Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	consume_v	zeal_n	zealous_a	15	3	9.2011	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26906	The cure of church-divisions, or, Directions for weak Christians to keep them from being dividers or troublers of the church with some directions to the pastors how to deal with such Christians / by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1670 (1670)	Wing B1234; ESTC R1684	258,570	520

this book according to their Principles and as they use to do by others Before they have soberly read it over they will carry about the Sectarian reports of it from hand to hand And when one hath said it the rest will affirm it that I have clawed with one party and have girded at the other and have sought to make them odious by bringing them under the reproach of Separation and of censuring and avoiding the ungodly and that being luke-warm my self and a complyer with sin I would have all others do so too And that these Reconcilers are neither flesh nor fish and attempt impossibilities even to reconcile Light and darkness Christ and Belial And that for the sake of Peace we would ●ell the Truth and would let in Church-corruptions out of an over-eager desire of Agreement And when they have all done neither party will regard them but they shall fare worse than any others and will lose both sides whilest they are for neither I know it is the nature of the disease which I am curing to send forth such breath and scents as these And I intend not to bestow a word to answer them 5. And some of the wise and sober Ministers who mark more the inconveniences of one side than of the other and look more to outward occurrences than to the Rule and to the inward state of Souls especially such as have not seen the times and things that I have seen will think that though all this be true it is unseasonable and may give advantage to such as love not Reformation And to them I shall return this answer 1. That if we stay seven years more for a seasonable time to oppose the radical sin of uncharitableness we may be in our graves and the sinners in their graves and the sin may be multiplied and rooted past all hope of remedy And why may you not as well stay seven years more for a seasonable time to Preach down all other sins as well as this Is this the least malignant or least dangerous sin 2. There was never a more seasonable time to tell men of their sin than when the temptation to it is the greatest when it is most growing and multiplying among us When God hath been so heinously dishonoured by it when the world doth ring of it when many Volumes reproach them for it And when the sensual and ungodly are hardened by it in their scorn of godliness to the apparent peril of their damnation yea more to turn our complaints from our Law-givers upon our selves It is want of Love and it is Dividing principles and practices that have silenced so many Ministers and brought us into all the confusions and calamities which we see and undergo 6. But there are many sincere and considerate Ministers who knowing this which I say to be true will be the more excited by it to lead the younger and passionate sort of Religious people into the wayes of Love and peace and to save them from the dangers here detected and perswade them to the practise of these Directions And for the use of these I write this Book And yet to end as I began I must add these notices for your right understanding of it 1. That this is not my first attempt upon this work but the progress of what I have been upon these three and twenty years About fifteen or sixteen years ago I preacht on the third Chapter of Saint Iames in a larger and a closer manner on this Subject than here I write because the times then called me to it 2. I perswade no Christian to justifie or own the sins or the least defects of any Church Minister or People in their Worship or in their lives though I perswade you to Communion with the Churches persons and worship-actions which have many faults For on Earth there is no person Church or Worship faultless and without corruption I justifie not the faults of my own daily Prayers and yet I never pray without them 3. I am not perswading Ministers to any unwise and unseasonable Preaching against the dividing Principles of the weak when the necessities of the Auditory more require other Doctrine Much less to exasperating railings and invectives And least of all to wrathful violence But only with prudence in season and with Love and gentleness to lead men into the truth If even with Infidels and Hereticks the Servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle to all men apt to teach patient in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth 2 Tim. 2. 24 25. How much more must the Children of Gods family be used with Love and tenderness But if the fierceness of any contradict what I say I only add that it is not an unexperienced person that speaketh it but one who through the mercy of God hath long kept a numerous flock in Love and unity and peace by such like means and hath seen the lamentable effects of the contrary way 4. While I say so much in this Treatise against the rash censuring of others I give you not the rule for mens censuring of themselves They know more by themselves They may search into the depth of their hearts and intentions which we cannot do They are allowed to be more suspicious censorious of themselves than of any others It more concerneth them And they have more to do with themselves and may be bolder with themselves We judg others in order to visible Church-Communion by visible and publick evidence But in order to their preparation for the judgment of God we must direct them to judge themselves according to the truth in the inward parts 5. While I draw you to peace and moderation towards others I desire not to quench the least degree of Christian zeal Nay I endeavour to kill that which would kill it The purified peculiar people of the Redeemer ane zealous but of what not to consume and destroy one another nor to hate and flye from one another nor to vilifie and backbite one another but they are zealous of good works And Paul will tell you what are good works Gal. 5. 22 23. Love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance Be zealous in Loving all Christians as Christians and all men as men Be zealous for Peace If it be possible as much as in you lyeth live peaceably with all men Rom. 12. 18. Be zealously patient gentle good meek temperate And the works of the flesh are hatred variance emulation wrath strife sedition heresies A zeal for these is earthly sensual and devilish as Iames telleth you And remember that the word which is translated there Envy is Zeal in the Original But our translators were afraid lest the prophane would have mistaken it if they had translated it Zeal ver 16. where zeal and strife is that is a striving contentious zeal there is confusion and every evil work If you believe

good whilest they think that they only despise the praise or dispraise of men We are commanded not to please our selves but to please all men for their good to edification Rom. 15. 1 2 3. Our power over them is upon their minds and wills and not like Magistrates upon their bodies or estates Therefore when we have lost their hearts we have lost our power to do them good They will not easily hear him that is despised or abhorred by them Therefore a prudent care must be taken that we be not prodigal of our interest in them lest it prove to be cruelty to their souls Secondly And yet if we give up our selves to their conceits and humours and forsake the way of truth or peace to keep their favour it will prove the more dangerous extream I have before noted the peril of Ministers and the Church by this temptation The rawest and the rashest professours are commonly the most violent and censorious And so ready to scorn and vilifie the gravest wisest Pastors who cross their opinions that many honest Ministers have been overcome by the temptation to forsake their own judgement and to comply with the violent to escape their censures and contempt But this is not the way to the Churches peace It may prove a palliate cure for a time to put by at the present some sudden inconvenience But it prepareth for after troubles and confusions First it will make the rashest and indiscreetest people which is usually the women and young men to be the Governours of the Church Whilest all their Teachers must humour them lest they displease them Secondly When you have followed them a little way and think there to stop you must follow them still further and never can foresee the end For that weakness and passion of theirs which crieth up one errour to day is pregnant with innumerable more and may cry up more to morrow and so on And one errour commonly draweth on more and one miscarriage engageth them to another And the last are usually the worst And the same ends and reasons which made you go out of the way to please them will make you still follow them how far soever they go unless you repent Thirdly And if you repent and leave them it must cost you dearer than prevention would have done And you might have at much cheaper rates forsaken them just there where they forsook the way of truth and peace Fourthly And you will by following the conduct of giddiness and passion dis●dvantage your Ministry as to all the less zealous and all the more sober and peaceable of the godly And you will bring your selves into contempt with these for your levity injudiciousness and instability And so you will lose much more than you will get Fifthly And in the mean time you will be made but the vulgars instrument to do hurt you will be used by them but to confirm themselves in their errours and to further dividing and unpeaceable designes-Sixthly And when all is done and your consciences are wounded and you are made the heads or leaders of factions at last those of themselves that God sheweth mercy to will see their errour and when they repent they will give you little thanks for your compliance A sinful humouring of rash professours is as great a temptation to godly Ministers as a sinful compliance with the Great ones of the world I mean it is a sin which our station and disposition afford us as great temptations to For though to a worldling wealth and honour be stronger temptations yet to a godly man the applause or censure of those whom we account most wise and godly may tempt much stronglier And alas how ordinarily doth the fire of Church and state which flameth about our own ears convince us of our errour in following those whom we should lead O how many doleful instances of it doth Church history afford us There are not many of the tumults that have cost the lives of thousands about Religion but were kindled by the young injudicious professours who drew in their Teachers to humour them in countenancing too much of their disorders Historians tell us that when King Francis of France had forbid the reproaching of the Papists way of worship and silenced the Ministers for not obeying him many of the hot brain'd people took up the way of provoking them by scornful pictures libels hanging up and down in the streets suchridi●ulous and reproachful rhimes and images But this which was none of the way of God began that persecution by provoking the King which cost many thousands if not hundred thousand lives before it ended And the Synod at Rochel which refused the grave counsel of Du Plessis Du Moulin and many such others was stirred up by the peoples zeal and ended in the blood of many score thousands and the ruine of the power of the Protestants in France Abundance of such sad instances might be given if England need to go any whether else for matter of warning than to it self He that after the experiences of this age will think it fit to follow the conduct of injudicious zealots is left as unexcusable as almost any man that never had a sight of hell The dreadful ruine of Ierusalem according to Christs prediction such as the world hath scarce seen besides was just in the like manner brought about by those furious ones whom Iosephus calleth the zealots But if you will do all things good and lawful to win men and offend them by no unnecessary thing and yet stand your ground and stir not an inch from truth or seberness piety or peace to please any people in the world This way shall do your work at last Men will at last perceive the worth of sober principles and wayes At least when Mountebanks have killed most of their patients the rest will repent and wish that t●ey had hearkened to the counsellers of peace They that run round when they find themselves giddy and ready to fall will lay hold upon somewhat which is firm and stable Compliance with one of the contentious parties may make you cried up by that party for a time But the contrary faction will as much cry you down and your estimation is but like an Almanack for a year And they themselves that needed your sinful help for some present job will be like enough ere long to cast you off as is aforesaid And if they do not you are objects of pity to sober standers by And in the next age the name of a Melancthon a Bucer a Bergiu● a Crocius an Vsher and other such Peace-makers will be pretious to posterity when the memory of fiery dividers will be dishonourable Keep your standing and stick closer to truth and justice and peace than to any party and resolvedly give up your selves to please God and you will be no loosers by it And its two to one but at last some of the contenders will desire you to be the arbitrators of