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	lord_n	word_n	4,134	5	3.9920	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20226	A sermon of Gods prouidence Very godly and profitable: preached at South-shoobery in Essex, by Arthur Dent, Minister of Gods word.; Platforme, made for the proofe of Gods providence	Dent, Arthur, d. 1607.	1609 (1609)	STC 6647; ESTC S116580	16,828	48

occupied instructed then hée was by his toring with Cratippus And this would haue taught him that though the Lord suffereth tyrants to bée for a time a plague to an● natiō yet in his appointed time he suffereth them to bée punished by other tirants to haue the same measure that they measured vnto others Now if we compare Sennacherib and Pompey that gloried in this title The greate which name Silla gaue him for his victories we shall finde many things alike in their histories Both of them was an axe in the hand of God to strike the people of the East Both of them destroyed Palestina and afflicted the people of God Sennachetib besieged Jerusalem Pompey tooke it the Assirian was put to flight by an Angel and was slaine in his Temple that is in his Sanctuarr by his owne Sonnes Pompey was put to flight by Caesar and flying to Ptolomy King of Egipt whose father being dispossessed of his kingdome he had restored again to his crowne and therefore Ptolomy should haue béene as a sonne vnto Pompey was there in Egipt with him miserably slaine So vnsearchable are the waies of Gods iudgements for that which Michah speaketh of the Caldeans in the 4. chap. of his propheste They know not the thought● of the Lord they vnderstand not his councell therefore they shall bee thrashed as sheaues is the barne may be spoken of all these Gyants and proude tyrants who for that they know t not the counsaile of the Lord shall in his apointed time beare the punishment of their pride Neither doth the holy Ghost teach vs that the wicked only are punished but that the church of God is also afflicted though for another end and purpose And there may many reasons bee brought to shew why the church of God is subiect to so many calamities but I will at this time alleadge onely thrée by which as by many other wee may know that the Lord in truth and iudgement doth excercise his church with afflictions The first is y ● so long as we carry about with vs this burthen of corruption we are not onely subiect to sinne but do continually by sinning prouoke the Lord to deale in iustice with vs And therefore it is agréeable to the iustice of GOD that wée bee chastned of the Lord with a fatherly rod which may keepe vs in obedience Yea wee must all say with Ieremy in the third chapter of his Lamentations verse 22. It is the Lords mercies that wee are not consumed because his compassions fayle not My second reason is this It is best for vs to bée humbled vnder the mighty hand of God for wée know how fierce and haughty minded we are by nature so that it is necessary for vs that God keepe vs vnder his schooling and so haue vs in some awe therfore Dauid saith in the 1. 19. Psal ver 67. Before I was afflicted I went astrav but now I keepe thy word ver 71. It is good for me that I haue beene afflicted that I may learne thy statutes The third reason is deliuered by Paul in his first Epistle to the Corinthians the 11. Chapter vers 32. Whē we are iudged wee are chastned of the Lord because wee would not bee condemned with the world Therefore let vs conclude this whole discourse with Moses thus The iudgements of the Lord are true and righteous neither let vs measure them according to our owne conceit iudgements which are very deceiueable but let vs know that the Godly are punished for their sinnes they dayly commit that they may be humbled and that they perish not with the wicked but God in punishing the wicked doth shew open the treasures of his long sufferance patience and iustice but when he afflicteth vs hée maketh vs like to his owne Sonne Christ and stirreth vp in vs an earnest desire to be dissolued and to be with Christ Let vs in the meane time giue our selues to harty and earnest prayers praying continually with the Saints of God Come Lord IESVS yea come quickly Amen Amen

regarded vs not The Periapatetickes and other sort of Philosophers broched another opinion teaching that those things which are aboue the Heauens are mooued guided and gouerned by God himself but those things that are vnder the circle of the Moone are gouerned partly by chance and fortune partly by the counsailes and deuises of men partly by a brutish or senceles force of nature There is a third opinion of the Stoicks which is that all things are ruled by fate or destiny that is by a secret order and linke of causes in which chaine all things are so surely tied that both God himselfe and man are straighted within those bounds This was a very dainty opinion in the iudgement of the Poets who to excuse the weakenes of their God Iupiter fained that he wept for that he was so hindered by the force of destiny that he could not set Sarpedo at liberty The fourth opinion is Platoes who graunteth that God by his prouidence ruleth all things in generall which afterward God cōmiteth to petty Gods halfe Gods and diuells who haue the charge and care of particular things From these foure opinions spring all other whatsoeuer touching Gods prouidence and there is no one opinion which may not easily be reduced to one of these But some of vs euen of vs Christians flying one danger run into another for that they dare not deny that God by his prouidēce ruleth al things yet will they not graunt that by it hée gouerneth euery particular thing least they should thereby be driuen as they think to some absurdities thus whilst they would auoide absurditie they commit impiety and fal away from the truth most dangerously But farre bee this frō your heart Right worshipful and that it may neuer possesse you auoid the cause that worketh it in them which is ignorance of the word of God and for that God in great mercy hath kindled in your heart a desire of knowledge quench not that godly desire in you but pursue hotly with hearty and feruent prayer after knowledge and you shall finde it and if you shall finde it you shal●certainely know that there will no absurdity be inforced vpon any doctrine grounded vpon Gods word that you néed not feare this doctrine as they do I wil first discourse breifly of the truth of it and wil proue that God gouerneth by his prouidence al things generally and euery particular thing particularly then wil I answere to al those chiefe obiections which are brought against it and by which some vaine men think to make the doctrine absurde To the first For that this argument hath béene diuersly handled and men haue béene very curious in discoursing thereof espetially since what way soeuer they winde themselues many absurdities doe séeme to follow them it wil be best I thinke for me to kéepe me in the high beaten way least séeking by-wayes I wander out of the way I meane to discourse so of this doctrine as I am taught in the word of God then diligently to remooue al those things whatsoeuer they be not beséeming the most pure nature of God which in the iudgmēt of man shal séeme hereof to follow But if my ignorance were so great that I could not remooue these inconueniences yet notwithstanding are you all Christians bound to receiue with all humilitie this true doctrine to blame me not the doctrine if I be not able to cleare it o●●●l those things which in the iudgement of man may séeme absurd And although it is not my purpose to examine all that Philosophers others say against the gouerning of euery thing by the prouidenc● of God yet in my minde all that they cā say against it may by this one argument be easily ouerthrowne If he be a God which they all confesse though they would deny it yet may it easily bée prooued against them he is a most perfect thing but y ● which is most perfect hath nothing perfecter then it selfe neither can we imagine any thing to be more perfect then that which of it selfe is truly absolutely most perfect therfore there is nothing neither can we imagine any thing to be more perfect then God herevpon I infer if God did not gouerne al things in general euerie thing in particular we might well imagine that there was some-thing more perfect then God euen such a deity which had charge and care of euery particular thing but it is shewed y ● no such deity or Godhead cā be imagined It is false therefore that they herevpon would infe 〈…〉 that God by his prouidence ruleth no● euery particuler thing the contrary is true which we teach for else surely that God which they dreame of to liue idly and at case to haue no care of any thing as they babble is not in truth a God but as Tully somtime said of their maister Epicurus so say I of them that they in words acknowledge a God but in truth deny y ● there is any But leauing Philosophers let vs sée what the Scripture teacheth vs the first place I will vse for y ● proofe of this doctrine I take out of the Epistle to the Hebrues the 1. Chapt. verse 3. where it is said of the sonne of God that Hee beareth vp that is mooueth and gouerneth all things by his mightie worde hee that graunteth that he ruleth al things excepteth no one thing from his gouernment We may then well conclude out of this place of God that God gouerneth all and euerie thing But least I should leaue any starting hole for the aduersary to winde out at let vs further sée what the Scriptur● teacheth vs of the gouerning of euery particular thing by Gods prouidence Neither will I heape vp many places but content my selfe with a fewe examples out of which the truth of this doctrine may be gathered And thus I do endeuour to prooue it briefly All the creatures of God are either indued with y ● gift of frée choise or else want this liberty of choise they that haue it are Angels both good and euill and men also both good and euill they that want this liberty of choyse are all other liuing things created by God also those his creatures which haue no life and yet of all these creatures God hath a speciall care so as he disposeth of euery one of them according to his pleasure The booke of Iob and the Psalmes do very often handle this argument so that if I should gather out of them all their proofes I should write out almost their whole bookes yet some I will bring and leaue the rest for you to gather hoping it wil be a means to bring you to the often reading of them In the 147. Psalme the Prophet saith thus of God hat he couereth the Heauen with cloudes and prepareth raine for the earth and maketh the grasse to grow vppon the Mountaines But the cloudes the raine and the grasse are things without soule