Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	doctrine_n	scripture_n	tradition_n	1,683	5	8.8849	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17258	A guide vnto godlinesse: or, A plaine and familiar explanation of the ten commandements, by questions and answeres fittest for the instruction of the simple and ignorant people. By Francis Bunny, one of the prebendaries of the Cathedrall Church of Durham.; Guide unto godlinesse.	Bunny, Francis, 1543-1617.	1617 (1617)	STC 4100; ESTC S119539	83,481	241

him Q. We learne then that this Commandement may be broken by swearing either falsly or vainly by talking of Gods workes vnreuerently by vowing or promising to God not caring to performe the same by inconsiderate wishes and wandring praiers and lastly by making profession of seruing God when wee serue our owne lusts sinne or Sathan A. It is true But one thing I had almost forgotten For wée dishonour Gods Name not onely in our wandring prayers as is before sayd but also in praying to him for things vnseemly or that against our enemies hee would bee an executioner of our wrath In all these or such like requests we dishonour the name of the Lord our God And also in oathes besides false and vaine swearing already prooued to be against this Commandement it is a great dishonor to Gods Name to match him with any other in swearing or any other seruice of GOD as Gods people did for which GOD by his Prophet threatneth to destroy the land and to cut off the people and the beasts the birdes and the fishes also and this séemeth to be a great cause of that generall destruction because they did worship and sweare by God Zeph. 1.5 and by Malcham For our great and mighty God who gouerneth all things as he will scorneth so vnequally to be matched with Idols or any creatures Q. Now besides all these transgressions of this Commandement we read that God very often findeth fault with false prophets that came in his Name when hee sent them not spoke in his name when hee bid them not and made the people beleeue they were his true Messengers yet were nothing lesse Did not such take the name of the Lord in vaine A. Certainly they did So that as by that which hath formerly bin said we haue learned how euery man may transgresse this Lawe so here we are taught how these in their particular function do grieuously and very dangerously for other breake this Commandement And herein do all popish and other false Teachers wickedly offend in that they vaunt themselues as messengers from God to teach his truth when they speak of nothing but their owne fancies and mens traditions vnlesse as gracelesse murderers will cast Sugar vpon poison to deceiue him that eateth it so they now and then alleage somewhat out of Scriptures to make their hearers beleeue that al that they deliuer is like that when their doctrine and Gods word in his booke deliuered are no more like then night to day darknesse to light or Antichrist to Christ And thus much for this third Commandement I meane for the things prohibited therein Q. But what is required in this Commandement that we should do A. He who will not that wée dishonour his name would haue vs occupied in sanctifying the same For as Christ saith Mat 12.30 Hee that is not with mee is against mee and hee who gathereth not scattereth So hee who honoureth not GOD dishonoureth him whensoeuer occasion is giuen to honour him in that hee omitteth that dutie And therefore Moses though hee did not any thing whereby God might be dishonoured yet is charged not to haue honoured God because when oportunity serued with assured faith in Gods power and mercie he commanded not the Rocke to send forth water Exod. 17.6 as sometime before hee had done Because saith God ye beleeued not me Num. 20 12. to sanctifie mee before the Children of Israel therefore yee shall not bring this Congregation into the land which I haue giuen them And God accounted this such a dishonour to him Deut. 3.25 that though Moses praied God that hee might goe in and see that good land beyond Iordan Yet God would not heare his praier for that thing verse 26. Q. It appeareth then that this prohibiting or forbidding to dishonour Gods name doth necessarily containe in it a commandement to honour the same and that worthily For the honouring of his Name is the first thing that our Sauiour Christ hath taught vs to begge of God in that forme of prayer which he hath taught vs which we call the Lords Prayer Therefore as you haue taught vs how his Name may be in diuers sorts or many waies dishonoured so let vs heare how wee may apply our selues to honour the same A. First if we do the contrary to those things whereby Gods name is dishonoured As if taking his name in swearing we sweare alwaies truly and in iudgement or for deciding of controuersies of weight or importance if wee thinke or speake of his workes reuerently if wée performe the holy meanes which wee haue promised in our hearts to vse to furder vs in his seruice if in our short and ordinary wishes or solemne prayers wee with feare and reuerence sue to God seriously lastly if our outward profession of religion bee ioined with care and indeuour to serue God truly and walke worthy of our calling by these meanes we shall rightly performe this holy seruice Q. Are there not some particular or speciall obseruations which if wee follow we may more religiously apply our selues to all these duties before mentioned A. Yes verily and briefly they are these A diligent hearing or reading of Gods word For without it wée are like men that haue a desire to worke and will be doing somewhat but in the darke night when through want of light they know not whether it be right or wrong good or euil that were in Therefore that in all our doings and sufferings God may bee glorified Rom. 15.5 wee must pray to the God of patience as S. Paul calleth him that hee will giue vnto vs Phil. 1.29 not to beleeue only but to suffer also for Christs sake 1. Cor. 6.20 So shall we glorifie God in our bodie and in our Spirit as St. Paul willeth Q. What is meant by the words following For the Lord will not hold him guiltlesse that taketh his name in vaine A. God thereby moueth this people to take heed that they offend not against this lawe For many go forwards in their sinnes rashly thinking that as man doth not so God cannot espy or at the least doth not see their wickednesse or if he see yet he regardeth it not or that hee will not punish or that he is not of power sufficient For what is so absurd that vngodly men will not surmise to flatter themselues in their owne waies therefore God heere giueth his people to vnderstand that if they prophane his name they prouoke against them the LORD himselfe whose All-séeing Eye beholdeth the very thoughts of the heart and whose Power is infinite and not to bee hindred by any deuice or policie or to be restrained by any strength of man Who if he wher his glittering sword Deu. 32.41 and his hand take hold of iudgement will execute vengeance on his enemies and will reward them that hate him So that howsoeuer they deceiue themselues and plead not guilty yet he who knoweth them better then they

reasons For first there are many good vses of an Oath as the ending of strife and controuersies Exod. 22.8 11. that might arise among neighbours as in such cases as are set downe Therefore the Apostle to the Hebrewes saith Eb. 6.16 that an Oath for confirmation is among men an end of all strife Secondly it hath beene vsed for assuring of bargaines and couenants as betweene Abraham and Abimelech Gen. 21.31 And when Iacob bought Esaus birth-right hee made Esau to assure the sale thereof vnto him by an Oath Thirdly Gē 25.33 an Oath hath been vsed to bind more strongly the seruant to faithfull seruice Gen. 24.9 as Abraham swore his seruant when he sent him to get a Wife for his sonne Isaak and the Subiects to loyalty alleagance So did Nebuchad-nezar take an oath of alleagance of Iehoiakin king of Iuda and God called that oath his Oath 2. Chro. 36 13. and threatneth grieuously the King and people for breach of that Oath Ezech. 17.18.19 But besides these good vses of an oath we sée it is often commanded in the Scriptures which should rather be forbidden if it were vnlawfull Thou shalt feare the Lord thy God Deut. 6.13 and serue him sweare by his name Againe Deu. 10.20 Thou shalt feare the Lord thy God and serue him and shalt cleaue vnto Him and shalt sweare by his Name Yea the Prophet doth testifie that they shall bee praysed that sweare by his name Ps 63.11 If vnto these I would ad examples of godly men who vpon good occasions did sweare besides Abraham and Iaacob already spoken of Gē 47.31 I might alleadge Ioseph Moses Iosh 14.9 and many moe who if an oath had been vnlawfull would not haue sworne Q. But they make shew of reason for this their errour alleaging the words of Christ Mat. 5.34 Sweare not all after whome also Saint Iames the Apostle taught the same lesson A. These words being truely vnderstood make nothing to maintaine their errour Christ reproueth in the words alleadged two corruptions of those times concerning Oathes The first that if they swore by the creatures though in them Gods Maiesty doth shine they did imagine they took not the name of God in vaine But Christ telleth them that his honour is so tyed vnto his creatures that without diminishing his glory they cannot sweare by them The second corruption was that they had these Oathes in their common talke and as it seemeth were of that mind that many now are that so they swore truly they sinned not Christ therefore teacheth them that in their communication or ordinarie talke they should vse no swearing but they should simply affirm a truth or deny an vntruth which hee meaneth by these words that their communication should bee yea yea nay nay and whatsoeuer is more commeth of euill Mat. 5.37 And S. Iames thus expoundeth these words of our Sauiour Christ that their yea should be yea and their nay nay that is whether they affirme or deny it should be true that they say But against other Oathes then such as are vsed in ordinarie or common talke and in déed are too commonly vsed among vs there is nothing in these words Q. I see then it is lawful to sweare but teach me how in Othes the name of God may be taken in vaine A. First by false swearing for the end of an Oath should be to lay open the truth and to make it known that might otherwise lie hidden within vs. If then the taking of the name of God worke not this effect it is taken in vaine God therefore by his Prophet Ieremy teaching his people how they might keepe themselues in this point from breaking this Commandement Iere. 4.2 saith Thou shalt sweare The Lord liueth in truth in iudgment and in righteousnesse And by the same Prophet reprouing his people for their hypocrisie Ier. 5.2 saith thus Thogh they say The LORD liueth yet they sweare falsely Yea he giueth a plain Commandement Leuit. 19.12 Thou shalt not sweare lyingly by my Name Q. If then the end of an Oath bee to discouer a truth what shall wee thinke of the doctrine of aequiuocation which teacheth not onely to deny a truth but to do it vpon an Oath and thinke they do well that so forsweare themselues A. I say it is a doctrine very fit and sutable to the Priests Iesuits who mainetaine the same for as they striue as much as they can to take all truth out of the Church so do they heereby what in them lyeth to take away all Faith honest dealing from among men For when men may not be trusted vpon their word no not vpon their Oath but that still they may suspect some secret reseruations to be hidden in their deceitfull hearts what safety can there bee in dealing with such men Q. Let these Aequiuocatours then passe as wilfull transgressours of this third Commandement and as wilfully deceiuing others by their most irreligious doctrine is this Commandement broken only by false swearing A. It is broken also by all vaine swearing for as wee must sweare in truth so in Iudgement also as out of Ieremie I shewed before And this word of iudgment doth signifie Iere. 4.2 either that the Oath must be taken before a Iudge as in the cases formerly mentioned out of Exodus Exod. 22.8 11. it was commanded or at the least iudicially in matters of great importance and for ending of waighty controuersies as the Oathes that the godly of whome I spoke before were made but to cal God to witnes in matters of no moment is a great dishonouring of Him and his name Much like as if a king or mighty Prince of grauity and wisdome should bee called to be a Iudge among children of their push-pin or blow-poynt or such toyish games Q. Besides the vaine matters that men sweare for many times such othes bring men to a custome of swearing whereby this Commandement must needs bee broken and they who vse such oathes are in danger to be snared thereby A. The sonne of Sirach giueth very good counsell for this matter Accustome not thy mouth saith he to swearing for in it there are many falls neither take vp for a custome the naming of the Holie one for thou shalt not bee vnpunished for such things A man that vseth much swearing shall be filled with wickednesse Eccle. 23.9.11 and the plague shall neuer goe from his house And if he sweare in vaine he shall not be innocent but his house shall be full of plagues Againe to talke with him that sweareth much Eccl. 27.14 maketh the haire to stand vp and to striue with such stoppeth the eares Q. Wee must needes accuse our times then of great corruption wherin too many scarce can speake but with oathes yea swearing if it bee done with a grace in so grieuous gracelesse sinne many pride themselues too much in as