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	word_n	6,560	5	4.2187	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70241	The vanity of man at his best estate, and the vanity of Dives, his desire when at his worst viz. to have a preacher sent from the dead to his fathers house / discoursed of in two sermons, the first before the University of Oxon, the other at Ayno in Northamptonshire, at the anniversary for the foundation of the free-school there, by T.H., B.D., sometime rector of Souldern in Oxfordshire.	Hodges, Thomas, d. 1688.	1676 (1676)	Wing H2325; ESTC R38792	37,311	52

matter speaks aloud to us not to make enquiry of the dead either what we are to do in this or to expect in the other world I shall adde one testimony more in this matter and that is of St Paul Galath 1.8 9. where he saith that if we or any Angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you then that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed where he prefers the Doctrine of the Gospel of Christ preached by him and which was taken out of and proved by Moses and the prophets before the testimony of an Angel from heaven And if so then surely the Testimony of Moses and the Prophets is more to be attended unto then that of one that should rise from the dead And here we may appeal to our own reason and to the reason of other men and say Whether it be more reasonable to believe God or man judge ye God The living God speaking to us in his holy word by Moses and the prophets or to a man suppose it was Lazarus from the dead Before God gave his people his minde and will in writing he taught them by dreams and visions of the night by the ministry of Angels by signes and wonders but now he hath revealed his whole counsel necessary to our salvation and committed it to writing now that he hath sealed up the Canon of the Old Testarnent by Ezra and of the New by St John's Revelation and now that he hath ratifyed the truth of both by his broad seal of miracles let not the Church nor any particular person look after one from the dead or for signes wonders and miracles His holy word teacheth us that now God commandeth every man every where to repent because he hath appointed a day to judge the world in righteousnesse by Jesus Christ whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given sufficient proof or evidence to all men in that he raised him from the dead Acts. 17.30 31. I confesse it hath been the guise and fashion of the world to look after and long for Miracles Show us a signe and what signe shewest thou said the Jews to Christ notwithstanding all the wonders and miracles that he had wrought amongst them yea the devil himself tempted our blessed Saviour in the wildernesse to shew a signe to work a miracle if thou be the Son of God command that these stones be made bread But our Lord and Saviour would not gratifie the devils curiosity nor work a wonder at his beck or desire he would not cast such a pearl before such a swine besides had our Saviour wrought that miracle in that place and at that time the devil might have denyed it or if not our Saviours enemies possibly might have been tempted by the devil to blaspheme as some times they did afterwards and to say he had done it by the power of the devil We are apt to think that if one came from the dead or that we saw signes and wonders then we should believe then we should repent but alas alas how often hath God shewed signes and wrought wonders for nations and persons and yet they have remained impenitent and disobedient Pharaoh and the Egyptians had many signes and wonders wrought before their eyes and yet their foolish hearts were hardened yea such madnesse was in their hearts that they pursued Israel into the Red sea and were drowned in the sea The Israelites for whose sake God wrought such wonders in Egypt and in the Red-sea and whom God led and fed by a Miracle in the Wildernesse with Angels food bread from heaven and with water out of the rock fourty years yet they murmured and tempted God and many a time rebelled they against his word so that six hundred thousand of them their carcases fell in the wildernesse and they could not enter into the Land of Canaan because of unbelief Well come we to their children whom God Miraculously preserved brought into and settled in the good land of Canaan and we shall finde that they or their children soon forget God their Saviour whereas God the Lord of hosts did several times fight for Israel with his hosts his Angels his stars his clouds against their enemies yet ever and anon we finde them even fighting against God when our Saviour Christ came into the world entred upon his publique Ministry and office of Mediatour he manifested forth his glory many ways in sundry miracles wrought by him in the sight of the Jews and were they kindly and savingly wrought upon were they warned were they perswaded did they the body of them all repent do we not rather finde that when our Saviour raised Lazarus from the dead and by reason thereof many believed on him that therefore their chief priests an Rulers the pharisees sought to kill Christ and Lazarus both yea when they had crucified the Lord of glory and he arose from the dead the third day the greatest Miracle that ever the sun saw did they thereupon believe and repent no no they seek to hide this miracle and they give money to the souldiers to say his disciples came by night and stole him away Of old Balaam was stopped by an Angel from heaven and God opened the mouth of his Ass so that he spake with mans voyce and reproved the madnesse of the prophet yet Balaam was not converted King Jeroboams hand was withered and restored by a miracle and yet he continued his false worship at Dan and Bethel and would not suffer the people to worship at Jerusalem King Ahab saw that great wonder fire came from heaven to consume the sacrifice at the prayers of Elijah and yet for ought we know was never savingly wrought upon Yea that which is a wonder to think of it good men who have seen wonders and miracles have not been so good as they should be but after those things have for a time turned afide like a broken bow Good King Hezekiah that was cured of the plague by direction of the Prophet after he had received the sentence of death in himself yet his heart was lifted up and he did not render unto the Lord answerable to what he had received Ionah the prophet was miraculously preserved in the belly of the whale three days and three nights and yet afterwards was so peevish and passionate as to tell God to his face that he did well to be angry even unto death Go we higher Noah was saved by Miracle in an Ark without sayls Rudders Anchors or Pilot when the world was drowned and yet was overtaken soon after with drunkennesse Lut was saved miraculously from fire when Sodons and Gomorrah and the other Cities were burned and yet it was not long before he became guilty of drunkennesse and incest By these instances national and personal we may conclude that signes wonders and miracles are not always such certain powerful and effectual means to bring sinners to repentance or to make bad men good or good men better as men

are apt to imagine But what shall we say then to that of our Saviour Obj. Matth. 11.21.23 Wo to thee Corazin wo unto thee Fethsaida for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Zidon they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes Grotius will have all these things to be said by our Saviour not Ans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is to say it is reasonable to think that those miracles would have been sufficient to produce such effects even repentance and that in sackcloth and ashes as Jonahs preaching did among the Ninevites again although miracles might probably have been efficatious to bring gentile sinners to repentance yet the Jews were so perverse obstinate and rebellious they had Moses and the Prophets and therein sufficient motives to repentance namely Gods commands his promises and threatnings even heaven and hell set before them and those things ratifyed formerly by miracles so that if they would not be wrought upon by all this it would be in vain to send unto them a messenger or preacher from the dead miracles saith the Apostle are for them that believe not and not for them that believe when there is no prophesy there miracles probably may prevail but those within the Church who have had Moses and the prophets and prophesy confirmed by miracles long ago if they believe not if they repent not they themselves are to be looked upon us prodigies and wonders so far are they from reasonably expecting of miracles to turn and convert them If Moses and the prophets be not of credit with Dives his brethren being Jews to perswade them to amend and repent neither could one and that one Lazarus if he went unto them from the dead The Uses or inferences from the premises may be either for direction or information of our selves or for confutation of others that are in errour and for exhortation 1st Use Hence we may be informed 1 Vse that if we must attend to Moses and the prophets and that those believed and obeyed are means sufficient to bring us to repentance and salvation that then by those as the wife men by a Star we may be directed unto Christ our blessed Saviour testified as much John 5.46.47 Hadye believed Moses ye would have believed me for he wrote of we but if ye believe not his writings how shall ye believe my words Moses wrote of Christ Gen. 3.15 Namely that the seed of the woman should break the scrpents head and Deut. 18.15.18 the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee of thy brethren like unto me unto him ye shall hearken This was so well known that Philip finding Nathanael saith unto him as we reade John 1.45 We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the Prophets did write Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph As for the prophets they foretold him as the Branch of the Lord Isa 4.2 as the prince of peace so Isaiah chap. 9.6 as the destre of all nations Haggai Chap. 2.7 As Messiah the prince so Daniel Chap. 9.25 as the sun of righteousnesse with healing in his wings so Malachi Chap. 4. ver the 2d the two Testaments are joynt witnesses of one and the same great truth namely that Jesus is the Christ the Messiah the Saviour that was to come into the world 2. Use hence we may learn to make the written word of God 2 Vse Of Inform. as David did a light unto our feet and a lanthorn to our paths and not to leave Moses and the Prophets pretending to follow the light within us as some do the light within us our own reason that 's a dim and imperfect light without revelation by this light we should never have discovered the mysteries of the holy Trinity the Mystery of the two natures in Christ nor our salvation by Faith in him by this we could not have discovered all sins nor have known all necessary truths nor have been convinced of all duties yea it might come to passe that leaving the holy Scriptures Moses and the Prophets and the writings of the holy Evangelists and Apostles to follow the dictates of our own erroneous consciences we might be led as those are they say that follow an ignis fatuus out of our right way into boggs and precipices Thus they that shall kill you saith our Saviour shall think they do God good service And the holy Apostle Paul tells us I verily thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Iesus of Nazareth which things I also did in Ierusalem Acts. 26.9 10. 'T is true that we are to follow the guidance of our consciences but our consciences are to be inlightned and guided by the directions of God in his word Our consciences are but Gods deputyes and Lieutenants and whether it be fit to observe the servant or Deputy rather then to obey the will of the supreme or soveraign Lord judge ye Again hence we may learn to study and follow the directions of the holy Scriptures of the old and New Testarnent rather then pretend to impulses providences visions and Revelations for what we do to the law to the testimony by this our opinions and practices yea our persons shall be justified and by this word they shall be condemned heaven and earth shall passe away saith our Saviour but not aniota or tittle of the law shall perish 3. Use 3 Vse of Informat Hence learn not to be seduced or not to be drawn away from the true Protestant Religion founded upon the doctrine of Moses and the Prophets i. e. the holy Scriptures unto the Romish Religion upon pretence of Miracles which they say are wrought amongst them for 1. Our blessed Saviour foretold Math. 24.24 that men should arise doing such great wonders in imitation of himself that they should deceive if it were possible the very elect And St. Paul tells us in his 2d Epistle to the Thessalonians the 2d Chap. verse the 9th that the son of perdition should arise should appear with all power signes and lying wonders So that Antichrist does pretend to nothing but what our Saviour Christ and his Apostle foretold 2. The protended Miracles of the Church of Rome are wrought and brought to confirm a Doctrine contrary to Moses and the prophets that is to the holy Scriptures and they being already ratified by many and great Miracles true Miracles 't is certain that these pretended miracles brought to confirm a lye are delusions and impostures 3. The Ancient fathers and some of the most learned men of the Church of Rome of latter times deny the continuance of the power of Miracles in the Church after that the Christian Religion had been so generally received believed and embraced in the world for this the Reverend Dr Stilling fleet in a late piece against the Papists quoted St. Chrysostome St. Austin Tostatus upon