Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	deed_n	light_n	manifest_a	2,272	5	9.7572	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64822	The new command renew'd, or, Love one another being an endeavour after the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, by several uniting principles, among which there are ten rules for a right understanding of scripture, very useful for these divided times / by Ralph Venning.	Venning, Ralph, 1621?-1674.	1652 (1652)	Wing V214; ESTC R3161	28,675	54

Christians hear a little if you think your selves in the right I hope you think so on good grounds and not that you are in the right meerly by thinking so now if your grounds be good upon which your conceits are built you need not be afraid nay you may be incouraged to produce them with boldnesse 'T is to be suspected that they who refuse to bring forth their strong arguments have no strong arguments to bring forth Christ tells us Joh. 3.21 John 3.21 that he that doth truth and he that holds truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God If mens arguments be pure and good they will not be the worse but the more confirmed by being weigh'd if they be found either base metal or counterfeit the discovery will ingage them to part with them and to take their part no longer lest they deceive their soul in short if they be good they may do good they may help others to see the light if bad 't will be a mercy they were produced for you are losers while you follow darknesse and lying vanities 2. 2 Let pride of heart The second hindrance to a meeting about agreement is Pride of heart Men are loth to be the first movers lest they should be thought timerous and willing to yeeld but beloved Christians Christ Jesus did not so God and we had never met nor had been reconciled together had not God come to us first Though God were offended by us and had thence just reason to be for ever offended with us yet he sounds a truce and makes the first tender of agreement shall we not walk as we have him for an example 'T is very observable that while any one party is low it pleads for moderation and reconciliation but when it hath got the staffe in its hand it scarce mindes much lesse practises either Ah Christians the very Heathens will shame us for Aristippus an Heathen though elder then Aeschines who began the strife sues first for peace shall we not be friends said he to Aeschines Christians I beseech you go to one another and say as Aristippus shall we not be friends And oh that every one would answer as did Aeschines yes with all mine heart 3. Satans policy A third hindrance to a meeting about an agreement is Satans policy we may take up Pauls words when he writes to the Thessalonians 1 Thes 2.18 we had come unto you once and again but Satan hindred us Christians why do ye not come one to another why are ye not in your journey 't is to be feared Satan stands in your way and stays you The second Principle Principle right understanding 2. Being met labour for a right understanding of each others mind there is nothing makes men stand at such a far distance as a mis-understanding 't is with men now as with the men at Babel the languages are confounded and they understand not one another At your meetings Three things begge of God The delivery of truth you seek God about these three things for a right understanding 1 That God would be pleased by his own Spirit to declare and make cleare his truth unto you that he would make known to you and make you to know what is his good perfect and acceptable Will that so you may walk before him in all well-pleasing 2. The delivery of truth 〈◊〉 you Intreat God that he would deliver you to the truth as well as deliver the truth to you not only that he would open his truth to your hearts but also open your hearts to his truth that so you may close with every truth embracing and welcoming it as your joy though it should open you to never so many repreaches in the world 3. Intreat God to remove all obstacles 3 Removal of obstacles and to take that out of the way which stands in the way and keeps you from understanding and owning truth Such as these 1. Self interest in holding any opinion 〈◊〉 Self-interest nothing more hinders men from going to or going from an opinion then the interest they have by holding it men do not care so much for the opinions they hold as for what they hold by their opinions Many a man thinks I am confident what Demetrius said Acts 19.27 This craft by which we have all our wealth is like to be set at nought and then we are like to come to nought Hence they begin to flie in the face of truth and oppose it with outragious rage so dearly sweet and sweetly dear is their darling gain They see they cannot have the Honey unlesse they burn the Bees and therefore fire them forthwith they cannot possesse the Vineyard unlesse Naboth be put to death and therefore he must be dispatch't When once the coppy-hold of gain and honour is touch't men begin to look about them and will never call godlinesse gain because gain is their godlinesse Beseech God therefore that you may be unselfed and may lay down all your interest of gain and honour Let the truth of God be ten times dearer then tenths or any income of gain and honour which cometh in by any opinion for as some say where gold grows no plant will prosper so certainly no truth will be dear nor have heart-room where the love of money or honour hath taken place 2. Intreat God to keep you from passionate discourses and disputations or from passion in discourses and disputations For 1. Tha wrath of man worketh not the righteousnesse of God So much passion as there is so much there is to no purpose yea to an ill purpose 2. Passion usually ariseth more from and for self then Christ 3. Passion hinders the efficacy of the argument for the tingling of passion hinders the sound of truth 4. Passion unfits a man for discourse and confounds both memory and understanding so that as Aristotle hath observed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they that are in passion cannot discern nor judge of truth 5. Christ loseth more by the passion then he gains by the disputation for while you seek to honour him he finds himself to be dishonoured 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 When two dispute and th' one begins to rage The other not retorting is more sage 3. 3 Prejudice Intreat God to remove prejudices for that doth very much prejudice the entertainment of truth Ahab had such a prejudice against Michaiah that he would not call him Prophet but 1 King 22.8 1 Kings 22 Michaiah the son of Imlah There 's one man Michaiah the son of Imlah but I hate him for he never speaks good concerning me but evil but as Jehoshaphat said to Ahab Let not the King say so even fo would I say to you Christians let not Christians say of one another this is a rigid man I will not hear him or this is a Sectary I will not hear him Beg of God that prejudice may