Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	church_n	doctrine_n	time_n	4,041	5	3.7132	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A85485	The progresse of divine providence, set out in a sermon preached in the Abbey Church of Westminster before the house of Peers, on the 24th of September, 1645. being the day of their monethly fast. / By William Gouge, one of the members of the Assembly.	Gouge, William, 1578-1653.	1645 (1645)	Wing G1393; Thomason E302_25; ESTC R200284	30,328	48

be accounted a good beginning wherein many rejoyced but no publike reformation was wrought thereupon About an hundred and fifty years after the Lord did better then at that beginning For he stirred up both King and Parliament to goe further in suppressing Popery and advancing the Gospel Witnesse that Act of Parliament in Henry the eight his dayes whereby the Popes usurped authority in England was taken away and liberty given to the King to reform abuses crept into the Church The King by vertue thereof sent out injunctions for removing images reading the holy Scriptures and performing all divine Service in English preaching Gods Word Catechising children and observing other duties of piety so as the Gospel began to shine forth somewhat brightly in England Only it was much obscured by an other Act of Parliament even in that Kings time which established Transubstantiation communion in one kinde private Masses Auricular confession Vowes of chastity and prohibiting Priests marriages 3. About seven yeares after that King being dead and his Sonne King Edward the sixth a childe of nine yeares old yet another Iosiah set on the throne God did better for England then before For the foresaid Act commonly called the scourge with six strings was repealed and a more thorow reformation established But even then many of the peoples hearts so lingred after Romish superstition as the Israelites did after the high places in the raigne of Asa Iehoshaphat and other good Kings so as this goodly reformation continued but six yeares For God tooke away that good young King After whose death a popish bloody Queen utterly defaced the foresaid Reformation and brought in that darke cloud of Popery which overshadowed this whole Land 4. God being mindefull of his goodnes to his Church within five yeares after raised up blessed Queen Elizabeth in whose raigne that darke cloud of Popery was more thorowly dispelled then ever before and Religion in regard of the truth and soundnesse of doctrine was restored to as full an integrity as ever it was in the Christian Church since the Apostles time A grave learned and judicious out-landish Divine giveth this testimony of Queen Elizabeth that under her that was granted to her Kingdome which he knew not whether it were given to any other Kingdome or no namely an intire profession of the pure and sincere doctrine of the Gospel More learned and stout Champions were in her raigne raised up to maintaine the same faith then ever before in this Kingdome 5. There is yet another reformation now begun in this Land which being added to the former evidently demonstrates that God doth intend better things then at our beginnings This is the Reformation of the Discipline and Government of the Church concerning which the foresaid judicious Divine thus saith If to the profession of true Doctrine a full reformation of Ecclesiasticall Discipline be also added surely I see not what England can more desire If any shall object that in many respects the state of our Church hath growne worse and worse I answer that by reason of our sluggishnesse want of zeal and unworthy walking of that light which God graciously afforded clouds of errour and superstition gathered together as by the negligence and wickednesse of the Israelites the Canaanites were not utterly destroyed but proved to be snares and traps unto them and scourges in their sides and thornes in their eyes Yet God did time after time remove those impediments and cause the light of his Gospel more and more brightly to shine forth Why then may not we yet looke for better things then at the beginning of our Reformation and hope that as then the Doctrine of the Gospel was restored to the purity of it so the Government also of the Church be restored to its purity Comfort your selves in these sad times with this hope 6. Gods reserving his better things to the later times ministreth unto us who have been reserved unto these later times much matter of gratulation The least of us which live in this Kingdome of God stiled for the celestiall excellency thereof the Kingdome of Heaven The least of us I say is greater then he of whom it is said Among them that are borne of women there hath not risen a greater Had we lived in the ancient former times and believed the promises of things exhibited in these times how should we have enquired and searched after them The Prophets so did How should we have desired to see them Many Prophets and Kings so did How should we have rejoyced to see this day Abraham so did Now that we are reserved to live in this time to hear see and enjoy these better things should not our hearts be filled with praises and our mouths opened to utter the same God hath made an abundant recompence unto us who live in these later dayes for putting off our time of living in this world so long It is to our unspeakable advantage and benefit and shall not God have the praise thereof True believers now have greater cause then old Zachary had to sing and say Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his people Yea then old Simeon had to say Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy salvation These old men saw but the Sunne-rising of the Gospel We see it shining forth in the full brightnesse thereof Should not we then be thankfull even for the times wherein we live Well may I from the fore-mentioned Doctrine raise an Exhortation of worthy walking that is of carrying our selves answerably to this good Providence of God in reserving us to the enjoying of better things This worthy walking in generall is much pressed in Scripture We charge you that you would walke worthy of God who hath called you to his Kingdome and Glory We cease not to desire that you might walke worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing I beseech ye that ye walke worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called This word {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} worthy doth not intend any merit but a meer meetnesse no condignity but a congruity and correspondency to that whereunto it is referred This is evident by that phrase which the Baptist useth where he exhorteth to bring forth fruits worthy repentance which our last and best Translators thus turne Fruits meet for repentance And in the margin thus Fruits answerable to amendment of life If in that place {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} worthy should be taken for any matter of desert it might be thus translated Fruits which deserve repentance that is such as are to be repented of And what are those fruits thinke ye surely evil such as those whereof the Apostle thus saith What fruit had you then of those things whereof you are now ashamed For the end of those things is death A catalogue of

they watch for your soules To shew that this kinde of Government doth not intrench upon the authority of the civill Magistrate let the difference betwixt them be well observed and that in these three particulars 1. Civill Magistrates command in their owne name or in the name of a superiour civill Magistrate thus I charge you in the name of the King But Church-Governours in the name of Christ 2. Civill Magistrates require obedience to themselves Church-Governours to Christ 3. Civill Magistrates presse on their subjects their own Lawes as Statutes and Ordinances made by themselves Church-Governours the Ordinances of Christ 4 The progresse of Gods Providence to the better is a great aggravation of the ungracious and ungratefull disposition of many people if not of most whom God hath reserved to these later times God hath graciously done better for them and they deale worse with God Such are 1. They who remaine blinde and ignorant under the cleare light of the Gospel A wonder it is that there should be so little knowledge where there is so plentifull means of knowledge Note an Apostles doom of such If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost whose eyes the God of the world hath blinded 2. They who are unstable and carryed about with every winde of doctrine notwithstanding the evident demonstration of the truth now made known unto us The Apostle resembles them to children whereas for the time we ought to be as grown strong men 3. Such as are ever weak in faith full of doubts and fears Oft doth Christ check his Disciples for this Such come farre short in strength of faith of those who lived before these better times Witnesse that catalogue of believers which the Apostle maketh Heb. 11. 4. Such as take advantage from the abundance of Gods mercy to exceed in sinne In the Apostles time upon this gracious extent of grace to great sinners Where sin abounded grace did much more abound some made this impious and unjust inference let us continue in sinne that grace may abound These make sinne the proper procuring cause of Gods grace which is every way free only God takes occasion from the misery whereinto sin implungeth man to extend mercy unto him and that abundance of sinne may not hinder the current of his grace he causeth it to abound Besides they who inferre the fore-said unjust consequence apply that to sins future which is spoken of sins past and extend that to obstinate and impenitent sinners which is intended to such as groan under the burden of their sins 5. Such as from the comfortable Doctrine of Election to life inferre that they shall assuredly be saved though they live never so lewdly not considering that they who are ordained to the end are ordained to the means that bring to that end 6. Such as from Gods wisdom in bringing good out of evil take occasion to do evil upon this pretence that good may come The Apostle most justly makes this inference upon theirs whose damnation is just implying thereby that damnation is their due and that most justly 7. Such as upon Gods pardoning a sinner whensoever he repents put off their repentance not considering that men have not power to repent when they will so as such may never repent and never be pardoned 8. Such as from that liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free imagine that they are freed from all obedience to the morall Law whereas that liberty is only from the rigour of the Law which bindes to a perfect fullfilling thereof in every part point and degree of it and from the curse thereof 9. Such as deny the morality of the Christian Sabbath and profane it with all manner of sports because the ancient day is changed by vertue of Christs resurrection All these and other like them turn the grace of God into lasciviousnesse that is into all kinde of licentious living An Apostle gives this verdict of them They were of old ordained to condemnation 10. All that having escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ are again entangled therein and overcome and willfully sinne after they have received the knowledge of the truth In a word all apostates from the true faith deal most ungraciously and ungratefully with God I may well use Moses his exprobration against them Do yee thus requite the Lord O foolish people and unwise The fore-mentioned Gospel-sins and others like unto them doe much grieve the good Spirit of God and they that commit them go far in treading under foot the Sonne of God and counting the blood of the Covenant wherewith they were sanctified an unholy thing By the means of grace they are exalted unto heaven but by their abuse thereof they are brought down unto hell So as the woe denounced against those among whom Christ much conversed may be applied to these The inference which the Apostle maketh upon Gospel-sinners cannot but terrifie such as heed it it is this He that despised Moses Law died without mercy Of how much sorer punishment suppose yee shall he be thought worthy who hath treden under foot the Sonne of God c. But from these Uses of errour and terrour I proceed to Uses of another kinde 5. Much consolation may be gathered by faithfull ones from the continuall encrease of Gods providence in such sad doubtfull dangerous daies as these our daies are For we may with confidence expect better things The daies wherein the Prophet first uttered this prophecy were worse daies then ours are and to comfort the faithfull that then lived and such others as should from age to age live after them he revealed this promise There are more particular promises concerning a future glory of the Christian Church set down by the Prophets in the old Testament and by Christ and his Apostles in the new especially in the book of the Revelation then we have either heard of or seen in our daies to be accomplished The glorious City described Revel. 21. 10 c. is by many judicious Divines taken for a type of a spirituall glorious estate of the Church of Christ under the Gospel yet to come and that before his last comming to judgement I passe by all conceits of our later Chiliasts or Millenaries whom in English we may call Thousandaries who imagine that Christ shall personally come down from heaven in that nature in which after his resurrection he ascended into heaven and raign here a thousand years with his Saints The certainty of this I leave to be proved by them who are the broachers thereof But this is most certain that there are yet better things to come then have been since the first calling of the Gentiles Among other better things to come the recalling of the Jews is most clearly and plentifully fore told