Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A03735
|
The sufficiencie of the spirits teaching, without humane-learning: or A treatise, tending to proue humane-learning to be no help to the spirituall understanding of the Word of God. Written (if it may be) for the silencing of such false and scandalous reports, as have been rumored about concerning this matter; and also for the affording of true information to all such as desire to know the truth. By Samuel How
|
How, Samuel.
|
1640
(1640)
|
STC 13855; ESTC S104246
|
42,052
|
46
|
THE SVFFICIENCIE OF THE SPIRITS TEACHING WITHOUT HVMANE-LEARNING OR A TREATISE TENDING TO PROUE HVMANE-LEARNING TO BE NO HELP TO the Spirituall understanding of the Word of GOD Written if it may be for the Silencing of such false and scandalous reports as have been rumored about concerning this Matter and also for the affording of true information to all such as desire to know the Truth By SAMUEL HOW Prov. 14.5 A Faithfull witnesse will not lye but a false record will speake lyes Esay 57.14 Cast ye up cast ye up prepare the way take up the stumbling blocke out of the way of my people Mal. 2.1 2. And now ô ye Priests this Commandement is for you if ye will not heare it nor consider it in your heart to give glory to my name saith the Lord of hosts I will even send a curse upon you and will curse your blessings yea I have cursed them already because ye do not consider it in your heart Mat. 11.25.26 At that time Iesus answered and said I thanke thee ô Father Lord of heaven and earth because thou hast hid these things from the wise and men of understanding and hast revealed them unto babes even so Father because thy good pleasure was such Luk. 16.15 Then he said unto them ye are they that justify your selves before men but God knowes your hearts for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God Mat. 11.6 And Blessed is he that shall not be offended in me See also Esay 29.14 and Rev. 2.24.25 Seen Allowed and Printed by us c. 1640. TO ALL SVCH AS LOVE THE TRUTH IN SINSERITY LIGHT AND UNDERSTANDING BE MULTIPLYED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST GODS Gracious Promise it is Christian Reader that by the * 2 Thes 2.8 breath of his mouth and the brighnesse of his comming he will reveale the Man of Sin and Sonne of Perdition Yet thus witnesseth the Spirit that when it shall so come to passe that the Viall of Gods wrath shall be ‡ Reve. 16.10 11. powred upon the Throne of the Beast to the darkening of his Kingdome and discovering of those strong Delusions whereby he hath long deluded the world that then the men of that throne shall gnaw their tongues for sorrow and shall blaspheme the God of heaven All which to me appeares to be fulfilled and made good concerning this following Treatise 1. that when as the Lord by his Word the breath of his mouth hath blown out some smoake of the bottomlesse pit which I conceive to be Humane-Learning which is so much magnified as being a helpe whereby to understand the mind of God This matter hath so vexed and tormented the men of that Throne that even He himselfe at whose request I was moved to open this portion of Scripture 2 Pet. 3.16 hath as I am credibly informed reported about this City that I made a Calfe meaning a false and unsound exposition and when I had done danced about it herein exposing not onely me but the very Truth it selfe which I in this point delivered to the derision and contempt and Table-talke of such as bad rather be deceived and beleeve their Learned Teachers as men call them on their bare word having the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of Glory with respect of Persons then to receive and justifie the Truth of God if the Messenger be weake and contemptible and his message in power much plainesse and demonstration of the spirit And not beautified with the excellency of speech and swelling words of mans wisdome which is enmity to God It crosseth and opposeth the simplicity of his way in the dispensation of the Glorious Mystery of the Gospell And therfore God hath said of it as Symon Peter said to Symon Magus * Act. 8 21 1 Cor. 1.19 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter But yet me thinks such men ‡ Ephes 5.4 as would carry the shew of Godlinesse should remember the Councel of the Apostle that such Carriages are things not seemly though for my owne part I blesse the Lord for it being to me a more strong confirmation that I have the Truth on my side For thus was ‡ Luk. 16.14 Jesus Christ our Lord served by the Wise and Learned Pharisees when as he taught them such a Doctrine as pleased them not And thus was Paul the Preacher of Righteousnesse dealt by of the leareed § Act. 17.18 Athenians even for preaching Jesus and the Resurrection Likewise I read â—n Heb. 11. that this in former times was part of the tryall that the Lord exercised his Witnesses withall even mockings vers 36. And therfore as our Saviour teacheth me I have in this case great cause to be glad and rejoyce for they having so served Jesus Christ my Lord and his faithfull followers then what am I that I should be one of that number that have so large †Mat. 5.12 incouragement and reward promised I shall therfore quietly passe by all such things and onely * Iob. 21.3 with Job in his distressed condition crave that he and all you that have done this thing will suffer me to speake and when I have spoken mock on seeing as the ‡ Iob. 12.2 Servant of God said Indeed because ye are the people onely Wisdome must dye with you so will I make bold to say to you also Yet for all his understanding and such others as heard me they fayled of their zeale for God and his glory in that they sought not to suppresse and throw down that Calfe of dishonour which must needs being an Idol be a very high provocation in the eyes of his Glory which he that put me upon this Exercise having excepted against it when it was finisht and with much passion manifested his great dislike thereof before many witnesses ought especially and was obliged to have done being then lovingly requested by a friend that was there present for the satisfaction of all that Assembly to Instance if not in all yet at least in some particular Scripture wherein I had perverted it seeing he had openly cast an Aspertion on all that I had said but neither he nor any of his Profession though many were then present did undertake this taske nor yet to this day hath He or any of them endeavoured it So it may appeare my Errour was not so great or none at all that they could prove or else their zeale to God and his Truth and their Charity to Me and othes very small And if there were a Calfe It was their Humane-Learning and wisdome which the men of this Throne set up and themselves danced about it whilest I to their great griefe and discontent was labouring with all the power and might that God assisted me with utterly to cast down grind it to powder and to blow it away with the word of God with the breath of his mouth Whether it be thus or no I commend now to the judgement
other Scriptures to their own destruction and so this is another observation That such as are destitute of the Spirits teaching though furnish with Human-Learning are the perverters and wresters of these and all other Scriptures to their own destruction The truth of this Conclusion appeares plainly confirmed to us in the * Math 5.21 Pharisees as our Saviour declares in many particulars plainly discovering the “ Math. 23. from 16. to 19. blindnesse of these learned teachers in esteeming and preferring of things lesse in themselves above such as were farre greater as the proportion is made betwixt the gold of the Temple and the Temple and the Altar and that which was offred thereon and so blind were they that they counted that most holy which the Temple and the Altar made to be holy and the same ‡ Math 15. from 3. to 7. else â—here appeares that for all their learning they taught directly against the mind of God in his word We may see the same farther commended to us in Bartesus one full of all * Acts 13.6 suâ—â—â—â—â— in this kind but a turner from the Faith and not to it and a perverter of the straight wayes of God The like is to be observed in ‚‘‚ 1 Tim. 1.7 those of whom Paul speaks that would be Doctors of the Law and yet knew not what they said nor whereof they â—ffirmed so wise their Humane-Learning did helpe to make them Now from the word of God good Reasons may be observed further to confiâ—â—e this as first Reas 1 Because nothing but the Spirit of God can bring any to the true knowledge of the word of God and so saith the ‘‚ 1 Cor 2.12 Apostle We have received the Spirit of God that we may know the things that are given us of God and Peter * 2 Pet. 1.20 21. tells us that no Scripture is of any private interpretation but in opposition to that the Apostle sets the Spirit and opposes it to the will of Man and so declares that the Spirits interpretation where it is is a publique interpretation and not private and that Men though indued with great learning having not the Spirit of God can give but a private interpretation according to the Apostles intent let men judge what they will though it be the Pope and all his Councels of Cardinals and Bishops and the rest of that learned rabble yet they being destitute of the Spirit can give but a private interpretation according to the Apostles mind whereas if a Man have the Spirit of God though he be a Pedler Tinker Chimney-sweeper or COBLER he may by the helpe of Gods Spirit give a more publique interpretation then they all for as “ 1 Cor. 15. â—â— 2. Paul saith of love the same is to be said of the Spirit though men did speake with the tongues of Men and Angels and knew all secrets and had all knowledge yet this is but as a sounding brasse or tinckling Cymball without the Spirit Reas 2 Another Reason is because this was one end of Iesus Christ His comming into the world that they that * Ioh. 9.39 see might be made blind and this clearely appeares in the Pharisees those learned wise men that counted the common people as accursed because not knowing the Law and they themselves seeing blessed ones and therfore “ Ioh 7.48 say they Do any of the Rulers or Pharises beleeve in him as touching that the Rulers and Pharises must needs know the Truth whenas these were blind guides as saith our Saviour and so much ‡ Ioh. 9 4â— these took notice of that he so accounted hem and so also those that were blind in mans sight as was the blind man there spoken of He sees the gift of God and beleeves in Iesus Christ for his salvation and yet they refuse the knowledge and light of this seeing § ver 29. man and upbraid him for being born in sins and for going about to teach them scorning that such learned men as they should be taught of such as he was though Iesus Christ hath made him learned and given himselfe for him Another Reason is rendered out of the words 3 Reason Because such are unlearned and unstable ones for as before we have seen such persons are destitute of the true learning so also are they in an unsetled and unstable condition seeing as the Prophet †Psalm 51. witnesseth that the Spirit is the establisher neither can they be rooted and established in the Faith according to the Apostles * Col. 2.7 saying seeing they be not founded on the rock Christ Iesus but on â—he sands of Human-Learning arysing from a fleshly mind destitute of the Spirit of Truth for they have not learned as the Truth is in Iesus Againe 4 Reason it must needs be so that such must pervert the Scriptures because it is impossible for them to goe beyond their pronciple Now their principle is errour as the following words declare and by it they be guided and lead even the whole heape of them as bigge as it is and these shall satisfie mens lusts and turne them from the Faith unto Fables as the “ 2 Tim 4.4.4 Apostle long agoe hath foretold For such as are themselves of the flesh turn all things to fleshlinesse for that is it which they savour for to the uncleane all things are uncleane their Consciences being defiled as ‡ Tit. 1.15 witnesseth the Apostle hence was it that whenas our Saviour § Ioh 2.29 bade the Jewes to destroy this Temple meaning his †ver 29. body they themselves being carnall understood him to speake of the Temple of Ierusalem And so the Capernaites whenas Iesus Christ tells them He will give * Ioh. 6. them of His flesh to eate they being carnall cannot beare it and all because they be destitute of the Sririt vers 53.60.63 Ioh. â— 1.3.4 for it was in a spirituall sense that he intended it And the like is to be seen in Nicodemus a Pharisee and so a learned man being a Teacher and a Ruler of the Jewes this man for all this whenas Iesus Christ tells him that he must be borne againe otherwise he cannot enter into the Kingdome of God he seeing no further then into the naturall birth demands how that could be that a man when he is old should enter into his Mothers wombe and be borne againe so destitute was ne of the spirituall meaning of the mind of Iesus Christ in his word Another Reason me thinks included in the words is Because such Persons are usually vessels of wrath 5 Reason prepared to destruction therfore they drive all to the same end to which themselves belong the Gospell is the savour of life to life in them that are saved but it is the savour of death to them that perish Yet would I not from hence have any to conclude that I deny salvotion to learned men as some