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	love_n	unrighteousness_n	1,721	5	11.1941	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A80782	An abstract of some late characters. Or, how the principall means appointed for our reformation is become the maine fuell of our wickednes. Laid downe in sundry characters of L. Bishops. Dumb dogs. Non-residenciaries. Men-pleasers. Unpreaching ministers, that edify to damnation, by their scandalous living. false wresting. mis-applying the Scripture. So turning the truth of God into a lye, that they may discourage the godly; incourage the wicked. In which the blind world may see, to their shame, how Satan guls them with a multitude of misprisions, and false surmises against the godly; that so he may barricado [sic] their hearts against all good. Necessary to be knowne in these times of discovery.	Cranford, James, d. 1657, attributed name.; Craufurd, James, 17th cent, attributed name.	1643 (1643)	Wing C6851B; Thomason E67_35; ESTC R7704	68,958	47

my mouth Even so when we heare such a Sermon and finde it to excell their accustomed Orations in a Subtile kind of sophistry as though the Sea be in perpetuall agitation yet the Spring-tides rise higher then their fellows We may presently conjecture or rather conclude That Satan hath a speciall hand in this businesse And I doubt not if they would with her acknowledge the truth and neither Turne to the right hand nor to the left but they would confesse the same However Their zeale and fervency to defend the Devils cause proves it sufficiently 1 J●●n 3. 14. when in preaching for him or against the good and goodnesse they are like C●assus who even burst his sides in pleading for Pompey Or if neither of these It is enough we heare Saint James affirme That this Tongue full of deadly poyson issuing from a Corrupt heart fraught with Bitter envy and strife is set on fire from Hell And that this Wisdome is not alone Earthly and Sensuall but Devilish Jam. 3 6. 8. 14 15. Now put all together First Their Alleading GODS Word Secondly Their Mixing of truth with Falshood Thirdly Their Excelling in Wit and Learning Fourthly The Great Helpe and Supply they have from Satan And you will no whit marvell that their preaching so takes with men of the world who count that Preaching which saves soules no better then Foolishnesse For otherwise were not the danger more in the Men then in their Cause Had not these Two Great Curtizans of the world Profanenesse and Antichristianisme so Cunning Pandors I could not but wonder how they should get any but Foolish Customers where the Gospel in many Parishes is so purely taught But these false Prophets as they use the matter are able to seduce if it were possible the very Elect as our Saviour shewes Marke 13. 22. As let there be Two Ministers in the same Parish One a Simon-Magus that is Parson or Curate put in by the Bishop the other a Simon-Peter that is by a Speciall providence chosen Lecturer What 's the issue The one comes in CHRISTS name Therefore him they receive not The other comes in His owne name and him they receive John 5. 43. The Fore-noons man is Of the World and therefore speaks of the World And these men of the World Heare him 1 John 4. 5. The Afternoons man is Of GOD and they Heare him not because they are not of GOD verse 6. Simon-Magus his Sermons are made to Please But withall to Kill As All Poysons Kill not with Griping Torments Some cast into a sleepe Or make men Laugh till they fall downe Dead Simon-Peters to Profit Of whom the LORD speaks Jer. 3. 15. I will give you Pastors according to mine owne heart which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding The Doctrine of the former being like the Angels Book Sweet in the Mouth but Bitter in the Bowels Revel 10. 9. That of the latter like Mithridate Bitter to the Flesh but Soveraigne for the Soule Well knowing that a Mortall wound must be Throughly Searched ere it can be soundly healed And that no Purgative Medicine can bring Health without some Griping And where the LORD is pleased to place such an one It is the Greatest Blessing he can give to that Parish And the people are no lesse bound to him for the vertues he teacheth them then to their Parents for the life they gave them Yet woe is me Naturall and fleshly men are so blockish and withall so ingratefull That they are not onely better pleased with the former for his flattery then with the latter for speaking the truth But commonly they requite their faithfull Minister as Ahab did Micajah the False Prophets Jeremiah Herod John-Baptist and Demetrius Paul whiles they thinke nothing Too much for their Vn-preaching-minister It is not the Searching but the Soothing Ministery that carries away the peoples applause Because they had rather have their Itch clawed then Cured Counsels are like Faces That which is Faire pleaseth Yea for the most part it fares with Doctrines as it doth with meats Those that are least wholsome are most requested That pleaseth us which is sweete to the sense not that which is Wholsome to the Conscience Neither do the common people like these Wasps so much for the Hony in their Combs as for the sting in their Tailes wherewith they gall the godly For as their Memory is like the Boulter which casteth out all the Floure keeping onely the Branne And themselves like the Egyptians who behold the Sunne the Moone the Starres all the Glories of Nature without Admiration yea without Common Regard untill they espy a Crocodile an ugly Serpent and then downe on their Knees to worship it so they will passe over all wholsome Instructions applying whatsoever they heare especially Bitter Invectives and fearfull threatnings to others As This belongs to Puritans That to such and such an one not to themselves Even as one Monkie looking in a glasse things he sees another Monkies face and not his owne In a word These men will make no other use of what they heare then Spiders doe of what they receive Suck out all the Poyson and leave the rest And it is just with GOD it should be so Because they forsake my Law which I set before them and have not obeyed my voyce neither walked therein but have walked after the imagination of their owne heart and after Baalim which their Fathers taught them Therefore thus saith the LORD of Hosts the GOD of Israel Behold I will feed them even this people with Wormwood and give them waters of Gall to drinke Jer. 9. 13. 14 15. Againe more expressely 2 Thes 2. Because they received not the Love of the Truth that they might be saved For this cause GOD shall send them strong delusions that they should beleeve Lies That they all might be damned which beleeve not the Truth but had pleasure in unrighteousnesse vers 10 11 12. This is a Sure but a Sore Judgement Will they not adhere to the GOD of Truth They shall be turned over to the Father of Lies Because Ahab will not beleeve Micajah Therefore a Lying Spirit shall deceive his Prophets to deceive him The Jewes had forbidden the Sober Prophets to prophesie Therefore they shall have Drunken Prophets that shall Propkesie of Wine and strong drinke and walke in the Spirit of Falshood Mica 2. 11. Jer. 5. 30 31. Isa 30. 10. 2 Tim. 4. 3 4. Such a people such a Prophet am I speaking of For 2. In stead of Converting he Perverteth his Hearers dealing with them as an Ill Physitian with his Patient that purgeth away the Good Humours and leaves the Bad behind them Or as Vermine doe by Poultry that suck out the best bloud from them and leave onely the refuse His Sermons being worse then so many infectious bits of meat For as that causeth all the wholsome food a man hath eaten to be vomited up so it selfe is vomited up with all

the Church live like fiends abroad Teach the words of God and doe the workes of the devill Secondly Who will not loath the good light of such candles for the stinke which the tallow yeelds As it fared with the Cardinall of Cremona and Popes Legate sent from Rome to London especially for this end to remove marryed Clergy men from their Cures who after he had made a long speech in disgrace of honourable marriage was found the same night committing folly with an whore And Honorius the second Pope of Rome who condemned of adultery all the English Clergie that had Wives and was taken himselfe the same night committing adultery Which made him scorned of the meanest as Jupiters adultery did discredit his thunder even among children The Romans laughed Sylla to scorne for that he being a man most intemperate did notwithstanding exhort and compell others to sobriety temperancy and frugality And the Venetians their Cardinall when in the time of their troubles he would earnestly exhort them in the Pulpit to Peace and concord but when out of the Church he sowed nothing but sedition and strife If we heare a Mountebanke undertake to cure the distempered heat of the liver whiles himselfe hath a fiery face will we beleeve him when one forewarnes others of that pit whereinto himselfe runs headlong Points others the way to Heaven but will not move a foot in that path himselfe excessively loves the world while he teaches others to contemne it Commends the crosse to others which himselfe abhorres What can we thinke but that he exhorts others to contemne riches and pleasures that he might be rich and voluptuous alone As the Foxe dispraised the Grapes he would keepe for his owne tooth Yea Thirdly Who will not both twit the man and scorne his counsell as that Citizen of Rome did Pope Innocent the third who perceiving him to make faire weather with Otho the fourth and Fredericke the second contending for the Empire and in a solemne and eloquent Oration hearing him speake much of the agreement and unity which ought to be among Christian Princes when privately he laboured nothing but to make enmity and strife betweene them Answered him boldly thus Holy Father Your words seeme to be of GOD but your deeds are thereto so contrary that they surely proceed from the Devill We may spend our spirits and Preach our hearts out to disswade mens affections from the love of this world if we imbrace it our selves they will never beleeve us For thus they will argue Certainely If these Ministers did speake as they thinke they would doe as they speake If they did thinke their doctrine were true and good they that preach it would live thereafter Wherefore in vaine doe we rebuke those sinnes abroad which we tolerate at home That man onely makes himselfe ridiculous that leaving his owne house on fire runs to quench his neighbours For which read Rom. 2. 19. to 24. 1 Cor. 9. 27. I know these men have a distinction a scurvy one to helpe themselves withall For if you seeme to mislike their doings they will answer You must doe as wee say and nor as wee doe Which is a bad excuse fit for so bad a cause As if they should say Wee would have you to be Godly but we will not be godly we would have you to be saved but wee our selves will not be saved An Argument more like to confirme them in Atheisme then to cleare their doubts For what will they thinke These and many more pretend it is good being religious and holy and presse others to it But they have some other by-ends in it for they are not ignorant of what they doe Therefore whatsoever they say we will not beleeve them But as they doe so will we doe and we hope to speed as well as they Not that it ought to be so For simply considered the confession of vertue is of no lesse consequence in his mouth that hateth the same for as much as truth by force doth wrest it from him And though he will not admit it in him at least to adorne himselfe hee will sometimes put it on Secondly neither are the people more prone to despise what they say then to imitate what they doe Like sheepe we are apt of our selves to erre Esay 53. 6. But if the Bell-Weather or Leading-Sheepe takes a vagary all the flocke will follow him Whence it hath ever beene the dangerous policy of Satan to assault principall men both in Church and State knowing the multitude as we say of Bees will follow their Master The facts of eminent persons become Examples Those Examples Lawes and it is naturall to men to follow the Law of fact before the Law of saith A visible patterne rather then a meere audible Doctrine Yea we refuse to be led by precepts but are easily overled by presidents My people saith GOD are lost like Sheepe Jer. 50. And what followes Their Shepheards have caused them to goe astray they have turned them away from me vers 6. From the Pastors example they all take fire as one Torch lights many Thus the multitude took fire from the chiefe Priests and Elders to Crucifie CHRIST and the souldiers likewise Matth. 27. 20. c. That many-headed Monster the Mutinous rout resemble Claudius the Emperour who as Tacitus observes did neither Love nor Hate but as he was provoked and induced thereunto by others d ee any of the Rulers or of the Pharisees beleeve on him John 7. 48. Pastors are the Glasse the Schoole the Booke Where peoples eyes doe learne doe read doe look GOD sets them for Copies of Sanctification unto their flock wherein every fault is both notable and dangerous For what scholar will not think himselfe excused in following his copy If the Rule or Square be crooked it cannot be expected the things that are applied to them should be streight 1 Cor. 8. 10. 11. 13. But we need no better proofe of this then our owne experience Doe not we see in most Parishes especially in the Countrey that of the Prophet fulfilled Like Priest like People Hos 4. 9 6. 9. Esay 24. 2. Doth it not commonly fare betweene the Pastor and his Congregation as it doth betweene the Figtree and the Vineyard wherein it is planted which if it be fruitfull it selfe all the whole Vineyard is fruitfull too but if it be barren it maketh all the Vines barren with it If the blind lead the blind both fall into the ditch Luke 6. 39. that is If the wicked lead the wicked both goe to hell together The vicious life of a Pastor is like an excessive Rheume which rising from the stomach to the head doops down upon the Lungs and fretteth the most noble and vitall parts till all the members languish into corruption Men will follow their guides untill they have lost themselves 3. Neither is this all the mischiefe these Ministers doe for the people will not onely think their Pastors hypocrisie a sufficient warrant