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	tradition_n	1,984	5	9.0083	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65775	A catechism of Christian doctrin [sic] by Tho. White.	White, Thomas, ca. 1550-1624.	1659 (1659)	Wing W1811; ESTC R28390	75,813	246

relate and so distinguish the Substance yet not substantially And. a Son being a Living thing proceeding from a Living thing of the same nature as from a Principle remaining in it and Knowledge in God being such in respect of he Divine Essence known That is truly call'd Son This Father Likewise God loving Himself the same thing is Loving and Loved yet as such distinct therefore there is besides in God a a third call'd Divine Love Also Love intelligent things proceeding from their proper Good which is Truth consisting in this that the Object be in the Knowledge Divine Love proceeds from the Divine Essence as Object in the Divine Knowledge that is from Father and Son Whi●h Love is call'd Holy Spirit because He makes us Holy by inspiring us with Love of God or Charity as also Comforter Again ● Person being an Individuall or One Intelligent substance and God having no Accidents The distinction in him must bee of Persons There are then in One God three Persons yet not necessarily Three Things Of these the Second took our Nature not by charging God but by joyning Man to God's Person And therefore the Second because 't is proper to Knowledge or Wisedome to teach us or be our Master A shore History of some signal passages belonging to our Saviour God● being made Man to redeem Mankind from Sin and put him in the way to Heaven which consists see in seeing God and Love of God disposing and determining necessarily to this Man is to love God as being All-Good Our most bountifull benefactour and whose Likeness or Image we bear And our Neighbour being made for the same End wee are that is for God we ought to wish him that End and means to it that is love him as our self Also Love of God necessarily disposing to see ●●m who loves God has great reason to hope to see him grounded in his Goodness and faithfulness to his promise put none can love or hope un ess knowing the things which motives why taught by Faith which se-curely relies On God's Truth saying such things and Tradition or the Infallible Attestation of the Church that he 〈◊〉 them There are then three virtues call'-Theologicall or immedily respecting God necessary to mankind's saluation Faith Hope and Charity Faith being a Knowledge of supernaturall things the way to advance Faith is to increase that Knowledge by Study of such things that is by Prayer of which Mentall has three parts To Know the truth of the point To resolve according to that Knowledge and To raise the heart to God expecting a Blessing Vocall Prayer is better than Mentall as being compos'd by able men and less distractive But worse as ●ess satiating the Soul Less proportion'd to it and Desective the two first parts mention'd Hence of Mental the written are b●st for beginners of Vocall Those which are best understood and Well attended to Lastly ● Prayer being the use of Considerations ●●●i ca●io●sly moving to ●ove of God The fruit of Prayer is to advance Charity that i● Prayer is the high way to Heaven wheresore without I● Retreat in vertue is inevitable Moreover Charity or ●ove obliging us to give what 's due to those wee love 't will make us render To God Service To our selves what 's best for us that is 't will make us prefer a greater good before a less which is perform'd by Temperance and avoyd a greater harm before a less which is done by Fortitude To our Neighbour If Infeiour or Equall Love Good will If superiour Obedience and Respect which belong to Justice Yet these three Virtues unexcited by Love of Heaven avail not to It though in some sort conformable to Nature They become severall particular Virtues as respecting severall Objects Also Discretion being The right se 〈…〉 of ou● Affecti●●● in o●d●r to Act on and the three fore and Virtues giving this who has th●m has also Dscretion or Prudence There are then ●our Morall or Cardinall Virtues according to which who acts since not byast by ill affections needs not scruple his action though it hap to be imperfect in some other respect Christian Life is a Practice of the three Theologicall and four Morall virtues for God's sake which is done by Chari●y Wh●r fore since the Life of a Christian is to move towards God and Love of God or Charity makes us do so It onely is a Christians Life and he dead without It. Wherefore what causes ibis death is Mortall Sin which springs from love of Creatures above all things bringing neglect of our Duties yet not every such neglect Mortall but In those to our Neighbour such as would absolutely break Friendship In those to our selves such as done us by another would make us fall out with him In those towards God such misrespect as to our Neighbour were want of ●ove Other Neglects are Venial From what 's said follows is most full of Pleasure and Credit Also It fits us for the next world For who loves God or a●y thing for it's self is dispos'd to love it ever Wherefore Love of God or desire to see him remaining in a soul separated It shall see him else would bee miserable for loving him and God cruell Further The pleasure of the Mind had by Knowledge infinitly surpassing that of the body and The seeing all Truths in God as in the supreme Cause being the highest Knowledge the Sight of God beatifies a Soul To which is consequent content in our own former Actions and Friend But the things desired by the wicked are temporall fading therefore the d●sires of them remaining ●x●●ssively t●rments with Gree● which inflicted by another is truly Pain Infinit as being in the Soul and Enledss In regard Those Desires must ever remain unchang'd The Soul as indivisible being unaccessive Yet Veniall Affections are changeble therefore may be purg'd Also Souls shal finally receiue their Bodies because Their desires of them are naturall The manner ●ow with The endowments of Glorify'd and contrary Dispositions of damned Bodies Hence A virtuous life finally brings Insinit more Pleasure Honour and Power than a wicked and is above need of wealth The means to bring corrupt Mankind to loue God being Miracles and Teaching and this ine●●icacious unless lively conceited by the Teachers therefore Divine Love or the Holy Ghost was to descend upon the Apostles in virtue of which primitive v●gour Christ's doctrin was brought down from them to us that is the Church is truly Apostolical and Catholik as planted by the Apostles universally as having some of her profession in each c●untry as the only eminent Congregation in C●●istendome Also Having an entire Body of Faith or Doctrin fit to promote Sanctity Laws Customes conformable to that Faith and extraordinary Sanctity attainable by her Principles and practis'd by her children she is likewise Holy Lastly Her rule of Faith Tradition Her externall Profession of Faith and Her Government being the same all ov●r She is also One

neither can be ignorant of our miseries or their own favour with Almighty God or that he is wel pleas'd they should pray for us nor being ful of charity can they cease to help us what lies in their power their prayer being nothing but ● desire of our releef represented to God which al their desires perpetually are and cannot chuse but be in heaven where their whole hearts are b●nt upon nothing but through Him and according to his laws They therfore pray for us and their prayers are profitable to us and that Saint's most which is highest in favour with Almighty God Nevertheless I am fa● from beleeving any of them so compassionat● no not the Blessed Mother of Christ as is her God and Son And he that should persuade one to turn his prayers from him to his Mother misses the mark very wide They therfore who counsel so many prayers to our Lady are to be understood of such prayers as would not be said at all unless they were said to her which returns to what I spake of that 't is to stir up a failing devotion in us and not as if the object were better And among other Saints I doubt not but the least has favour enough to obtain al that 's fitting for us and our Saviour the Chief of Saints more then all were not his Goodness alone unmov'd by the petitions of others so great that when mens dispositions are not failing he cannot hold himself from doing favours Whence we understand that such stories if authentical are but parabolical expressions of the great assistance we receive from Saints or rather figurative motions to stir up in us due sorrow for our sins and a greater honour of the God of Saints S. Then Sir it seems you think the devotions us'd to particular Saints are of little effect and in particular that of becoming Slaves to our blessed Lady S. No such thing follows out of my words for whatever excites continues or makes our devotion more servent I hold of great effect and to that end wel practic 't Indeed concerning making our selves Slaves to any Saint I very much doubt For a Slave is hee whose service is onely profitable to his master and nothing to himself Now our service is no ways profitable to any Saint but much to our selves Again our Wil is so built by Almighty God as to be totally subject to him because hee is Al-goodness and ●e onely can move our soul perfectly and satify it wherefore wee are bo●n his slaves and according to nature we conform our selves in bending our whole wils to him But I fear mee to do the like to any creature were to wrong our creation and attribute that homage which is due to God alone that is to be sole directour of our souls to a creature But as for those who use it I presume either they understand not so much for I hear they are not learned or mean it in some improper sence Onely I would have you advertis'd that these extravagant devotions ordinarily argue either vanity or interest for which private men run private paths and desire to carry disciples after them let us follow the troden path of our fore-fathers Yet one thing wil I add that wee have not by Jesus Christ or his Church left us any externall actions with promise of grace and reward for the deed done but onely the Sacraments which are necessary more because they are professions of our faith and charity and certain initiations or associations to Christ's Church in some degree whence the very externall action proceeds from internall grace when done as it ought than that there is any connexion betwixt those external actions and merit by Christ's voluntary conjunction of them and therfore all those devotions which promise particular effects or rewards to the saying of certain prayers pretending Christ's special grant to some Saint as they cannot bee easily convinc'd of superstition because God can if he please do such things so they are not easily to be credited without manifest miraculous proof at least of the good life of the Saint who begins such a devotion and that certainly it came from him Because it is not acccording to the spirit which Christ has left to his Church which is to make us adorers in spirit and truth And therfore Christians ought to be drawn from putting their confidence in such things to place their trust in Christ and walk towards him in the known path of Charity and good works S. Sir you forgot my doubt how Saints hear our prayers since they have no ears and yet I have heard wiser men than my self stumble at it M. I thought you had been more learned for it seems you think they should have this sensible passion which wee cal hearing because we say they hear but this word hearing in that speech has the meaning of granting or according to our petition So that your difficulty must be how they know what wee ask of them which is with their minds or understandings as men know sciences and the Astronomer sitting in his study knows the situations aspects and courses of the stars which knowledg though in us it has the root in sense yet in them may have some other means or also have root in what came into their soul by the senses while they liv'd in this world And let thus much suffice for this present discourse bears not to wade into the depth of things Besides in many things we must be contented to know that they are though we cannot penetrate how they are such as we know them to be S. Now I am sorry I drew you from your former discourse wherfore to put you into it again I pray tel me whether you think the use of pictures and in particular the special honours done to some as hanging of lights before them carrying them in procession and making pilgrimages to them be among those whom you term extravagant devotions M. You ask many questions in one I will begin with the principal that is the use of pictures which if we believe nanature and experience is an use very profitable and as I think absolutely necessary in the Church of God for the instruction and spiritual profit of the faithful First for memory's sake for as oft as we see pictures so oft we remember the thing painted and whether we have need of often remembring heaven and heavenly things let even our cold and evil life bear testimony Secondly When a man say's his prayers before the picture of our Saviour or other Saint he naturally makes a quicker apprehension of the presence of him that 's spoken to and by consequence a greater respect and attention is bred in him that speaks Thirdly it ser●'s for an Address of the prayer especially if there be any corporal gestures withal For as the ancient Christians were us'd to turn themselves to the East and the Jews towards the