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	faith_n	reveal_v	5,457	5	8.8529	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65927	A discourse of the necessity of Revelation and an holy life deliver'd in a visitation-sermon at Guilford, October 7, 1697 / by William Whitfeld.	Whitfeld, William, 1658-1717.	1698 (1698)	Wing W2014; ESTC R26358	13,394	24

believe without declaring any thing of his hidden Wisdom in their wonderful Production which therefore when we speak of we speak and understand as Children Indeed our knowledge in these things is much enlarg'd by the Revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ who hath brought Life and Immortality to light but yet there are still remaining many Mysteries in the Work of our Redemption far above the reach and capacity of our Natural Reason to comprehend which in this Life we must content our selves to view only in a Giass darkly and not expect to behold them now as we shall hereafter Face to Face and to see as we shall be seen And it is the high Privilege of the Gospel that we may behold these Wonders of the Lord in this Glass which the Law as the Apostle saith look'd upon thro' a Veil but it is our advantage to see those Promises of God fulfilled which our Forefathers beheld at a great distance from their Completion and by the Light of Prophecy only which shone in a dark place or else thro' Types and Figures But since it pleased God to require so strong a Proof of Abraham's Faith that hoping even against Hope and not staggering at the Promise of God thro' unbelief He rejoyc'd to see the day of the Lord and He saw it even thro' this thick and gloomy Veil and was glad much more reasonably may God expect from us that we should now be fully perswaded that what he hath promised he hath been able also to perform since it is given to us to see the performances of our God to adore his Goodness in the fulfilling all his Promises and in the completion of his Predictions and to read the Mysteries of our Redemption in the Gospels of Jesus Christ And this Information not coming otherwise unto us but from the Reveal'd Word of God gives us a sure Ground for our Belief and for our Knowledge likewise in these Mysteries in which we cannot with any shadow of Pretence complain that we have not a good Foundation for our Faith no more being requir'd to be believ'd concerning them but as much as is Reveal'd of them by God nor any thing farther necessary to be known of them but what is declar'd by him nor otherwise than as he hath declar'd In this assurance we stand unmov'd against all vain Suggestions of the impossibility of there being any such Mysteries in the Christian Religion and of our own incapacity to believe things which our Vnderstanding cannot comprehend Which assertions proceed from a bold but mistaken Philosophy ignorant of the great Power of God and not rightly distinguishing between the measure of Knowledge sufficient for Faith and for Demonstration nor knowing that where the Veracity of the Affirmer and the Power of the Author of any Miracle are unquestionable there we have a good Authority to believe his Relation of any thing tho' it shall be wonderful and far above our Capacity to comprehend Now what God hath affirm'd we have this reason to believe and as far as we are capable of apprehending the Truth of a Proposition in which any Mystery is revealed by him so far the Mystery becomes a necessary object of our Faith and we may be said to understand enough of it to believe even when we cannot comprehend the manner and way by which it was produc'd which when they are not Reveal'd we say remain a Mystery still and when they are Reveal'd they are often so likewise being above our Understanding in as much as the Power that wrought is infinitely superiour to all our Faculties of Reasoning For Example In the Incarnation of Christ because God hath declar'd this in the Gospel it is therefore an Article of the Christian Faith but because the incomprehensible Union of the two Natures of perfect God and perfect Man is not shewn and would have far surpass'd all our Knowledge if it had been Reveal'd it is therefore as the Apostle saith a Great Mystery without all Controversie God manifest in the Flesh Nevertheless we may say that we have some Notion in our Minds of what we believe herein for the Truth of this Proposition God took upon him the Nature of Man being there is no contradiction in the Terms may be conceiv'd in our Minds And since we can conceive the Truth of this Mystery and have a full assurance likewise of the Truth of that which the God of all Power and Truth hath declar'd we may affirm that we do understand what we believe in this great Article of our Faith and that we have a sufficient measure of Knowledge for our Belief and we may shew the Reasons why we do believe it It is I know impossible for the Eye of Natural Reason to look clearly and strongly into the Works and Counsels of Almighty God but this can be no Objection either against our apprehending the Truth of these Works and Counsels so far as they shall be Revealed nor can the weakness of of our Understanding be any hindrance to our believing them after they have been declar'd by God For Example It will not be deny'd I suppose that Almighty God hath Created this World out of Nothing and we conceive what we mean when we profess in our Creed that we do believe it But our Belief and Knowledge of this must depend upon the Authority of Revetation and not upon the strength and powers of Natural Reason for from this we can have no Idea in our Minds of this beautiful Frame produc'd to be and arising up from the Term of not Being but we have from that an assurance of the Truth of it We do in like manner agree in believing the Omnipotence of our Creator but what Notion can our narrow Understanding receive of the ubiquity and plenitude of his Presence Now if these things do far exceed all the Limits and Powers of Natural Reason more especially so doth the wonderful Mystery of our Redemption by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ the greatest Work by far of God's Power and Love to Mankind which in its full extent can never lye within the compass of Human Knowledge nor ever become naturally the Object of it being that which neither Eye hath seen nor Ear heard nor could it ever have entred into the Heart of Man without a particular Revelation from God From whence alone it is that we come to know the truth of this Mystery and to apprehend in some measure what is meant by the words of a Proposition wherein we profess our belief of a thing far above our Comprehension and from whence we have in like manner the same Notion of all the most marvellous workings of God's Love for the compleating our Redemption which are and will continue to be Mysteries so long as our Understanding is Finite and not commensurate to the Power of an Almighty Being and Infinite Spirit whose Mercies as well as Judgments are unsearchable and his Mightiness to save past finding out This may serve to