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	faith_n	pillar_n	4,667	5	10.3750	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61678	Deceivers deceiv'd, or, The mistakes of wickedness in sundry erroneous and deceitful principles, practised in our late fatal times, and suspected still in the reasonings of unquiet spirits delivered in a sermon at St. Paul's, October 20th 1661 before the Right Honorable Sir Richard Browne Knight and Baronet, Lord Maior of the city of London, and the aldermen his brethren : being the initial also of the Reverend Dr. John Berwick, dean of the said church, at the first celebrity of divine service with the organ and choiristers, which the Lord Maior himslef solemniz'd with his personal presence from the very beginning.	Stone, Samuel, 1602-1663.; Browne, Richard, Sir, 1602?-1669.; Barwick, John, 1612-1664.	1661 (1661)	Wing S5735; ESTC R18742	26,609	51

very Pillars of the Church sometimes chinckt in with some stones of offence Errare p●ssum saith St. Augustine he might Err he confest only would not be an Heretick The High-Priest may have the Urim and Thummim on his breast but neither the one in his head nor the other in his heart I know no promise of Infallibility universal except to the Church-universal as comprehending all Persons Times and Places as Chillingworth gives it or unless to the Apostles themselves and that too as they acted their Supream Apostolick Commission not otherwise for St. Peter and St. Paul were at a contradiction and both parties could not have the right and Paul and Barnabas were at a contention The Spirit of truth shall guide you into all truth was the Promise of Christ He that said it is as true as his Word but well understood not in the whole circumference of the Terms but in the limitation of the Sense All truths fundamental the essential constituents of a Church the Spirit of Christ hath promised to lead his Church into And so he doth for the Church is the Pillar of Truth and the foundation of God standeth sure but as for other truth 's of analogie inference and remote consequence that like backer houses shew not at first sight in the building of faith into such truth's as these the Spirit of Truth hath not promised to lead us but sometimes leaves us to the spirit of Error who does his best to do his worst and deceive those that believe Instance whereof you may take in the most glorious Church of Christendom this of England whom the old Dragon according to his use of persecuting the Woman into the Wilderness hath endeavoured to bring in our late dayes of Tribulation into contempt and disgrace in the view of the whole World and to that end had insinuated such mischievous Delusions into the two chief Parties of her most considerable interest after once divided as the most remarkable in their own thoughts and their Disciples admiration for strictness and severity of life were grosly misled into the foulest miscarriage imaginable as to their Politicks in the case of Subjection Government On the other side they which were most regular and best principled in understanding of Government and Learning were not altogether some of them in mens observation so perfect in their Morals as they should have been and therefore to conclude in both respects aforesaid to follow a Godly Party may be deceitful although caeteris paribas all things equally considered A Godly party especially truly godly is best imitable with Wisdom and Circumspection but not simply and absolutely So much for the second deceitful Reasoning whereby Wickedness hath been much improved A third Principle of deceit whereby wickedness doth much impregnate is a reasoning from contraries as in case some person or persons do act wickedly in their way that therefore others acting the quite contrary shall be allowed and warranted as righteous in what they do because contrary Which seems indeed to carry some reasonableness and probability with it it being backt with a shew of Logick Contrariorum contraria sunt consequentia Of contraries there are contrary consequences And so in Physick Contraria contrariis curantur Evils in mens bodies are remedied by their contraries And in Philosophy likewise Contraria mutuò se pellunt Contraries expel one the other But nevertheless this kind of Reasoning is most deceitfull without wary distinguishing To which purpose we must distinguish there is a contrariety natural and contrariety moral The contrariety natural is first betwixt the Elements as Fire and Water which are mutually destructive one of the other and much like are the extreams of Virtue as Avarice and Prodigality to instance in no more which are as inconsistent and expellent of each other as Fire and Water and therefore I call them Contraries natural for though as they stand in opposition to the mean which is Virtue they are morally contrary yet as in contra-distinction of one to the other they are but natural Contraries There is also another contrariety called moral as before that is betwixt the Extreams and the Mean alias Virtue which I call Contraries being opposite as Good and Evill moral they differing as much as Wisdom and Folly which we all know to be contrary the mean which is Virtue being acted by Wisdom according to Aristotle in his his Ethicks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the extream by Folly Now to apply this Distinction If men shall reason the lawfulness of their actions by practising the sense of Contraries natural or exteme or running from one extreme to another they are foully deceiv'd In vitium ducit culpae fuga si caret Arte saith the Poet The declining of one Vice incurs another if done without Prudence which governs all virtuous actions howbeit to decline one Contrariy in a moral sense and turn to the other that is from Vice to Virture from Evill to Good from Sin to Righteousness is a rational and wise practise otherwise false and deceitfull As for instance some men are lewd and vitious in their lives and conversations breaking all the rules of virtue others therefore presuming to themselves safety and lawfulnesse in their actions by running into an extream distance from them desire to avoid them in whatsoever they do although they are as good politically as to the government and laws of a Nation according to Aristotle that Malus vir may be Bonus Civis an evill man in manners may be a good Subject o his Prince as they are bad morally whence follows separations divisions and contentions betwixt them and thereupon occasionally civill dissentions and warr too even against the Prince himself because the contrary in vice is for the Prince in Loyalty Sic vitant stulti vitia This is the contrariety of fools and practisers of extreams The Church of Rome maintaines good works as causall and meritorious in the point of Justification others therefore French and Germane Divines thinking truth on their side by a quite contrary judgment have gon so farre from them into the extream as not to allow any good work at all before Justification albeit so confessedly necessary for the qualification of Faith itself in her existence and operation Sic vitant stulti vitia This is the contrariety of extreams The Church of Rome setts forth so many Ceremonies as amount to Superstition some therefore of our side to avoid that would have no Ceremony at all and so dis-robe the Church of all her externall decentials and badges of Antiquity Sic vitant Stulti vitia This is the contrariety of Fools The Church of Rome establishes as many Holydaies almost as daies and therefore our wise Assemblers and Religionists of late would have no Holydaies besides the Sabbath at all not so much as for the Celebration of the Nativity of Christ himself Sic vitant stulti vitia This is the contrariety of Fools The Church of Rome patter over their forms

Divine Truths hath been and may be still much in hazzard And let us conceive of Gods meaning in his Word speaking to us as we speak to one another according to the use of sensing the words in the practice of Nations without which we can never be supposed to understand him and if we cannot yet teach the mystery of every letter let us be content till God in the seasons of his Grace and Wisdom shall afford us helps of a further discovery by his blessing upon the labours of Pious and Learned men whom God hath set forth hitherto and doubtless will hereafter during the being of his Church upon Earth as lights in his Candlestick for the further manifestation of the hidden Truths of his Word every day and let us beware of our own Phanatical conceipts of Spiritual meanings through Revelation and Infusion which will vary the rule and standard of Truth and make Gods own Word no better than a Leaden Rule and a Nose of Wax A Seventh deceitful Principle is That of a mere Moral man in the Church of Christ and allowed indeed by the profound mistakes of wise and learned Christians of many ages and professions especially of late but of a dangerous and destructive use in the practice thereof by the weaker sort of deceivable and factious people who acting the Annimal part of Religion more than the Rational Passion Zeal and Humor more than Reason and mistaking Pharisaical niceness for Godliness and for Purity Singularity and preciseness and for hatred of Evill avoidance only of Indifferences both Civil and Religious and true pious heavenly Affection for Phansie and Affectation they presume themselves in their erroneous and proud conceits to be the only true sraelites of God the only holy and separate from the rest of men in the love of Gods Election the only pecultar regenerate and spiritual above all others though of the same Church in Faith Baptism and Worship accompting the rest only mere Moral men of no more interest in Christ and his Graces than the mere civil Pagans Greeks and Barbarians that denyed him as a point of foolishness whereupon follows a proud contempt of all but those of their own Society and consequently Separations Schisms and Divisions in the Church and thereafter Seditions and Commotions in the State civil even Rebellions against Kings and Princes all Persons whatsoever in comparison with the Sect being slighted and undervalued as mere Moral men like empty Chaff or fruitless trees fit fuel for the fire of unruly furious Zeal though in impartial and right understanding the despised prove in plain terms no other than the most wise and regular and righteous of a whole Church and Nation This Divinity hath been a long time Oracular both in Press and Pulpit though so pernicious in the use of it as an occasion of so much evill but yet most false and deceitful For either the person supposed for a mere Moral man in the Church professeth Christ in Communion of Faith and Worship with the rest of the Church or not if not then he is no Christian and no member of a Church for no Church allows any such as profess not Christ and so no subject of the question which was of a mere Moral man in the Church If he doth profess Christ with belief and duty he goes beyond a mere Moral man for a mere Moral man that practiseth nothing but civil Virtue as the wise Grecians that disputed St. Paul against Christ he goes not so far as to acknowledge him but denyeth him and so is of no Church he 's no Christian no subject of the question The enquiry would rather be Whether the man professing Christ doth it really inwardly from his heart or not if not he is in right speaking a mere Formallist a Hypocrite in his proper and distinctive denomination not a mere Moral man properly he 's a Hypocrite I say whom God only can discover and pronounce absolutely not we who see no further than by fruits and effects which are Moral and Civil Virtues duties only of the Second Table those of the First Table being implyed by the supposition of the persons profession of Christ whereupon the question will further be Whether the supposed mere Moral man professing Christ doth practise these Vertues or not if he doth practise them either he doth practise them in such a degree as becomes a perfect sound Christian and so he is no Moral man nor subject of the question or else not so perfectly but with often recidivations and backslidings failings and weaknesses but not quite relinquishing his Profession and so he is not yet a mere Moral man but only a weak Christian needing Church Discipline to restore and strengthen him and so yet no subject of the question Or if he doth not practise the said Virtues or Duties of the Second Table at all but lives altogether lewdly wickedly and incorrigibly so he 's not so good as a Moral man nor therefore a mere one but a scandal a leaven of Wickedness to be purged out and not to be suffered in the Church and so still no subject of the question but a repugnance in the Adjection Whereupon I conclude that there is no mere Moral man in Christian Society but a gross fallacy tending only to deceive you of your Peace Order Unity and Charity and to encourage distances and distinctions of some men who conceit themselves in their Spirituals more excellent than their Brethren and thereupon proud oppositions and contentions in assertion of each Parties respective Excellencies above others and consequent'y Factions and Divisions Tumults and Seditions and lastly Rebellion it self Thus we have reasoned so many fallacious Principles of sin whereby it deceiveth the foolish and ignorant into their wicked mistakes Let us now come to one word of Application and so to an end If Sin and Deceit be so intrinsecal and complicate one with the other we should all then seriously consider and examine the great passages and chief moments of all the Actions of our lives and by a true reflection and inquiry if possible make a discovery unto our selves whether we have not in many things been very much deceived and thereupon suspect and jealous our selves lest we we have very much sinned also and consequently to prepare for sound Repentance That the greatest part of our Israel have been pityfully deceived and erred in the wayes of their own Inventions may easily appear by observing the sad Passages of our late troublesome Times Men looked for Judgement but behold Oppression for Righteousness but behold a Cry 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Oecumenius 'T is the very proper and genuine quality of deceit that men looking for one thing should find another They looked for Judgement but behold Oppression for Righteousness but behold a Cry They looked for a blessed Reformation but behold an ugly Deformation they looked for a glorious King but behold up stept a monstrous Tyrant they looked for a free priviledg'd Parliament but