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	church_n	err_v	1,967	5	9.6697	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26958	A moral prognostication I. what shall befall the churches on Earth, till their concord, by the restitution of their primitive purity, simplicity, and charity, II. how that restitution is like to be made, (if ever) and what shall befall them thence-forth unto the end, in that golden-age of love / written by Richard Baxter ...	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1680 (1680)	Wing B1311; ESTC R5743	36,590	70

which he hates with the pretence of his Authority and Name 29. Therefore they will call up their own and other Mens Zeal to defend those falshoods as for God and think that in so doing they do God Service 30. And the Interest of their own Place and Honour and Ends will secretly insinuate when they discern it not and will increase their Zeal against Opposers 31. Therefore seeing they are usually Many and Wise Men but few they will expect that Number should give the precedency to their Opinions and will call those Proud or Heretical that gain-say them and Labour to defame them as self-conceited Opinionative-Men 32. Therefore too many Godly Ministers will be great opposers of many of those Truths of God which they Know not and which they Err about and will help on the Service of Satan in the World And will be the Authors of Factions and Contentions in the Churches whilst too many are Proud Knowing nothing in those matters when they think they are most Orthodox but doting about Questions and Strifes of Words whereof cometh Envy Strife Railing Evil Surmisings Perverse Disputings of Men of Corrupt Minds in this and Destitute of the Truth 1 Tim. 6. 4 5. 33. And if many Good Men will Erroniously stand up against that Truth which any Man Wiser than themselves maketh known the Worldly and Malicious that have a manifold Enmity against it will be ready to strengthen them by their Concurrence and to joyn in the Opposition 34. Not they that are Wisest at a distance but they that are Nearest the People and are always with them are likest to prevail to make Disciples of them and bring them to their mind So great an advantage it is to Talk daily and confidently to Ignorant Souls when there is none to Talk against them and to make their Folly known 35. Especially if the same Men can get Interest in their Esteem as well as Neerness and make themselves Esteemed the Best or Wisest Men. 36. Therefore Jesuitical Worldly Clergy Men will always get about Great Men and insinuate into Nobles and will still defame them that are Wise and Good that they may seem odious and themselves seem excellent and so may carry it by deceitful Shews 37. And they will do their best to procure all Wise and Good Men that are against their Interest to be Banished from the Palaces of Princes and Nobles where they are lest their presence should confute their Slanderers and they should be as Burning and Shining Lights that carry their Witness with them where they come And also to bring them under publike stigmatizing Censures and Sufferings that their Names may be infamous and odious in the World 38. And Heretical Pastors will play a Lower Game creep into the Houses of silly People prepared by ignorance and Soul-disturbers to receive their Heresies 39. Between these two Sorts of naughty Pastors the WORDLY and the HERETICAL and also the Multitude of Weak erroneous honest Teachers the Soundest and Worthyest will be so few that far most of the People high and low are like to live under the Influences and Advantages of Erring-Men and therefore themselves to be an Erring People 40. In that Measure that Men are Carnal their own Carnal Interest will Rule them And both the WORLDLY and HERETICAL Clergy are Ruled by Carnal Interests though not the same Materially And the Honester Erring Ministers are Swayed by their Interests too much Insomuch that on this account is was no over-valuing of Tymothy or wrong to the other Pastors that it should plainly be said by Paul Phil. 2. 21 22. For I have no Man like Minded who will Naturally care for your State For all seek their own not the things which are Jesus Christs And Act. 20. 30. Of your own selves shall Men arise and speak perverse things to draw away Disciples after them Besides the Grievous Wolves which would not spare the Flocks 41. The Interest then of the WORLDLY Clergy will consist in pleasing the Great Ones of the World for Lordships and Worldly Wealth and Honour and to be made the Rulers of their Brethren and to have their Wills And the Interest of Hereticks will be to have Many to be of their Own Opinion to Admire them And the Interest of upright Ministers will be to please God and propagate the Gospel Increase the Church and Save Mens Souls Yet so that they have a Subordinate Interest for Food and Rayment and Families and necessary Reputation which they are too apt to overvalue 42. Therefore it will be the Great Trade of the WORLDLY Clergy to please and flatter the Rulers of the World and by all artificial Insinuations and by their Friends to Work themselves into their Favour and by Scorns and Calumnies to Work out all other that are against their Interest 43. And it will be the Trade of Hereticks to insinuate into the more ductile People especially as Ministers of Truth and Righteousness that have somewhat more excellent in Knowlenge or Holiness than the Faithful Ministers of Christ 44. And it will be the Work of Faithful Ministers to Save Mens Souls But with such various Degrees of Self-denyal or Selfishness as they have various Degrees of Wisdom and Holiness 45. Many Great and Piously disposed Princes like Constantine will think that to Honour and Advance the Clergy into Worldly Power and Wealth is to Honour God and the Christian Religion And Great Munificence is fit for their own Greatness 46. And because such Honour and Wealth cannot possibly be bestowed on All it must make a great Disparity and set some as Lords over the rest 47. And the unavoidable Weakness Passions and Divisions of the Clergy will make Rulers think that there is a Necessity that besides the Civil Government there should be some of their Own Office to Rule the rest and to keep them in order obedience and Peace 48. Ambition and Covetousness will abuse this Munificence of Princes And whilst that any Church Preferments are so Great beyond the Degree of a meer encouraging Subsistence as to be a strong Bait to tempt the desires of a Proud and Worldly Mind the most Proud and Worldly that are within the reach of Hope will be the seekers by themselves and by their Friends 49. Mortified Humble Heavenly Men will either never Seek them or with no gre●● Eagerness their Appetite being less and their Restraints much greater 50. Therefore they that have the Keenest Appetites to Church-grandure and Preferments and are the Eager Seekers are likest to find 51. Therefore the Lovers of Wealth and Honour are likest still to be Lords among the Clergy except in such marvellous happy Times when Wise and Pious Princes Call the more Worthy that seek it not and reject these thirsty seekers 52. The greatest Lovers of Worldly Wealth and Honour are the worst Men 1 Joh. 2. 15. Jam. 4. 4. c. 53. Therefore except in such times as aforesaid the worst Men will be still the Rich and

Wordly Ends. 90. And the young and indifferent sort of People in all Countrys that were engaged in neither part being but strangers to Religion and to the differences will be ready to judge of the Cause by the Persons and seeing so many of the Dignified Advanced Clergy and the more sensual sort of the People on one side and so many Men of strict lives on the other that suffer also for their Religion and hearing too that it is some Name of Preciseness that they are Reproached by will think them to be the better side And so the title of the Godly will grow by degrees to be almost Appropriated to their Party and the Title of Prophane and Persecuters to the other 91. All this while the Nonconforming Ministers will be somewhat differently affected according to the different degrees of their Judiciousness Experience and Self-denyal Some of them will think these Passions of the People needful to check the Fierceness of the Afflicters which doth but Exasperate it And therefore will let them alone though they will not encourage them Some of the younger or more injudicious hot-brain'd sort will put them on and make them believe that all Communion with any Conforming Ministers or their parish-Parish-Churches is unlawful and their forms of Worship are Sinful and Anti-christian and that they are all Temporizers and Betrayers of Truth and Purity that Communicate or Assemble with them The judicious and experienced and most patient and self-denying sort will themselves abstain from all that is Sin and as far as it is in their choice and power will joyn with the Churches that Worship God most agreeably to his Word and Will But so as that they will not be loud in their Complaints nor busy to draw Men to their Opinions in Controvertible Points nor will unchurch and condemn all the Churches that have something which they dislike as Sinful nor will Renounce the Communion of all faulty Churches lest they Renounce the Communion of all in the World and Teach all others to Renounce theirs But they will sometimes Communicate with the more faulty Churches to shew that they unchurch them not so they be not forced in it to any Sin Though usually they will prefer the purest yea ordinarily they will joyn with the more faulty when they can have no better or when the publike good requireth it They will never prefer the Interest of their Nonconforming Party before the Interest of Christianity or the Publike good They will so defend lesser Truths as not to neglect or disadvantage the greater which all are agreed in They will so preserve their own Innocency as not to stir up other Mens Passions nor to make factions or divisions by their difference They will so dislike the pride and worldliness of others and their injuries against God and Godliness as not to speak Evil of Dignities nor to Cherish in the Peoples Minds any Dishonourable injurious thoughts of their Kings or any in Authority over them They will Labour to allay the passions of the people and to rebuke their censorious and too sharp Language and to keep up all due Charity to those by whom they Suffer but especially Loyalty to their Kings and Rulers and Peaceableness as to their Countrys They will teach them to distinguish between the Cruel that are Masters of the Game and all the rest that have no hand in it and at least not to separate from all the rest for the sake of a few If they will go as far as Martin in Sulpitius Severus to avoid all Communion with Ithacius and Idacius and the Councils of Bishops that Prosecuted the Priscillianists to the scandal of Godliness it self yet not for their sakes to avoid all others that never consented to it nor with Gildas to say of all the bad Ministers that he was not Eximius Christianus that would call them Ministers or Pastors rather than Traitors They will perswade the People to discern between Good and Evil and not to run into Extreams nor to dislike all that their Afflicters hold or use nor to call things lawful by the name of Sin and Anti-christianity nor to suffer their Passions to blind their Judgments to make superstitiously New Sin and Duties in opposition to their Adversaries Nor to disgrace their Understandings and the Truth by Errours Factions Revilings or Miscarriages nor to run into Sects nor to divide Christs House and Kingdom while they pretend to be his Zealous Servants They will perswade the People to Patience and Moderation and Peace and to Speak Evil of no Man nor by Word or Deed to Revenge themselves Much less to resist the Authority that is set over them by God but to imitate their Saviour and quietly Suffer and being reviled not to revile again but to Love their Enemies and Bless their Cursers 92. The soberer sort of the People will be Ruled by these Counsels and will do much to quiet the rest But the Heretical part with their own Passions will Exasperate many Novices and Injudicious Persons to account this Course and Counsel aforesaid to be but the effect of Luke-wa●mness and Carnal Compliance with Sin and a halting between two Opinions and a Participation in the Sin of Persecutors and Malignant Enemies of Godliness And they will believe that whoever joyneth with the Parish Churches in their way is guilty of Encouraging them in Sin and of false Worship 93. Hereupon they will defame the Non conforming Ministers last described as Men of no Zeal neither Flesh nor Fish and perhaps as Men that would Save their Skin and shift themselves out of Sufferings and betray the Truth And when such Ministers acquaint them with their unsound Principles and Passions they will say of them that they speak bitterly of the Godly and joyn with the Persecutors in reproaching them 94. And they will carry about among themselves many false Reports and Slanders against them Partly because Passion taketh off Charity and Tenderness of Conscience and partly because an Opinionative Modal and Siding Religiousness hath ever more Followers and a quicker Zeal than true Holiness And partly because they will think that humane converse obligeth them to believe the Reports which those that are accounted good Men utter And partly because that they will think that the upholding of their Cause which they think is Gods doth need the Suppression of these Mens Credit and Reputation that are against it 95. But the greater part of the honest Non-conformist Ministers will dislike the headiness and rashness of the Novices and the Sectaries and will approve of the aforesaid moderate Wayes But their opportunities and dispositions of Expressing it will be various Some of them will do it freely whatever be thought of it And some of them that have impatient Auditors will think that it is no duty to attempt that which will not be endured and that it is better to do what good they can than none And some will think that seeing the Worldly Clergy forbid them to

and to do apparently more hurt than good But as to all worthy and able Ministers if they commit any fault they shall be punished as other Subjects only with such Penalties as shall not by silencing or restraint be a punishment to the innocent peoples Souls nor hinder the Preaching of the Gospel of Salvation Even as if the common Bakers Brewers Butchers Carpenters perform their work perniciously Poisoning their Beer Bread and Meat they shall be forbid the Trade But for other faults they shall be so punished that the People be not left without Bread Beer Meat Houses for their faults 33. If any Hereticks as Arrians Socinians c. would creep into the Ministry there shall not be new-forms of Subscription made to keep them out which its like with their vicious Consciences would be uneffectual and would open a Gap to the old Church-Tyrannies and Divisions nor an uncertain Evil be uneffectually resisted by a certain greater Mischief But while he keepeth his Errour to himself he is no Heretick as to the Church non apparere being equal to non esse And when he venteth his Heresy he is responsible all the ways aforesaid and may be by the Magistrate punished for his Crime and by the Churches be branded as none of their Communion which is the regular way of reforming Crimes ' viz. By Judgment and Execution and not by making new Rules and Laws as fast as Men break the old As though Laws could be made which no Man can break 34. The Magistrate shall countenance or tolerate no Sin or Errour so far as he can cure it by just Remedies which will not do more harm than good But he shall unwillingly tolerate many tolerable Errours and Faults because it is not in his Power to remedy them by such means But 1. The Sound and Concordant Ministry only shall have his Countenance and Maintenance 2. Smaller Errours and Disorders shall be best cured by gentle Rebukes and Discountenance and denyal of Maintenance together with the disgrace that will be cast upon them by the judgment and dissent of all the united Concordant Ministers and Churches which two together will do more and better than Exasperating Cruelties will do 3. The publishing of pernicious Principles shall be restrained more severely But though Men may be restrained from venting pernicious Falsehoods they cannot be Constrained to believe the Truth we are not so happy Nor shall they be Constrained to lie and say that they believe it when they do not 35. All matters of Quarrels division and cruel usage of each other being thus cut off and gone bitterness and revengeful thoughts will cease and Love will revive in all Mens Breasts and Unity and Peace will follow of its own accord And if any Heretical or contentious Sect arise the Hearts of all United People will so rise against them that desertion and shame will quickly Kill them 36. Then will the Hearts of the People cleave to their Pastors And they will be no more put on the great difficulties of Loving the Bishops that hurt them or of Loving them in Jailes But it will be as easy to Love them when they feel the Love to their Souls in the labours and kindness of their Pastors as to Love their dearest and nearest Friends And then Love will open the Peoples Ears to the Teachers Doctrine and it will do them good And then the labours and lives of faithful Ministers will be sweet and easy when the Love and the Unity and Faithfulness of the People is their dayly Encouragement O how good and how happy will it be for Pastors and People thus to Live in Love and Unity It will not only mind us of Aarons perfume but of the Spirit of Love that dwelt in our Redeemer and which he promised should be his Seal and Mark upon all his true Disciples Yea and of the Celestial Society and Life of perfect Love 37. Then shall Neighbours exercise their Charity for the help of the Ignorant about them without the suspicions of venting Heresies or Sedition or Encroaching on the Pastors Office And Neighbours when they come together shall not take Praying together or holy Conference or singing Gods Praise or Reading good Books or repeating their Teachers Sermons or Counselling each other to be a bad or dangerous work But the Ignorant that cannot spend the Lords day in holy Exercises at home because they cannot Read or remember much shall joyn with the Families of their more Understanding Neighbours who can help them as they met Act. 12. 12. for Prayer and as Neighbour-Families were to joyn in Eating the Passover with the Family that had not enow to Eat it For Love and Unity shall end these Jealousies And all shall be done under the Guidance and Over-sight of their Pastors and not in Enmity or Opposition to them or to the Concordant Church-Assemblies And O what Helps and Comfort will this be to all Faithful Pastors when all the Work lyeth not on them alone but every one sets his Hand to Build in his proper place And when they that Converse together all the Week are seconding that which he more seldom teacheth them in Publick 38. The Younger sort of Ministers that are now Bred up in Vulcan's Forge shall be then Trained up under grave and peaceable Men where uniting and peace-making Principles shall be the Rudiments of their Literature 39. And the Younger sort of the People shall be no more tempted into envious Heats against their Afflicters nor into contentious Sects because of Controversies But shall be fed with the Milk of peaceable Principles and be Educated in the Love of Love it self And the names of Sects and Church-Divisions and proud Pretendings shall by use be made as disgraceful as now the Names of Swearing Drunkenness and Whoredom are 40. And O how Dear how Amiable how Honourable will their Governours be to such a People Especially that Blessed Prince that shall first perform this Work How heartily will they Pray for them Plead for them and Fight for them And How freely will they Contribute any thing in their Power to their Aids And How impatient will they be against every Word that would dishonour them How Blessed will the People be under such a Prince And How Sweet and Easie will the Life of that Prince be that is to Govern such a People Grant O Lord that this great Honour and Comfort may fall into the Hands of the King of England before all others in the World Kings will then see that it is their Interest their Honour and their greatest Happyness on Earth to be the Wise Pious Righteous Governours of a Wise Pious Just United People that Love them so much that still they would fain serve them better than they are able 41. The Ignorant Vulgar and Ruder sort observing this Amiable Concord and all the blessed Fruits thereof will admire Religion and fall in Love with it And Multitudes that shall be saved will be dayly added to the

A Moral Prognostication I. What shall befall the Churches on Earth till their Concord by the Restitution of their Primitive Purity Simplicity and Charity II. How that Restitution is like to be made if ever and what shall befall them thence-forth unto the End in that Golden-Age of LOVE Written by Richard Baxter When by the KING's Commission we in vain treated for Concord 1661. And now Published not to Instruct the Proud that scorn to Learn nor to make them Wise who will not be made Wise But to Instruct the Sons of Love and Peace in their Duties and Expectations And to tell Posterity That the Things which befall them were Fore-told And that the Evil might have been prevented and Blessed Peace on Earth attained if Men had been but willing and had not shut their Eyes and hardened their Hearts against the Beams of Light and Love LONDON Printed for Thomas Simmons at the Princes-Arms in Ludgate-Street 1680. TO THE READER Reader IT is many Years since this Prognostication was written 1661 except the Sixteen last Lines but it was cast by lest it should offend the Guilty But the Author now thinketh that the Monitory Usefulness may over-weigh the Inconveniencies of Mens Displeasure at least to Posterity if not for the Present Age of which he is taking his Fare-wel His Suppositions are such as cannot be denyed Viz. 1. Eccles 1. 9. The Thing that hath been is that which shall be and that which is done is that which shall be done and there is no New Thing under the Sun 2. The same Causes with the same Circumstances will have the same Effects on Recipients equally disposed 3. Operari sequitur esse As Natures are so they act except where over-power'd 4. The Appetite Sensitive and Rational is the Principle of Motion and what any Love they will Desire and Seek 5. Therefore Interest will turn the Affairs of the World and he that can best understand all Interests will be the best Moral Prognosticator so far as Men are Causes of the Events 6. The Pleasing of God and the Happyness of their own and others Souls being the Interest of True Believers and Temporal Life Pleasure and Prosperity being the seeming and esteemed Interest of Unbelievers cross Interests will carry them contrary wayes 7. Contraries when near and Militant will be troublesome to each other and seek each others Destruction or Debilitation 8. The Senses and Experience of all Men in all Ages are to be believed about their proper Objects 9. Men of Activity Power and Great Numbers will have advantage for Observance and Success above those that are Modest Obscure and Few 10. Yet Men will still be Men and the Rational Nature will yield some Friendly Aspect towards the Truth 11. Those that are Ignorant and misled by Passion and carryed down the Stream by Men of Malignity or Faction may come to themselves when Affliction Experience and Considerateness have had time to work and may Repent and undo some-what that they have done 12. As Sense will be Sense when Faith hath done its best so Faith will be Faith when Flesh or Sense hath done its worst 13. Men that fix on a Heavenly Everlasting Interest will not be Temporizers and changed by the Worldly Mens Wills or Cruelties 14. When all Men have tired themselves with their Contrivances and Stirs Moderation and Peace must be the quiet State 15. When all Worldly Wisdome hath done its utmost an● Mens Endeavours are w●inged with the greatest Expectations God will be God and Blast what he Nilleth and will Over-rule all Things to the Accomplishment of his most Blessed will Amen On these Suppositions it is that the following Prognostications are founded which I must admonish the Reader not to mistake for Historical Narratives But I exhort him to know what Hath been and what Is if he would know what Will be and to make sure of Everlasting Rest with Christ when he must leave a sinful restless world A Moral Prognostication Of what must be Expected in the Churches of Christendome TILL THE GOLDEN AGE RETURNS OR Till the Time of True Reformation and Vnity 1. MAnkind will be Born in a State of Infancy and Nescience that is without actual Knowledge 2. Yea with a Nature that hath the innate Dispositions to sloath and to diverting pleasures and business and more than so to an aversness from those Principles which are needful to Sanctification and Heavenly Wisdom The Carnal Mind will have an Enmity against God and will not mind the things of the Spirit nor be subject to God's Law Rom. 8. 5 6 7 8. 3. Sound Learning or Wisdom in things of so high a Nature as are the matters of Salvation will not be attain'd without Hard Study and Earnest Prayer and Humble Submission to Instructions and all this a long time Patiently Endured or rather willingly and delightfully Performed 4. And if the Seeds of Wisdom be not Born with us in a capacious disposition of understanding but contrarily a Natural Unapprehensiveness Blocks up the Way even Time and Labour will never without a Miracle bring any to any great Eminency of Understanding 5. And they that have both Capacity and an Industrious Disposition must have also sound and able and diligent Teachers or at least escape the Hands of Seducers and of partial factious guides 6. There are few Born with good natural Capacities much less with a special dispositive acuteness and few that will be at the pains and patience which the getting of Wisdom doth require and few that will have the happiness of sound and diligent Teachers But fewest of all that will have a concurrence of all these three 7. Therefore there will be but few very Wise Men in the World Ignorance will be common Wisdom will be rare 8. Therefore Errour or false Opinions will be common For unless Men never think of the things of which they are Ignorant or Judge nothing of them one way or other they are sure to err so far as they Judge in Ignorance But when things of greatest Moment are represented as True or False to be believed or rejected the most Ignorant Mind is naturally inclined to pass its Judgment or Opinion of them one way or other and to Apprehend them according to the light he standeth in and to think of them as he is disposed So that Ignorance and Errour will concur 9. He that Erreth doth think that he is in the Right and Erreth not For to Err and to know that he Erreth in Judgment is a Contradiction and Impossible However in Words and Deeds a Man may Err and know that he Erreth 10. He that knoweth not and that Erreth perceiveth not that Evidence of Truth which should make him receive it and which maketh other Men receive it And therefore knoweth not that indeed another is in the right or seeth any more than he 11. Especially when every Man is a Stranger to anothers Mind and Soul as to any immediate inspection And therefore knoweth not