Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	commandment_n	keep_v	know_v	4,797	5	5.4171	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A60320	A sermon preached at Christ-Church in Dublin before the Lord Lieutenant and Council, the fifth day of July, 1674 by Mr. Andrew Sall ...	Sall, Andrew, 1612-1682.	1674 (1674)	Wing S392; ESTC R32075	51,081	162

being rationally and Christianly principled and nothing averse to Piety till coming to the later Proposition That it became the wisedom and goodness of Christ to appoint a visible Judge Infallible upon Earth to determine Controversies He replied mildly we had reason to go warily in censuring the wisedom and goodness of God if this or that thing seeming to us expedient were not done in the government of the World for who can pretend to know the depth of the wisedom and knowledg of God Rom. 11.33 to search into his judgments and find out his ways This most rational advertisement took deep root in my heart ever thirsty of reason and open to receive it Neither did the modesty of the Proposer diminish but rather augment the weight of it It was in truth the first shock that touched me to the quick striking upon the very root of that Engine of Infallibility I leaned upon Reflecting upon the matter in my solitudes I perceived the weakness of the ground I built upon I saw that in like manner we may say it belongeth to the goodness wisedom and power of God not to permit that his Holy Law should be transgressed by vile creatures and his supreme dread Majesty offended by despicable vermine Nor that Pastors of Souls especially the Roman Pope deemed a Vice-God upon Earth should fall into errours and scandalize with wicked life the people And alas it is but too well known he permits this Shall we therefore waver in the Opinion of his goodness power and wisedom God forbid Why then should we think it a failure in his providence or goodness if besides Holy Scriptures abounding in all light and Heavenly Doctrine to such as are not wilfully blind he did not appoint some visible Judge universal for our direction St. Paul saying 2 Tim. 3.16.17 that Holy Scriptures are able to make us wise unto salvation that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works That Foundation alledging the necessity of a Judge visible universal and Infallible being thus weakned I proceeded to examine what right the Pope or Church of Rome could pretend to such infallibility the support of all their Incredible Doctrine And first the very inconstancy of their pretence to this priviledge and great dissention of their Authors in asserting it was to me a main reason of suspecting the truth of all and a concluding argument that they cannot be certain of having it Vide Bel l. 4. de Rom. Pont. c. 2. For some will have the Pope himself alone as Pope or as teaching from his chair to have this Infallibility of Doctrine Others will not allow it him but in conjunction with a Council either general or particular of Cardinals and Divines Others only attribute it to him in a General Council Others neither separately nor conjunctly and will only allow the Church Universal to be Infallible And finally others of the most Learned affirm even the Church Universal S. Tho. Turre ●●●mata Alphon●us a Cact●o apud Candi 4 〈◊〉 c. 4 concl 2. to be capable of a Material Errour by Probable Ignorance though not of a Formal and Heretical one which in substance is to allow the Church no more Infallibility than Origen Tertullian or any other particular true Christian Believer hath though subject to errors which Opinion if extended to make the Universal Church fallible even in Points Essential to saluation is false And upon so great an uncertainty of their Infallibility they will have us to build a certain Infallible Belief of all they please to teach us which is to build a house incapable of falling upon a sandy and ruinous Foundation Now for their grounds for this pretended Infallibility what is their warrant for it Divine Scripture they say for who but God could give such a Priviledge and what warrant have they for believing he Scripture saying so to be Divine and Infallible The Infallible Testimony of the Church say they again their own Roman Church they mean So they believe the Scripture is Infallible because the Roman Church doth testifie it and this Church to be Infallible because the Scriptures Testimony is for it A circle in reasoning which Logicians would hiss out of their Schools Neither may Becan's escape avail him that they deal with Christians who believe the Scripture for no Christian but such as they will make blind can believe that there is any Scripture favouring their case in this particular without clipping or corrupting it to serve their purpose For example Their main pillar for this Infallibility fetcht out of the 24th chapter of St. John John 14.16 I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever even the Spirit of truth Their own Disciples who ordinarily know no more of Scriptures than what they are pleased to shew to them for their several purposes may think that Text to be pertinent for their pretentions But who will take the liberty to read the Context before and after will clearly find out that the very same Text destroyeth their whole design and taketh away all certainty of the Holy Ghost his assistance for rendring their Decrees Infallible The Text restored to its integrity saith thus in their own Bible If ye love me keep my commandments Mundus id est remanens amator mundi cum quo nurquam est amor Dei Gloss interlin Non habent spirituales oculos quibus Spiritum sanctum videant mu●●i ama●●res Gloss ordinaria and I will ask my Father and he shall give you another Paraclete that he may abide with you for ever even the Spirit of Truth whom the World cannot receive By the first words you may see this to be a conditional promise limited to such as love God and keep his Commandments by the later words you see worldly and sinful men expresly excluded from receiving that gracious assistance of the Spirit of Truth therefore to be sure that the Pope and his Council have the assistance of the Spirit of Truth we must be sure that they love God and keep his Commandments but of this we cannot have security their own Histories relating and the world knowing enormous vices in them What they alledge out of St. Paul writing to Timothy Tim. 3.15 that the Church is the pillar and ground of Truth we freely admit it as due to the Universal Church not to any particular but less to one found guilty of so many and great errours such as the Romish is whose ambition in claiming and appropriating to it self all the commendations delivered of the Church Universal is no less reprehensible than as if the Scribes and Pharisees persecuting our Saviour should appropriate to their Synagogue all the praises given to Moses and Aaron Would not you wonder that their chief Champion Cardinal Bellarmine Bellar de sum P●n l. 4 c 2. should bring for proof of the Pope's Infallibility that in the Old Law

of withdrawing from the Communion of the Roman Church was just and necessary My whole Discourse upon the Text prefixed is but one Syllogism whereof the major Proposition is this That if we should find a Church or Congregation convinced of Idolatry Impiety and Cruelty in the publick established practice of it we are to forsake the Communion of it This is the doctrine of our Saviour contained in the words of our Text as appeared by the declaration and proof of it in the first Point The minor is That I found the present general practice of the Roman Church convinced of Idolatry Impiety and Cruelty The Conclusion is that the Resolution I took of forsaking it was just and necessary No Christian may deny the major it being Christ's doctrine as appeareth by our Text. If the minor be true no good Logician may deny the conclusion The truth of the minor touching Idolatry seems to be sufficiently proved by what is said concerning the Worship of of the Eucharistical bread and of Images And touching Antichristian Impiety by what is declared of their opposing and preferring the Popes Laws to the Law of God making the Pope Sole and Supreme Arbiter of Gods Law giving him the Attribute of Infallibility proper to God alone abrogating Christs Institution in the Administration of the Eucharist or Communion and Establishing another contrary to it Bereaving Christ of the title of sole Saviour and hope of human kind by calling the Virgin Mary their Saviouress and hope Advancing the honour and worship of Saints beyond that of God by dedicating more Churches and saying more prayers to them than to God Their Cruelty in the conduct of souls appeareth too much in what we have said of bereaving the Christian people of the Fruit of the blessed Sacrament of the Altar in their practice of half Communion in depriving them of the benefit of their soul having publick Divineservice in a Language not intelligible to them of the liberty of reading the word of God in his Holy Scriptures Their Tyranny over Princes in deposing them from their Crowns and dignities and moving subjects to bear arms against them Their severity used with the Irish in pursuance of their pretention herein To this may be added their Tyranny over consciences in forcing them to the belief and defence of Doctrines repugnant to their judgement and not established by Catholick Faith as may appear in their violence about forcing all to believe and declare for the conception of the virgin Mary without original sin so many clear testimonies of Scripture being against it as affirm that all men did sin in Adam that Christ was universal redeemer from sin and Saviour of all mankind And not one word to be found in favour of the Exception they pretend for the Virgin Mary besides their voluntary and very often frivolous applications of Texts never intended by the Author of them for their purpose So whatsoever is said by Solomon of the Spouse in his Canticles of wisedom in his Proverbs c. that may seem to have some sound or cadency suiting with their intention is taken up for a sure Oracle declaring the immaculate conception of the blessed Virgin But what strength is wanting to their Texts is supplied by Force and Art two Orders being engaged in that quarrel for the immaculate conception the one numerous among the people and violent in stirring them to abuse the Houses and persons of their Opposers the other prevalent with the Peers and Prelates and with the Popes to engage all in their Quarrel obtaining fearful Excommunications against Opposers of their doctrine by word or writing ordering that in Universities none may have Degrees in Churches none may preach but such as will protest publickly for the immaculate conception with other many violences used to extort such protestations Of which Protestants how many do Protest against what in their mind they judge to be truth God knoweth For my part I am slow in judging of mens thoughts but I dare judge that if their Definitions touching other Points controverted did proceed after this manner I am not obliged to take them for Infallible What of their cruel censures of their Fellow Christians not subject to the Pope of Rome excluding them and the rest of human kind not living in that Communion from all hopes of Salvation wherein they not onely oppose Truth but bely their own Principles as was clearly made out in a Treatise I was forced to pen some years ago When being questioned by some of the Nobility whether one baptized knowing the Lords Prayer the Ten Commandments and the Creed and endeavouring to live according to them ready to believe what he understands to be true Catholick Faith guilty of no obstinacy in misbelieving any Article of it Whether such an one may be saved though he be not of the Communion of the Roman Church I answered he may and was truly a Member of the Catholick Church notwithstanding any calling the Vulgar gave him And having understood I was censured for this Doctrine in absence though none opposed me in presence I penned a Treatise in Latine wherein I demonstrated by evident Testimonies of Scripture Councils Fathers Authority of Divines and Declarations of Popes that the Doctrine I delivered was Catholick Faith and the contrary of it was Heresie and Blasphemy Coppies of this Treatise were given to them of more Authority and Learning of the Romish Clergy in the Kingdom and are among them these 3. or 4. years and none yet could shew in it any thing untrue or ill grounded yet all conspired against the publishing of this said Doctrine as being prejudicial to the Romish Cause because thence followed that Protestants may be saved and that many called Hereticks would not be such indeed To which I answered that I found great conveniences in those things they represented to me for inconveniences being heartily desirous that all men should be saved and that of them called Hereticks none of all should be such in truth And come what will of my Answer I cannot but answer truth when I am questioned I replied to their complaints of that with the words of Job Jo. 13.7 Will you speak wickedly for God and talk deceitfully for him Or as the Latine Text hath Num quid Deus indiget vestro mendacio ut pro illo loquamini dolos Does God need your lyes and that you should use cheats in his cause surely he does not And so I concluded it was not the cause of God or good of souls they zealed but the Grandeur of the Roman Court and their own pretentions with it which I would not advance with telling lyes or concealing truth Let them sooth one another with those compliances as those Owls and Syrens Isaiah represents answering one another in the ruinous Houses of Babilon Respondebant ibi ululae in aedibus ejus Is 13.22 Syrenes in delubris voluptatis Odious Night-birds leud Syrens keep correspondence in Babilon But the