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	error_n	faith_n	4,873	5	5.2360	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64132	A sermon preached in Christs-Church, Dublin, July 16, 1663, at the funeral of the most Reverend Father in God John, late Lord Archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland with a succint narrative of his whole life / by the Right Reverend Father in God Jeremy, Lord Bishop of Down and Connor.	Taylor, Jeremy, 1613-1667.	1663 (1663)	Wing T396; ESTC R11878	29,244	70

he stood up in publick and brave defence for the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church of England First by his Sufferings and great Example for Verbis tantùm philosophari non est Doctoris sed Histrionis To talk well and not to do bravely is for a Comedian not a Divine But this great man did both he suffered his own Calamity with great courage and by his wise Discourses strengthened the hearts of others For there wanted not diligent Tempters in the Church of Rome who taking advantage of the Afflictions of His Sacred Majesty in which state Men commonly suspect every thing and like men in sickness are willing to change from side to side hoping for ease and finding none flew at Royal Game and hop'd to draw away the King from that Religion which His most Royal Father the best Man and the wisest Prince in the world had seal'd with the best Bloud in Christendom and which Himself suck'd in with His Education and had confirm'd by Choice and Reason and confess'd publickly and bravely and hath since restor'd prosperously Millitie●e was the man witty and bold enough to attempt a zelous and a foolish undertaking and address'd himself with ignoble indeed but witty arts to perswade the King to leave what was dearer to Him then His Eyes It is true it was a Wave dash'd against a Rock and an Arrow shot against the Sun it could not reach him but the Bishop of Derry turn'd it also and made it to fall upon the shooters head for he made so ingenious so learned and so accute Reply to that book he so discover'd the Errors of the Roman Church retorted the Arguments stated the Questions demonstrated the Truth and sham'd their Procedures that nothing could be a greater argument of the Bishops Learning great Parts deep Judgment Quickness of Apprehension and Sincerity in the Catholick and Apostolick Faith or of the Follies and Prevarications of the Church of Rome He wrote no Apologies for himself though it were much to be wish'd that as Iunius wrote his own Life or Moses his own story so we might have understood from himself how great things God had done for him and by him but all that he permitted to God and was silent in his own Defences Gloriosius enim est injuriam tacendo fugere quàm respondendo superare But when the Honour and Conscience of his King and the Interest of a true Religion was at stake the fire burn'd within him and at last he spake with his tongue he cried out like the son of Croesus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Take heed and meddle not with the King His Person is too sacred and Religion too dear to Him to be assaulted by Vulgar hands In short he acquited himself in this affair with so much Truth and Piety Learning and Judgment that in those Papers his memory will last unto very late succeeding Generations But this most Reverend Prelate found a nobler adversary and a braver scene for his contention He found that the Roman Priests being wearied and baffled by the wise Discourses and pungent Arguments of the English Divines had studiously declined any more to dispute the particular Questions against us but fell at last upon a general Charge imputing to the Church of England the great crime of Schism and by this they thought they might with most probability deceive unwary and unskilful Readers for they saw the Schism and they saw we had left them and because they consider'd not the Causes they resolv'd to out-face us in the Charge But now it was that dignum nactus argumentum having an Argument fit to imploy his great abilities Consecrat hic praesul calamum calamlque labores Ante aras Domino laeta trophaea suo the Bishop now dedicates his labours to the service of God and of his Church undertook the Question and in a full Discourse proves the Church of Rome not only to be guilty of the Schism by making it necessary to depart from them but they did actuate the Schisms and themselves made the first separation in the great point of the Popes Supremacy which was the Palladium for which they principally contended He made it appear that the Popes of Rome were Usurpers of the rights of Kings and Bishops that they brought in new Doctrines in every Age that they impos'd their own devices upon Christendom as Articles of Faith that they prevaricated the Doctrines of the Apostles that the Church of England only return'd to her Primitive purity that she joyn'd with Christ and his Apostles that she agreed in all the Sentiments of the Primitive Church He stated the questions so wisely and conducted them so prudently and handled them so learnedly that I may truly say they were never more materially confuted by any man since the questions have so unhappily disturbed Christendom Verum hoc eos malè ussit and they finding themselves smitten under the fifth rib set up an old Champion of their own a Goliah to fight against the Armies of Israel the old Bishop of Chalcedon known to many of us replied to this excellent Book but was so answer'd by a Rejoynder made by the Lord Bishop of Derry in which he so press'd the former Arguments refuted the Cavils brought in so many impregnable Authorities and Probations and added so many moments and weights to his discourse that the pleasures of reading the Book would be the greatest if the profit to the Church of God were not greater Flumina tum lactis tum flumina nectaris ibant Flavaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella For so Sampson's riddle was again expounded Out of the strong came meat and out of the eater came sweetness his Arguments were strong and the Eloquence was sweet and delectable and though there start up another combatant against him yet he had onely the honour to fall by the hands of Hector still haeret lateri lethalis arundo the headed arrow went in so far that it could not be drawn out but the barbed steel stuck behind And whenever men will desire to be satisfied in those great questions the Bishop of Derry's book shall be his Oracle I will not insist upon his other excellent writings but it is known every where with what Piety and acumen he wrote against the Manichean Doctrine of Fatal necessity which a late witty man had pretended to adorn with a new Vizor but this excellent person wash'd off the Cerusse and the meretricious Paintings rarely well asserted the oeconomy of the Divine Providence and having once more triumph'd over his Adversary plenus victoriarum trophaeorum betook himself to the more agreeable attendance upon Sacred Offices and having usefully and wisely discours'd of the sacred Rite of Confirmation impos'd hands upon the most Illustrious Princes the Dukes of York and Gloucester and the Princess Royal and ministred to them the promise of the holy Spirit and ministerially establish'd them in the Religion and Service of the holy Jesus And one thing more I

children and he longs to cause them to eat and drink in his Kingdom And at last the wicked shall rise unto condemnation for that must be done too every man in his own order first Christ then Christs servants and at last Christs enemies The first of these is the great ground of our faith the second is the consummation of all our hopes the first is the foundation of God that stands sure the second is that superstructure that shall never perish by the first we believe in God unto righteousness by the second we live in God unto salvation But the third for that also is true must be consider'd is the great affrightment of all them that live ungodly But in the whole Christs Resurrection and ours is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of a Christian that as Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and to day and the same for ever so may we in Christ become in the morrow of the Resurrection the same or better then yesterday in our natural life the same body and the same soul tied together in the same essential union with this onely difference that not Nature but Grace and Glory with an Hermetick seal give us a new signature whereby we shall no more be changed but like unto Christ our head we shall become the same for ever Of these I shall discourse in order 1. That Christ who is the first fruits is the first in this order he is already risen from the dead 2. We shall all take our turns we shall all die and as sure as death we shall all rise again And 3. This very order is effective of the thing it self That Christ is first risen is the demonstration and certainty of ours for because there is an order in this oeconomy the first in the kind is the measure of the rest If Christ be the first fruits we are the whole vintage and we shall all die in the order of Nature and shall rise again in the order of Christ They that are Christ's and are found so at his coming shall partake of his resurrection But Christ first then they that are Christ's that 's the order 1. Christ is the first fruits he is already risen from the dead For he alone could not be held by death Free among the dead 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Death was Sins eldest daughter and the Grave-clothes were her first mantle but Christ was conquerour over both and came to take that away and to disarm this This was a glory fit for the head of mankind but it was too great and too good to be easily believ'd by incredulous and weak-hearted Man It was at first doubted of by all that were concerned but they that saw it had no reason to doubt any longer But what 's that to us who saw it not Yes very much Valde dubitatum est ab illis ne dubitaretur à nobis saith S. Augustine They doubted very much that by their confirmation we might be established and doubt no more Mary Magdalene saw him first and she ran with joy and said she had seen the Lord and that he was risen from the dead but they believed her not After that divers women together saw him and they told it but had no thanks for their pains and obtain'd no credit among the Disciples The two Disciples that went to Emaus saw him talk'd with him eat with him and they ran and told it they told true but no body believ'd them Then S. Peter saw him but he was not yet got into the Chair of the Catholick Church they did not think him infallible and so they believ'd him not at all Five times in one day he appear'd for after all this he appear'd to the Eleven they were indeed transported with joy and wonder but they would scarce believe their own eyes and though they saw him they doubted Well all this was not enough he was seen also of Iames and suffered Thomas to thrust his hand into his side and appeared to S. Paul and was seen by five hundred brethren at once So that there is no capacity of mankind no time no place but had an ocular demonstration of his Resurrection He appeared to Men and Women to the Clergy and the Laity to sinners of both sexes to weak men and to criminals to doubters and deniers at home and abroad in publick and in private in their houses and their journeys unexpected and by appointment betimes in the morning and late at night to them in conjunction and to them in dispersion when they did look for him and when they did not he appeared upon earth to many and to S. Paul and S. Stephen from heaven So that we can require no greater testimony then all these are able to give us and they saw for themselves and for us too that the Faith and certainty of the Resurrection of Iesus might be conveyed to all that shall die and follow Christ in their own order Now this being matter of fact cannot be suppos'd infinite but limited to time and place and therefore to be prov'd by them who at that time were upon the place good men and true simple and yet losers by the bargain many and united confident and constant preaching it all their life and stoutly maintaining it at their death Men that would not deceive others and Men that could not be deceiv'd themselves in a matter so notorious and so prov'd and so seen and if this be not sufficient credibility in a matter of Fact as this was then we can have no story credibly transmitted to us no Records kept no Acts of Courts no narratives of the dayes of old no traditions of our Fathers no memorials of them in the third generation Nay if from these we have not sufficient causes and arguments of Faith how shall we be able to know the will of Heaven upon Earth unless God do not only tell it once but alwayes and not only alwayes to some Men but alwayes to all Men for if some Men must believe others they can never do it in any thing more reasonably than in this and if we may not trust them in this then without a perpetual miracle no Man could have Faith for Faith could never come by hearing by nothing but by seeing But if there be any use of History any Faith in Men any honesty in manners any truth in humane entercourse if there be any use of Apostles or Teachers of Embassadors or Letters of ears or hearing if there be any such thing as the Grace of Faith that is less than demonstration or intuition then we may be as sure that Christ the first Fruits is already risen as all these credibilities can make us But let us take heed as God hates a lie so he hates incredulity an obstinate a foolish and pertinacious understanding What we do every minute of our lives in matters of title and great concernment if we refuse to