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	holy_a	scripture_n	9,894	5	6.0621	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44093	A short examination of A Discourse concerning edification, by Dr. Hascard where it is inquired, how well the author of the said discourse hath proved that it is not lawful for a man to go from his parish church to meetings, that he might be better edifie [sic] / in a letter to a friend.	Hody, Humphrey, 1659-1707.	1700 (1700)	Wing H2345; ESTC R29483	16,353	30

doth Preach as soundly intelligibly and profitably for Peoples remembrance in Order to their Knowledge Faith Love Holiness Zeal as Ministers do in Private Meetings Indeed Sir I am of his Mind for I am for a nearness of Members of the same Church in Cohabitation where it can be without a Prejudice to Edification but if Christians cannot ordinarily communicate in all Ordinances with their Parish Ministers and be equally instructed in the Truths of God or Hear what they understand or in such Methods as they can remember or so confirm'd in Scripture that they can search the Scriptures and find that Truth which they say or cannot hear the whole Counsel of God or be warmly pressed by Arguments to a truly holy Life in all Conversation as they can at another Meeting I think it is worth their while and no Sin against God to go where they may The saving and edifying Souls is of more Consequence than keeping the Limits of Parishes Now as to this Sir It is matter of Demonstration that every one must judge for himself for who preacheth most profitably for one must be determined of by him who knows the Capacity of the Hearer which I am sure none doth but himself we need not judge of the Learning and Abilities of any Person For he that preacheth most learnedly usually preacheth least to the Capacity of three Parts of his Hearers and to a Learned Auditory the plain Preacher preacheth most unprofitably as to his Improvement in Knowledge I remember Sir a Story out of Chrysostome who tells us that he heard a Christian and an Heathen disputing ridiculously The Matter in debate was whether Paul or Plato was the best Schollar The Christian maintain'd Paul was the Heathen maintained Plato was Thus saith Chrysostom The Christian stood to prove what was the Pagans Part and the Pagan undertook to prove the Christians Part For the Christian might have said if Plato were the best Schollar it is no wonder he had more Disciples then Paul and the Heathen might have said if Paul were so much the best Schollar it is no wonder he made the Gospel abound so far The Excellency of a Preacher or his fitness to edifie Souls is not to be determined from his Learning but from his Pains and Diligence and Eye to the End of his Work as to those People or the generality of them to whom he preacheth and his wise accommodating Means fit for his End This requireth the Knowledge of the Circumstances of the generality of his Auditory and none but the particular Person can judge of him who preacheth most to his particular Edification plain Scriptural practical Preaching is undoubtedly for most general Edification because Nine Parts of Ten of the most Auditories are unlearned and understand not rational Deductions unless made easie nor Scholastical Niceties or Criticisms and for those few that can they are more edified by them in their Head than in their Heart but he that preacheth solidly plainly scripturally and practically may edifie the best Hearers in their Faith Love and Obedience and Zeal which is the best Edification for Men may have a great deal of Notion and yet perish eternally Sir That there is generally in our Parish-Churches more solid plain scriptural and practical Preaching fitted for the Capacity and Remembrance of the generality of Men and Women that come to hear than there is in the Nonconformists Meetings will not easily be allowed by any that commonly heareth both Let Sir Men be never so learned if in popular Discourses where they are speaking to Five hundred Men will speak to Five that is to the Understanding of a very few I do not believe but the rest may go away and hear such as they understand better and remember what they say But there need no more words in this Case it is most apparent that he must know another very well that can know what Discourse will edifie him best and that no Body can possibly understand or judge that but himself so as this Argument is at its length Sir he cometh p. 13. to what he calls his Second Argument to prove this Proposition p. 2. That it is unlawsul for any Men to forsake the Communion of the Church of England and go to the separate Meetings because he can better edifie there Because that those who usually make this pretence for Separation do commonly mistake better Edification This is Sir a way of Reasoning which I cannot understand I cannot imagine how any Person should ever be able to prove that a Man may not go to another Church that he may better edifie Because some or many mistake the nature of Edification doth it follow Sir that because some mistake it therefore none knoweth it or none can know it or none that truly know the Nature of it may pursue it But really Sir the Author of that Discourse seemeth to know it so well that I think we may all take his own Notion of it and agree with him p. 2. That it is an improvement of our spiritual Condition in its full latitude Let us build a little Sir upon so good a Foundation The Edification of a Soul Sir is as a noble so a very large Building and comprehends an increase in Faith Love Obedience to the Will of God with an increase in holy Affections c. The Foundation of this large Building must be Knowledge a knowledge of the Will of God revealed in Scripture both as to things to be believed and to be done Hence the wise Man Prov. 19. 2. tells us That the Soul should be without knowledge is not good The Apostle saith Rom. 20. 14. How shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard And Col. 3. 10. he tells us The new Man is renewed in knowledge And 1 Col. 9. the Apostle prayeth That Men may be filled with the knowledge of the Will of God in all Wisdom and spiritual Understanding And this to that end that they may walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God And we are commanded in 2 Pet. 3. 18. to grow in Grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. How Sir Men should mistake an increase in knowledge which is the first Stone in this Spiritual Building for an healing of Fancy and a stirring of Humours I leave to you Sir to judge It is as bad a Mistake as that of an Apple for an Oyster In his thirteenth Page he seemeth to think that the Duty of keeping an ordinary Communion with the Parish-Minister for that or nothing he must mean by his Phrase of our Church-Communion is a plainer and greater Duty than attending our Edification because he thinks that is disputable doubtful c. Of this Sir I hope he shall never perswade me nor you until he hath perswaded us that it is better for

us to keep to a piece of Civil Order than to look after the Salvation of our own Souls and if this were true an easie exchange might be made for a Soul In his 14 15 16 17 18 he hints us of three Mistakes Men may have as to Edification 1 When they take nice and speculative Notions for great edifying Truths Such as conjectural Notions about the Situation of Paradise of old or Hell now or about the Length of the Sword that guarded Paradise or how the Spirits above spend their time of Behemo● Wranglings of the Schools c. To make this Business short Sir Go to your parish-Parish-Church a-while and to the next Meeting as long and let this be the Test conclude that where you hear most of these Discourses there your Soul is least edified What this Author saith here is a great Truth where there is most of these Disquisitions there is least Edification 2. A second Mistake he thinks is When Men take the Opinions of Parties for undoubted Truths essential to Salvation What here the Author means I cannot imagine Certainly there is no Truth necessary to Salvation but what is the Opinion of some Party or other If no Truth be necessary to Salvation but what is agreed by all Parties I am afraid we shall find nothing at all necessary or very little Possibly the Doctrine of the Trinity if we shut out the Socinians from the number of Christians hardly any thing else But Sir to make this Business also short our Author saith p. 16. That the Notion or Explication of Faith and Spirit Church and Grace Justification Regeneration Conversion Adoption and other things of like nature are generally deficient in our Church from those of the Separation And indeed he saith true that these are the Doctrines wherein Ministers that preach at Meetings differ from many of those that preach in Parish-Churches yet not from all but the most of them but not from the Church of England Sir again make your Ears your Judges read over distinctly the 39 Articles and the Irish Articles and our Homilies particularly those about Justification and Good Works and Images then hear Minsters on both sides and conclude that those are to be preferred as to Edification that most truly and faithfully preach according to those Articles and Homilies we will abide by that Test. His last Mistake is 3. In taking sudden Heats and Warmths for Edification As to that let them answer that are concerned p. 18. that whole Page is but reflexive and upon so false a Foundation as I am not willing to trouble my self with considering it or to foul my Fingers with such a Dunghill of meere words In his 19th Page he comes to what he calls a third Argument to prove it unlawful for Persons to leave their parish-Parish-Churches for better Edification Because as he pretends it will cause endless Divisions Here Sir we must examine 1. The Truth of the thing 2. The proper Cause of the Effect 〈…〉 uch an Effect will certainly follow Admit Sir that in the same Family several Persons should find it better for the Improvements of their Souls in Knowledge Faith Love Obedience holy Zeal to go to several Parishes to hear their Ministers or to several Meetings what division is here It is this Day done in a thousand Families all the Members of which yet live in a perfect Unity one with another the Wife dearly loves the Husband and he again his Wife the Children truly honour the Parents and the Parents as truly love their Children the Servants honour and obey their Masters they are as tender of their Servants I pray Sir as to this point let your Eyes again here be your Judges See what Families are more decently united than those in which you will observe this different Motion when they go to hear And Sir there is obvious Reason for it it speaks Men to use some Conscience and Reason of their own when they cannot be guided by the meer Dictates and Examples of others and it is most certain that those who live most up to the Rule of Scripture and Square of Reason make the best Correlates in any Relation and those the worst who are led by Humour or the meer Dictates and Wills of others But admit Sir Division be the consequent of Persons in the same Parish going to hear in several places for better Edification as we see it is will this prove it unlawful for People to go Just as much as it argueth Christ's coming into the World necessary for the Salvation of Mankind unlawful because himself tells us Mat. 20. 34 35. That he came not to send Peace but a Sword For I am come to set a Man at variance against his Father and the Daughter against her Mother and the Daughter-in-Law against her Mother-in-Law Suppose a few particular Persons in a Parish who tho' themselves blind yet will undertake to judge of Colours through their Peevishness or Ill-Nature or their Pride and Ignorance will have all Men to be of their Last and to do as they do or they will quarrel with them nick-name them pursue them in all Courts of Judicature never let them be quiet c. doth this conclude that those who are thus hunted do any sinful thing It will rather be a presumption of the contrary Division is no necessary Consequent of Peoples not going to their Parish-Church What hath my Neighbour to do with my Soul further than to admonish me if he seeth Sin upon me Must every Man cut his Hair or Beard in the same Fashion because else his Neighbour will call him Prick-ear or Roundhead and strike him over the Face Or if he doth not must he sin I am not to be charged with a sinful Effect of my Action or Consequent rather which floweth from the Malice and Corruption of another's Heart upon my doing what I believe to be my Duty I cannot Sir but I must observe to you that strange passage of his p. 20. where he calls it a fatal Day when Liberty should be given to every Man to choose his Pastor A thing he knows so evident in Scripture so plain in all the Practice of the Primitive Church and so consonant to all Reason and Religion as nothing can be more It is an Argument that Men and Women are debauched into a lamentable Opinion of their Souls that can possibly think that they ought not to have as much Liberty to chuse Pastors for themselves as they will challenge for a Shooe-maker to fit their Feet with Shooes or for a Taylor to fit their Bodies with a Suit of Cloaths 4. Sir The Author's last Argument is fetched from the Discouragement this would give to an honest truly Christian Minister This Sir supposeth that all who inhabit within such a Parish are properly that Ministers Flock who preacheth in that Parish-Church How is that proved Nor can it be true 'till the Right of another be proved to choose a Pastor for my Soul But