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	receive_v	unrighteousness_n	1,743	5	11.2223	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07215	The anatomie of sorcerie VVherein the wicked impietie of charmers, inchanters, and such like, is discouered and confuted. By Iames Mason, Master of Artes.	Mason, James, M.A.	1612 (1612)	STC 17615; ESTC S112409	64,423	108

dry ground onely and it should be turned into blood and in the 7. cap. of Exod. vers 17. he commaundeth him to stretch out his hand with the rodde in it ouer the waters they should be blood yea God doth bring to passe contrarie things by one and the selfe same meanes as in the 14. cap. of Exod. the sea is both made dry for the Israelites to go ouer and the waters returne againe to couer the Egyptians when Moses stretcheth forth his hand ouer the same as before Nay seeing the Lord is omnipotent he can doe what he will as well without as with meanes but that it pleaseth him to exercise his children to attend vpon his ordinances and not to feine vnto themselues deuises of their owne braine which the Lord alloweth not as doe the cunning men and women in these our daies thinking thereby to worke those wonders which they desire The which although the Lord permitteth the diuell to bring to passe for them yet is it not therefore a necessary consequent that God is the author or allower of this their worke for God doth it other-whiles to try them as he saith in the 13. cap. of Deuteronomy So the sorcerers of Egypt in the 7. cap. of Exod. did bring to passe some things by their inchantments as did Moses and Aaron by the finger of God whereby the heart of Pharaoh was hardened And if it be so will some say how shall we discerne the seruants of God from the seruants of the diuell in this behalfe To these I answer that albeit it be not very easie especially to the children of disobedience as the spirit of God by Saint Paul 2. Thess. cap. 2. speaking of Antichrist the man of sinne saith that his comming is by the working of Satan with all power and signes and lying wonders and in all deceiueablenesse of vnrighteousnesse among them that perish because they did not receiue the loue of the truth that they might be saued And therefore God shall send them strong delusions that they should beleeue lies that all they might be damned which beleeued not the truth but had pleasure in vnrighteousnesse And our Sauiour Christ in the 24. cap. of the Gospell after Saint Mathew saith that there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall shew great signes and wonders so that if it were possible they should deceiue the very elect Yet they may be discerned by three especial means and notes viz. First by their vocation calling Secondly by their manner of working And thirdly by the end and intent of their working As for the first it is euident that in the primitiue Church the gift and grace of miracles working was annexed vnto the Ecclesiasticall function as it appeareth in the 12. cap. of the 1. epist. Cor. vers 28. where Saint Paul saith that God hath ordeined in the Church first Apostles secondly Prophets thirdly teachers then doers of miracles after that the gifts of healing helpers gouernours diuerse tongues And therfore the Papists least they should seeme any thing to be inferiour vnto the primitiue Church haue like apes appointed Exorcistae as they tearme them for one of their ecclesiasticall orders albeit in vaine they hauing not their inward calling from God Who at the first planting of his Gospell did bestow this grace vpon his Church that whereas the onely preaching of the word tooke little or none effect yet by those miracles which they see done in the Church they might be conuerted and acknowledge the truth Thus the Lord when he sent Moses vnto the children of Israel to tell them that by his hand God would deliuer them out of their bondage in Egypt because that Moses seemed to doubt least they would not beleeue Therefore the Lord appointed him to worke miracles before them at the sight whereof they beleeued Exod. cap. 4. And Sergius Paulus in the 13. cap. of the Actes of the Apostles when he did see the miraculous striking of Elimas the sorcerer blind is said to beleeue and to be astonied at the doctrine of the Lord. So also the Iaylour in the 16. cap. of the Actes was conuerted to the faith when he saw the miracle wrought in the prison where whilest Paul and Silas prayed and sung psalmes in the night suddainely there was a great earth-quake so that the foundation of the prison was shaken and by and by all the prison dores opened and euery mans bonds were loosed And the ruler in the 4. cap. of the Gospell after Saint Iohn with all his houshould beleeued in our Sauiour Iesus Christ when he had seene the miracle which he had done in healing of his sonne To these I may adde that which Saint Paul saith in the 14. cap. of the 1. epist. Cor. vers 22. where affirming the miraculous gift of languages to be a signe vnto those that beleeue not seemeth to insinuate the like end and effect of other miracles And experience doth approoue the same For since the time of Constantine the great that the Christian religion hath bin publikely professed and by godly Emperours maintained the gift of miracles hath ceased Many more proofes might be alleadged to this purpose but because this matter hath beene handled before in a fitter as I take it and a more conuenient place I wil therefore passe it ouer and returne to the point which I had in hand against the which it may be obiected that Tertullian in his bookes de Idololatria and de Corona militis seemeth to affirme that marchants and souldiers did miracles in his time and therefore this gift is not alwaies annexed to the Ecclesiasticall function To this it may be answered That although their outward vocation seemed to be meere laick as they tearme it yet were they inwardly and extraordinarily called of God to the working of miracles to the which no doubt was ioyned the preachin of the Gospell either by themselues or els some other of the clergy So Saint Paul albeit a most excellent Apostle and preacher of the Gospell in the Church of God is said to be a Tent-maker and wrought of the same trade for his liuing as it is set downe in the 18. cap. of the Actes vers 3. so that a mechanical trade or any other honest and lawfull profession of trafficke in marchandize or warrefare doth not exclude them altogether from being of the clergy But as for our cunning men as we tearme them what ecclesiasticall function haue they or how doth their profession belong thereunto Seeing that for ordinarie callings we haue none such in our Churches except as I said it be among the Papists wherein how ridiculous they are who seeth not which is not wilfully blinded And that they haue no such like extraordinarie calling it appeareth plainely both by reason and experience For as our Sauiour Christ in the 4. chapter of S. Marke vers 21. and Saint Luke the 8. cap. vers 16. saith that a candle is not lighted to be put vnder a bushell

therefore say that Christians are altogether without faith God forbid that we should thinke so badly of God his people For they haue iustifying faith but that which they call the faith of miracles is alreadie ceased For seeing that the ende of working miracles was to confirme the word as Saint Paul saith 1. Cor. cap. 14. vers 22. of the miraculous gift of languages that it was a token to them that beleeue not and not to them that beleeue to prepare and mooue their mindes to the imbracing of the Gospel which Gospel beeing now a great while since sufficiently prooued and the truth therof established by miracles what needeth the continuance of the said gift amongst vs And that the gift of working miracles was but for a certaine time at the beginning onely bestowed vpon his Church as diuers other spirituall gifts were which are rehearsed in the 12. chap. of the 1. Epist. Cor. it is very manifest because that all the rest of miraculous gifts there recited are ceased out of vse at this present Wherefore the wizzards of these our daies howsoeuer they colour their legerdemaine in this behalfe yet they are farre from the true practise of working miracles giuen and accepted of God by reason that the vse thereof is ceased with the end for which it was giuen and ordained Neither are we to thinke that the hand of the Lord is shortened therby no more then it was when Manna ceased among the Israelites But the Lord knoweth and doth alwaies that which is most conuenient and profitable both for his owne glorie and for our eternall comfort Yea by his prouidence he so moderateth the particular actions of all those vpon whome hee bestoweth this grace of working miracles that they doe nothing in this behalfe but onely as he doth direct and assigne them So Moses did his miracles alwaies at God his appointment and the disciples of our Sauiour Iesus Christ could not heale the lunaticke childe in the 17. chap. of Saint Matthew Howbeit at other times they did greater wonders And the Prophet Nathan in the second booke of Samuel cap. 7. because he was not first directed by God failed in giuing counsaile vnto Dauid to build the temple Neither may wee thinke that it hath beene otherwise in this case with any other of the seruants of God For albeit it bee not expressed alwaies in the scripture yet it is out of doubt that were inwardly ledde by the spirit of God to doe euery particular miracle that they wrought euen as the disciples of our Sauiour Christ were what they should speake in the 10. chapter of Matth. where our Sauiour Christ saith vnto them Take no thought how or what ye shall speake for it shall be giuen you in that houre what ye shall say for it is not ye that speake but the spirit of your father which speaketh in you Wherefore our Sauiour Christ in the 9. chapter of the Gospel after Saint Luke findeth fault with his disciples because they would haue had fire to come downe from heauen vpon the Samaritans as Elias did procure to fall vpon the two fifties of men and their leaders in the 2. booke of the Kings cap. 1. saying that they knew not of what spirit they were as though he should haue said If that ye did know and consider as the truth is that Elias was mooued by the spirit of God to execute his iudgement vpon those men and that ye are onely ledde by your desire of reuenge ye would neuer haue motioned this matter for now ye aske ye wot not what But those that are counted cunning men amongst vs doe at no time looke for God his direction but for the opposition and coniunction of the planets with a sort of other vaine and wicked obseruations fitter for heathen men thē for those that beare the names of Christians which God hath flatly forbidden in the 18. chapter of Deuteronomy and Leuiticus cap. 19. vers 26. and by the Prophet Ieremy he saith cap. 10. Learne not the way of the heathen and bee not afraid for the signes of heauen though the heathen bee afraid of such for the customes of the people are vaine For the right vse of the starres and the motions thereof is set downe by God himselfe in the 1. cap. of Gen. vers 14 and 15. in these wordes And God said let there be lights in the firmament of heauen to separate the day from the might and let them be for signes and for seasons and for daies and yeares and let them be for lights in the firmament of heauen to giue light vpon the earth The like impietie is to be found in these men when they appoint and set downe vnto themselues and their disciples in what place such and such wonders are to be wrought As though the power of God were tied to one place more then vnto another Wherein they are like the Aramites in the 20. cap. of the 1. booke of the King when they say that the God of Israel is God of the mountaines and not of the valleies and therefore the Lord slew them with the edge of the sword Furthermore for euery particular miracle God directeth if it be done as it should be the meanes and manner how it should be wrought either outwardly by his word or inwardly by his spirit Thus the Lord when he did send Moses to worke miracles before Pharaoh Exod. the 7 8 and 9 chapters He instructeth and telleth him after what manner he should doe them So when he ledde the children of Israel ouer Iorden by the hand of Iehosuah cap. 3. he biddeth him to command the priests that did beare the Arke of the couenant that when they came to the brinke of the waters of Iorden they should stand stil in Iorden whereby the people went ouer that riuer dry In like manner in the 6. cap. of the booke of Iehosuah the Lord declareth vnto Iehosuah what he will haue done that the walles of the citie of Iericho might fall downe before the children of Israel the which being once done the wall sell flat downe so the people went vp into the citie euery man straight before him And they tooke the city So in the 1. booke of the Kings cap. 13. assoone as the man of God had vttered the word of the Lord against the altar it claue asunder and the ashes fell out But in the 2. booke of the King cap. 4. because that Elisha did presume of himselfe without the Lord his direction to deuise a course to raise the womans child being dead to life againe by laying the staffe vpon the childes face by the hand of Gehazi his seruant therefore it tooke no effect Neither ought we to imagine by this that God is tyed to these or any other meanes of like sort For he doth the selfe same sometimes by one meanes sometimes by another as in the 4. cap. of Exod. vers 9. he biddeth Moses to powre the water of the riuer vpon the