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	house_n	pillar_n	3,545	5	10.4316	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44932	The spirit of prophecy a treatise to prove, by the wayes formerly in use among the Jews, in the tryal of pretenders to a prophetic spirit, that Christ and his Apostles were prophets : together with the divine authority of christian religion and the Holy Scriptures, the insufficiency of human reason, and the reasonableness of the christian faith, hope, and practice, deduced therefrom, and asserted against Mr. Hobbs, and the Treatise of Hvmane Reason / by W.H.	Hughes, William, b. 1624 or 5.	1679 (1679)	Wing H3346; ESTC R19799	183,906	298

an unreasonable Humour it importunes Almighty Power and Wisdom without any necessity to change the course of Nature or at least to act besides it and what affront more petulant and saucy can we easily offer to Divine Majesty It is also absurd as well as wicked for suppose a man in this Age should really work a Miracle if the Miracles of Christ and his Apostles may not be received on Testimony then neither may that how then shall the knowledge of it be conveyed to all that are concerned in it why they themselves must both see it done and use all means possible to consider whether it be such as no man can do the like by his Natural Power but that it requires the immediate hand of God It seems then if what one saith was confirmed by Miracles be of concern as Christian Religion is to all People in all Ages and places of the World there must be almost as many Miracles wrought to confirm this saying as there are single Persons how else should each Person concerned therein see one done and then Miracles would be no Wonders they would change their Nature and lose their Efficacy and besides that every one must then be a diligent searcher into Nature how else can he use all means possible to consider whether the pretended Miracle be such as no man can do the like by his Natural Power No saith the Author that is needless Herein also they must have recourse to Gods Lieutenant It seems then at last they must be assured by Testimony but why may not the Testimony or Tradition of the Holy Ca●holick Church strengthened by the concessions and suffrages of its Enemies be believed as well as the word of Gods Lieutenant but I shall say no more hereby it is plain enough that this Author and his Followers seek not for Truth and Certainty but to palliate their Atheism or Infidelity And pity it is that their suggestions should disturb any ones reliance on the Pillar and ground of Truth the House and Church of the Living God by whose Testimony and Tradition we are so very well assured of the truth of our Saviour and his Apostles Miracles as that we have little or no reason to envy either the Jews or Gentiles whose eyes were blessed with the sight of them For to what purpose did their eyes then serve them Was it not to convey those their Credentials to their Understandings Yes doubtless they therein had little other benefit by the use of them And is not this abundantly supplied unto us by the Tradition of the Church Which if well considered will be found as incapable of Deception as our Senses For ought I know mine Eyes may as soon be deceived in an Object of Sight as the whole Church in this its Tradition however if Christ and his Apostles did not do Miracles it certainly is a Miracle that the World should receive their report without them and a lying Wonder much more incredible than what we plead for that the whole Church throughout all Ages should so confidently believe and teach that they did them Although therefore the sight of Miracles might perhaps make deeper Impressions on the Fancy and Affections yet the Tradition of the Church is full out as convincing to our Reason and Judgment that Christ and his Apostles wrought many and great Miracles CHAP. V. The Strength and Force of the Preceding Arguments NOthing now therefore r●mains of my promise but the last Part which is to show that this way of proving Christ and his Apostles were Prophets is very sufficient and Rational And this it will appear to be on the account both of its Removal of all suspition that they were not and of its positive Evidence that they were All just Suspition that they were no Prophets must be Founded on a Probability either that they pretended not to the Spirit of Prophecy or if they did that they therein were deceived or else that they had a design to deceive others but by the preceding Arguments it is manifest that neither of these is true For 1. It is hardly possible for men to have the Antecedents or Concomitants and Consequents of Prophecy and to use them as they did ●n Order to the Propagation of Doctrine and yet not pretend to the Spirit of it Had their mouths been perfectly silent their Actions would have declared plainly to what they pretended Their Doctrine they Taught to be the Word of God and not of man In the Propagation of it they made Evidence of that Wisdome Fortitude and Vertue which attended the Prophets in the discharge of their Function and for the Demonstration of their Mission to Teach it they Foretold Future Contingences and wrought many and great Miracles And how could all this be without a pretense to the Spirit of Prophecy and the Office of Prophets and if this be Evident by their Actions without their Words much more so is it in conjunction with them for as a mans Actions may either Enervate or strengthen the credibility of his protestations and pretensions so his Words protestations or Declarations may very much Illustrate the purport of his Actions they remove all doubt that otherwise might be made concerning them Since then Christ and his Apostles did not only take upon them to do the Work of the prophetick Office but did also say that they were Prophets it is very Evident that they took themselves or at least pretended to be so 2. And that they were not deceived in taking themselves to be Prophets will hence also be Evident if we consider that this was hardly possible without Enthusiasme the Spirit of Divination or some such other Fantastick delusions but Enthusiasts or Diviners it is Evident they were not because they were wise Men of sound minds and discerning Intellects which were so great preservatives against the delusions of Enthusiasme and Divination as that in the Opinion of Plutarch prudence doth Repell and oftentimes Extinguish them hereof he insinuates a reason viz. Because Prudence doth cherish that modesty and sobriety which are destructive to those Calentures and In●lammations which are requisite to the Being of them And these usually were therein so great and fervent as that during the prevalence of Enthusiasme or Divination Men had not the use of reason nor indeed could they because these things being in themselves such as partake not of reason they could rise no higher than the fancy where dwelling like storms and tempe●●s in the middle Region of the Air they did disturb and disorder the Phantasmes and present them tumultuously to the Understanding and by so doing they did Eclipse its Light and hinder its influence in so much that either as Maimonides saith nothing of the rational Faculty could pass f●rth into Art or else at least it could pass no true Judgment on things so represented to it Hence no doubt it is that all sorts of Writers concerning them viz. Heathens and Jews as

the Walls being broken down and the Temple set on Fire some cast themselves on the Swords of the Romans others destroyed each other others murdered themselves and others leaped into the Flames accounting it not an overthrow but a kind of Victory Health a●d Happiness that they perished together with the Temple But whatever they thought of it our Saviour foretold it should be great Tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the World till that time and such it seems it was for Josephus thought verily that the Calamities of the Jews did for exceed all those of former Ages Nor was he without Reason to think so For there were according to his Computation no less than an eleven hundred thousand that died by Pestilence and Famine Fire and Sword during the Siege Thus were Jerusalem's Children layed on the Ground within her and it was but a few days that she her self stood after for ninety seven thousand being reserved for Captives the enraged Souldiers had no more to kill nor any thing else to do whereupon Titus commanded them to pluck up the very Foundations of the City and the Temple and accordingly they layed them so even with the Ground as that Travellers could scarce have Faith enough to believe the City was ever inhabited or the Temple ever standing for the Foundations of it Turnus Rufus tore up with a Plough-share Thus punctual was Providence in fulfilling our Saviours Predictions concerning the Destruction of the Jews Who being thus rejected the next thing in the oeconomy of the Gospel was the calling of the Gentiles this also was foretold by Christ if not likewise by his Apostles But to me it seems unreasonable to expect Records of such Predictions by them because both the History of their Acts and also their Epistles were all written to Persons so little concerned in it and on occasions so remote from it if not also at times after it as that they had scarce any at all to make mention of it yet we therein read St. Peter had a Vision on purpose to teach him that he should not call any man common or unclean i. e. that he should make no difference between Jews and Gentiles but that he should converse with and preach freely to the one as well as to the other and therefore should make no scruple of going to Cornelius at Coesarea St. Paul also in one Vision was sent to the Gentiles in another he was called to help the Macedonians hereby they assuredly gathered that the Lord had called them to preach to the Gentiles and if so then surely they had some certain foreknowledge of good success in so doing and that the rest of them had so too is manifest by their undertaking to do it Had they not had this assurance it would be hard to imagine that men so Wise and Rich as they were in all Vertues both intellectual and moral should also be so strong i. e. so careless of their own easie and unmindful of their worldly Concerns so resolute and courageous in pursuit of a Project so dangerous and grievous to Flesh and Blood in the Prosecution and withal so unlikely in the Eye of humane Reason to take ●ffect as theirs was it is therefore most rational to conclude they had some assured foreknowledge of good Success in their Labour and this certain Foreknowledge however discovered whether by Prediction or otherwise was a sure sign of a prophetick Spirit because it is above the Power of Art or Ability of any Creature to impart it to another and Predictions themselves are no otherwise proofs of the Spirit of Prophecy than as they make evidence of such Foreknowledge if then the Apostles were indued with this the matter was not much whether or no they were Authors of those especially in the thing now under Consideration because Christ had foretold it before them and sent to fulfill it and this he did so plainly in his Parables viz. that of the King which made a marriage for his Son and that of the Housholder that planted a Vine-yard c. as that the chief Priests and Pharisees perceived he spake of them and were much offended because they found they were not in his esteem as they were in their own viz. such Favourites of Heaven as still to keep the keys of God's Kingdom which as he plainly told them should be taken from them and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits of it i. e. the Gospel and Priviledg of being the only Church and People of God should be taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles who would be perswaded not only to believe but also to receive it and in their Practice to pursue the end and design of it viz. all Vertue and Holiness of living and this bl●ssed Efficacy of the Gospel he illustrates by the Similitudes of Mustard-seed and Leaven whereof the one though the least of all Seeds yet grows to so great a bigness as that the Birds of the Air may lodge in the Branches of it and the other though little also in Quantity yet is apt to diffuse it self and give a tincture to all the meal about it So it seems the Gospel being sowen by the Apostles preaching should so exceedingly grow and prosper among the Gentiles as that they should fly unto it and lodge their Souls under it and then by its secret invisible influence upon them it should change and affect their Hearts and Actions that flow from them Which certainly fell out accordingly for such were the Apostles Pains and Travails Industry and Success in Preaching as that their sound went out into all the Earth and their Words to the end of the World which Words of St. Paul were perhaps literally true of the Apostles only in reference to the Jews yet without any very great Hyperbole are also applicable to the Gentiles for whosoever will take the pains to follow the Apostles whithersoever they went will find they travailed almost all the known World over insomuch that there was scarce any Region on earth but by them was shewed the way to Heaven and that they were so successful as to convert almost all Nations is methinks manifest by those appeals the ancient Fathers made to the Enemies of Christ and his Kingdom Irenaeus affirms that in his time which surely was in the early Dayes of the Gospel for St. Hierom writes he was the Disciple of Polycarp and 't is thought that Polycarp was the Disciple of St. John the Apostle the Church was dispersed all the World over and as the Sun the Creature of God is one and the same in all the World so also the Preaching of one and the same Truth every where shines and enlightens them that are willing to come to the Knowledge of it And Origen tells Celsus the Gospel of Christ is preached in every Nation under Heaven to the Greeks and to the Barbarians to the Wise and to the

these Evangelists should write without their knowledge and approbation especially considering that Tertullian faith S. Marks Gospel may be affirmed to be St. Peters and St. Lukes the Apostolical Churches are wont to Ascribe unto St. Paul insomuch that St. Hierom it seems affirms that this is the Gospel which St. Paul calls His. What shadow of Probability had there been in these assertions if these Evangelists had not had at least the Approbation of these Apostles in their Writings and Approved it seems they were by St. John as well as them for Eusebius reporting the Tradition of the Church informs us that when the Writings of these Evangelists were come unto him He approved of them and gave them His testimony to their truth only ●e d●sired that in these Writings there ●ad been an account given of those things which Christ did when He first began to Preach And that that is said is true for it may be disc●rned that these thr●● Evangelists viz. St. Matthew St. Mark and St. Luke have committed to writing only th●se things which our Saviour did in the space of a year after the imprisonment and Capti●ity of St. John the Baptist They say theref●re that St. John the Apostle bath delivered in his Gospel the things which our Saviour did in that space of time which the former Evangelists ●ad pass●d over in silence the time namely before the Imprisonment of the Baptist An Observation not unworthy of our Notice but at present we have no use for any part of it but only the beginning viz. That St. John the Apostle did not only approve of but added his Authority to the Gospels of St. Mark and St. Luke which testimony of Eusebius or rather of the Church by him is so much the more Credible because Justin Martyr in many places of his Works calls these as well as the other Gospels 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Commemorations or Narrations of the Apo●●les but this they could not be unless as Tertullian faith the Evangelical instrument ●ad for its Auth●rs the Apostles on whom the Lord imposed the Office of Promulgating the Gospel or if Apostolical men had any hand in it yet not alone but with the Apostles and after the Apostles because the Preaching of the Disciples might be suspected of vain Glory if it had not ●ad the Authority of the Masters yea of Christ who made the Apostles Masters to assist it And having the assistance of their Authority it is very evident that since they were Prophets the Truth and Authority of these Writings mu●● needs be Divine the Authors of them wrote as Origen faith by Inspiration and so clear hath this argument heretofore been thought by its own light as that among the Jews it was a Rule That of whomsoever a Prophet bears witness that he is a Proph●t he shall be received as a Prophet neither shall there any farther Trial be made of him Since then the Apostles were Prophets and did either write or approve of and Authorize all the Books of the New Testament wherein also they give Testimony to those of the Old that they are the Word of God we ought to acquiesce and ceasing from making a doubt of it should conclude that the Authority of the whole Bible is Divine But it is Manifest faith the Leviathan that none can know the Scriptures are Gods Word though all true Christians believe it but those to whom God Himself ●ath revealed it Supernaturally It is Manifest yes that it is very good But I pray what makes it so why the sole Authority of the Leviathan And let me tell you you will never be fit to be his Disciple unless he hath Power enough over you to make you think so for he is ●o Auth●ntick a Teacher as that he often suggetts such Principles as this upon his bare Word and this you must take although perhaps you have good Reason to the contrary If you are so ill Natur'd as to deny him this little Postulatum you spoil all and leave no hope that ever you will be of his Opinion For an Instance of this you need not seek far there is one before you For what is knowledge but a firm certain and evident Assent to the Truth of a Proposition and our assent to that under debate viz. That the Holy Scriptures are the word of God seems to have all these degrees of perfection in it for it is firm because without Hesitation and doubting it is certain because Built upon such sure and solid Foundations as cannot be made unable to bear it and it is evident because it is evidently and plainly deduced from the next and immediate cause of any Scriptures being the Word of God Namely the Spirit of Prophecy But whether or no according to the strict and rigorous definitions of Philosophers it be Knowledge properly so called it is not material to enquire because it is not necessary that so it should be for as in all Arts and Sciences firm Assent to first Principles by what means soever it be attained is sufficient for Learners so here the chief design of Holy Scripture being to Teach us knowledge of things Supernatural and our Assent to the Divinity of its Authority being one of the first premises requisite to our attainment of that Knowledge it had need only to be firm because firmness of Assent thereunto is of it self sufficient to make us learn believe and obey the Scripture as the Word of God as is evident by the example of all those Pious and Good men who although illiterate do yet take heed thereunto as to the Rule that God hath given them both of their Faith and Practice this they do although they can give no other Reason why they think the Scriptures to be so than because they are generally received as such and Vogued to be the Word of God these Men it is confessed do not know but only believe that they are so yet their Faith being stedfast i. e. their Assent firm they we see do Learn Believe and Obey them as the Word of God But this is more than they need to do for He to whom God hath not Supernaturally revealed that they are his nor that those that published them were sent by Him is not obliged to obey them by any Authority but His whose commands have already the force of Laws that is to say by any other Authority than that of the Common Wealth residing in the Sovereign who only has the Legislative Power The Postulatum before mentioned was obtrud●d upon us because it was big with this Monster which the Leviathan hath Midwif'd into the World with its unhallowed Mouth against Heaven absolving as much as in that lies all Men living from Obedience to the Word of their Maker unless the Common wealth requires it This puts me in mind of the Roman Senates Decree and Tertullians irrision of it that unless God please Man he shall not