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	profess_v	visible_a	1,998	5	9.1242	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86532	The saints guide, in three treatises; I. The mirror of mercie, on Gen. 6.13. II. The carnall mans condition, on Rom. 1.18. III. The plantation of the righteous, on Psa. l.3 / By Thomas Hooker minister in New-England.	Hooker, Thomas, 1586-1647.	1645 (1645)	Wing H2655; Thomason E1160_1; ESTC R11339	43,446	180

Gods glory is to be preferred before that which crucernes a mans selfe p. 159 We must doe good to our selves in the first plase p. 160. But I must not preferre my body before anothers soule nor my temporalls before his spiritualls nor my good before his life p. 160. Reas 1. If the season of doing dutyes be taken it beautifies all our actions p. 161. Vse 1. For triall whether we have seasonably discharged our dutyes in regard of our generall and particular callings p. 165. Vse 2. For instruction it teacheth us that the life of a Christian is not an idle life p. 167. Vse 3. For incouragement now to stop in that we may be cured while the season of grace lasteth p. 168. THE MERROR OF MERCY GEN. 6.13 And God said my Spirit shall not strive with Man for that he also is flesh yet his dayes shall be an hundred and twentie yeares THe Scope of this Chapter and the intendment of the Spirit of GOD therein is mainely to discover two things viz. The different condition or severall sorts of the people of the old world before the Flood in the first part of the Chapter and then the different dispensation of Gods providence towards them answerable both to their persons and sinnes in the second part of the Chapter In the first observe first the carriage of the common route in severall Expressions from the fift to the end of the seven verse and Secondly the holy demeanour of blessed Noah in the eight and nine verses But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation and walked with God Noah in that wicked time and place and amongst a wicked people was an holy and righteous man saith the Text. Touching the carriage and behaviour of wicked men observe the hainousnesse of their sinnes in those unreasonable and unlawfull lusts and abhominable actions against the light of Nature and the law of God saith the text before the sonnes of God saw the Daughters of men that they were faire and they took them wives of all which they chose As who should say they cared not whether they pleased God or not they are resolved to please themselves their owne filthy appetites and humours The sons of God were the posterity of Seth who had the ordinances and the worship of God in outward profession And the daughters of men the daughters of Cain they were of another brood and these sonnes against Reason Religion even all common sence and honestie against the Lawes of God and the workes of their owne consciences joyne with these daughters in marriage and these mongrell kind of marriages produce Monsters not onely for state of body but of monstrous condition and manners such as were monstrously proud prophane and in all wickednesse abounding Secondly touching Gods proceedings and carriage of himselfe against the generation of these men Observe it in the words of the Text wherein the Lord sets downe as it were a sentance of doome against them whence observe that as soone as sin is propounded God enters immediatly into a Counsell and determination against the Sinners Obser Expect when once base and sinfull courses are put in practise Judgment comes and that suddenly So from the sins of these people observe That marriages with a contrary Religion ever brings destruction Soloman tooke strange wives and therefore his Crowne was rent from him They chose new gods faith Deborah and there was warre in their gates Here is no sooner mention made of combining and mixing with contrary Religions Seth and his posterity with Cain and his but Judgment forthwith ensues and proceeds And God said my spirit shall not strive with man for that he also is flesh yet his daies shall be an hundred and twenty yeares In which words take notice First of Gods determination what he will doe seeing they will have their owne waies and wills he will not want of his will he will proceede to Judgment and if God determine a Judgment who shall hinder it Secondly of the reason of Gods determination herein In the Determination consider First what is supposed and must necessarily be granted That God doth and will destroy Sinners Secondly what is exprest and set downe and that generally and particularly Generally That God will strive with Sinners before he enters into Judgment In the Text one hundred and twenty yeares a large time of Repentance longer then they had of living Particularly There is the bounds and limits of Gods mercy God will not alwaies strive with man Secondly Observe that the Reason is set downe by way of aggravation For that man is also flesh As if it had beene said not onely that base generation of Cain that had cast away the Law of God and made Lust their Law but even Seths Posteritie Even thy servants O Lord that professe the Faith and have the worshippe and Ordinances of God they even they also are fleshly and sensuall not onely Rome Spaine Italy and Turkes but England thy people that have beene baptized professed thy truth enjoyed thy Ordinances They are loose and prophane So that this also apparantly implies not onely Cains Posteritie the wicked but Seths Seede the Church of God members of the visible Church these though professing the truth depart from the truth practise the abominations of the wicked Before we come to the severall passages of the Text we must unfold the words First what is meant by spirit here it is the Holy Ghost for God owneth this spirit My Spirit The third Person in the glorious Trinity Now God striveth not only miraculously or immediately by Divination but most usually and now mediately by the Ministery of his Word God strove with this generation of the old World by the Ministery of Enoch and Noah the Lord immediatly assisting and advising them they spoke not their owne words but such as Gods Spirit put into their mouthes 2 Pet. 1. the last ver Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost so that by spirit here is meant the Spirit of God and by that spirit in the Ministery of the Patriarks and Prophets the Lord strove with the men of the old world and former Ages Secondly what is meant by striving The Greeke Interpretors translates the word so as it hath no agreement with the word Spirit and indeed we shall rather aime at it then explicate it The word is taken from a Theame which signifieth to judge or condemne in judgeing but it is not here meant in judgment but a debating of the matter betweene God and a sinner Now if God should call a man to accompt and enter into judgment with a sinner who is able to stand before him what man may contend with him that is mightier Ecclesia 6.10 No man is able to abide God or contend with him in judgment But God here deales with man answerable to the nature of a man not with blowes but with reasonings and

either the meanes from them or them from the meanes or his blessing from both God hath bounds of his bounty and patience hitherto and no further he will strive but not alwaies when his time is expired not a jot or minute is further to be expected As with the Sun it hath its time of increasing and so there is the spring and harvest it hath its time of decreasing and then blasting and winter there is also a time of consuming the store as of bringing it in so it is with the Son of Righteousnesse who hath a time to receive quicken and ripen the graces of his people and a time to leave men to hardnesse of their hearts in the darkenesse of Aegipt He will ridde them of his word or in hearing they shall not heare Gods season of mercie doth not allwaies last there is a Terme time and a vacation the sun-shine of Gods goodnes now comforts and makes grace to grow the Gospell is gon and all mercie and comfort is gon when Ephraim was gon to Idolatrie Hos 4.17 God was also gon nay Let him alone saith God he is joyned to Idols let him make up his match with mischiefe let him have his belly full of sinning I will now no more strive with him The Lord make us wise to know the day of our visitation least he remove his Candlesticke from us and he be seene no more least he in his wrath goe away and leave us to die and perish in our sinnes FINIS THE CARNALL MANS CONDITION Set forth in a Sermon on Rom. 1.18 By THOMAS HOOKER late of CHELMSFORD in Essex now Minister of the Gospell in New ENGLAND LONDON Printed for John Stafford dwelling in the Alley against Brides Church 1645. THE CARNALL MANS CONDITION ROM 1.18 The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungoodlinesse and unrighteousnesse of men who hold the truth in unrighteousnesse IN the beginning of this Chapter the Apostle Paul by way of Preface prepareth way for those many excellent truths that the Spirit of God had furnished him withall to send to the Saints that were at Rome And that those Heavenly Mysteries might take the deeper roote in their hearts and find the better acceptance with them In the first place he cleareth the Authority of his Calling and that he came not before he was sent of God ver 1. Paul a Servant of Jesus Christ called to be an Apostle separated unto the Gospell of God And therefore being thus called it became them to receive his doctrine not as the notions of his owne braine but as the Word of the immortall God Secondly by way of insinuation he prayseth them for that good progresse that they had made in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ verse 8. Thirdly He discovers the tendernes of his love and affection towards them and his uncessant and unwearied desire to doe them good from the ninth to the sixteenth verse Fourthly He laieth downe the maine point the Criticall point the hinge upon which all the rest of his glorious building should move viz. That a man is justifyed in the Sight of God by faith and not by workes which Proposition he proveth first by Scripture ver 17. The just shall live by faith Secondly by force of Argument in the words of the text shewing that no man can stand righteous before God by workes because the best workes that a man can doe of himselfe are wicked and unjust and therefore punished of God for all men out of Christ stand guilty both of ungodlinesse and unrighteousnes so are subject to condemnation therefore they must needs seek righteousnesse in some other his Argument runneth thus If no man by the workes of the Law can appease the Wrath of God then by the workes of the Law no man can be saved but by the workes of the law no man can appease the Wrath of God therefore by the workes of the Law no man can be saved this he propounds in the text and prosecutes in the Chapter following In the words of the text we may observe in the generall these two parts First that carriage and disposition of heart that is in wicked men towards the Truth of God Secondly Gods dealing with them in requitall of that their carriage they stand in opposition to the truth Holding it in unrighteousnesse God stands against them in a way of Wrath and Vengeance they deale roughly with the truth and God deales as rigorously with them More particularly here is first the subject The Wrath of God secondly the object Ungodly and unrighteous men Thirdly The Universality of it in this word al God doth not deal partially but all be they what they may be that Hold the truth in unrighteousnesse shall feele the Wrath of God no sinne how little soever it seemeth to a carnall eye shall escape it Fourthly The place from whence this Wrath shall come that is from Heaven Obser 1 From the Method that the Holy Ghost useth in placing ungodlinesse before unrighteousnesse we may learne That Sinnes against the first table are sinnes of a deeper dye of a sadder nature then Sinnes against the second table Obser 2 Secondly in that it is said against ungodlinesse and not ungodly men we learne That Gods Wrath is not primarily not principally intended against mens persons but against their sinnes and wicked wayes Obser 3 Thirdly in that it is said they hold the truth in unrighteousnesse we learne That the Gentiles naturally had that ingrafted in them whereby they might come in some degree to the Knowledge of God of the Almighty Power greatnesse goodnesse and everlasting Nature of God even by looking upon his Creatures so that their own reason might condemn them of their wickednesse both towards God and men For the clearer understanding of the words wee are to consider First What is ment by the wrath of God The wrath of God is an act of Gods Justice punishing wicked men sometimes it is put for the judgements themselves as plague sword famine and such like It is here set down in opposition to the Righteousnesse of God spoken of ver 17. which is Gods mercifull goodnesse and gratious dispensations towards poore lost men Secondly what is meant by truth by truth here is ment the remainder of light that was left in Man kinde after the fall that rubbish that was left upon the fall of that first glorious building that Common light that is in every mans conscience since the fall of Adam that serves to shew him what God is in His Power Glory Majesty and Bounty and that he is to be worshipped by adoring and fearing of him above all somtime truth is put for the efficacy and power of truth Gal. 2.14 Paul reproveth Peter and the rest for not walking according to the truth of the Gospell because the truth had not beene so efficatious with them as to drive them from those beggerly elements of the Ceremoniall Law but they would have had the Gentiles