unless tending purely to God's Glory and the Salvation of Souls otherwise they that have prophesied and cast out Devils or done many wonderful Works in Christ's Name shall be cast off at last among the Workers of Iniquity Matth. 7.22 23. Whose best Actions are corrupted through By-ends False Principles or Vanity As again Verse 3. And tho' I bestow all my Goods to feed the Poor and though I give my Body to be burned and have no Charity it profiteth me nothing Here St. Paul asserts the same concerning the greatest Liberality to the Poor and Martyrdom it self the laying down our very Lives which seems to be the utmost that can possibly be requir'd of us upon any occasion the greatest Love imaginable as may be suppos'd from that noted Text Joh. 15.13 But yet here it is manifestly imply'd as a late pious Bishop observ'd hereupon that a Man may part with his whole Estate and his Life too and yet that he may want Charity This may seem a very strange and surprizing Supposition to us who can see no farther than the bare outside and appearances of Things but God who is intimately acquainted with all the secret Motions and Imaginations of the