Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	faith_n	grace_n	spirit_n	4,029	5	5.0239	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59662	The Day-breaking, if not the sun-rising of the Gospell with the Indians in New-England	Wilson, John, 1588-1667.; Shepard, Thomas, 1605-1649.; Eliot, John, 1604-1690.	1647 (1647)	Wing S3110; ESTC R21203	20,924	28

that art of coyning Christians or putting Christs name and Image upon copper mettle Although I thinke we have much cause to bee humbled that wee have not endeavoured more then wee have done their conversion and peace with God who enjoy the mercy and peace of God in their land Three things have made us thinke as they once did of building the Temple it is not yet time for God to worke 1. Because till the Jewes come in there is a seale set upon the hearts of those people as they thinke from some Apocalypticall places 2. That as in nature there is no progresses ab● 〈◊〉 ad 〈◊〉 nisi per media so in religion such as are so extreamly degenerate must bee brought to some civility before religion can prosper or the word take place 3. Because wee want miraculous and extraordinary gifts without which no conversion can bee expected amongst these But me thinkes now that it is with the Indians as it was with our New English ground when we first came over there was scarce any man that could beleeve that English graine would grow or that the Plow could doe any good in this woody and rocky soile And thus they continued in this supine unbeliefe for some yeares till experience taught them otherwise and now all see it to bee scarce inferiour to Old English tillage but beares very good burdens so wee have thought of our Indian people and therefore have beene discouraged to put plow to such dry and rocky ground but God having begun thus with some few it may bee they are better soile for the Gospel then wee can thinke I confesse I thinke no great good will bee done till they bee more civilized but why may not God begin with some few to awaken others by degrees nor doe I expect any great good will bee wrought by the English leaving secrets to God although the English shall surely begin and lay the first stones of Christs Kingdome and Temple amongst them because God is wont ordinarily to convert Nations and peoples by some of their owne country men who are nearest to them and can best speake and most of all pity their brethren and countrimen but yet if the least beginnings be made by the conversion of two or three its worth all our time and travailes and cause of much thankfulnesse for such seedes although no great harvests should immediately appeare surely this is evident first that they never heard heart-breaking prayer and preaching before now in their owne tongue that we know of secondly that there were never such hopes of a dawning of mercy toward them as now certainely those aboundant teares which wee saw shed from their eies argue a mighty and blessed presence of the spirit of Heaven in their hearts which when once it comes into such kinde of spirits will not easily out againe The chiefe use that I can make of these hopefull beginnings besides rejoycing for such shinings is from Esay 2. 5. Oh house of Israel let us walke in the light of the Lord Considering that these blinde Natives beginne to looke towards Gods mountaine now The observations I have gathered by conversing with them are such as these That none of them slept Sermon or derided Gods messenger Woe unto those English that are growne bold to doe that which Indians will not Heathens dare not That there is need of learning in Ministers who preach to Indians much more to English men and gracious Christians for these had sundry philosophicall questions which some knowledge of the arts must helpe to give answer to and without which these would not have beene satisfied worse then Indian ignorance hath blinded their eies that renounce learning as an enemy to Gospell Ministeries That there is no necessity of extraordinary gifts nor miraculous signes alway to convert Heathens who being manifest and professed unbeleevers may expect them as soone as any signes being given for them that beleeve not 1 Cor. 14. 22. much lesse is there any need of such gifts for gathering Churches amongst professing Christians signes not being given for them which beleeve for wee see the Spirit of God working mightily upon the hearts of these Natives in an ordinary way and I hope will they being but a remnant the Lord using to shew mercy to the remnant for there be but few that are left alive from the Plague and Pox which God sent into those parts and if one or two can understand they usually talke of it as wee doe of newes it flies suddainely farre and neare and truth scattered will rise in time for ought we know If English men begin to despise the preaching of faith and repentance and humiliation for sinne yet the poore Heathens will bee glad of it and it shall doe good to them for so they are and so it begins to doe the Lord grant that the foundation of our English woe be not laid in the ruine and contempt of those fundamentall doctrines of faith repentance humiliation for sin c. but rather relishing the novelties and dreames of such men as are surfe●●ed with the ordinary food of the Gospell of Christ Indians shall weepe to heare faith and repentance preached when English-men shall mourne too late that are weary of such truths That the deepest estrangements of man from God is no hin●●●nce to his grace nor to the Spirit of grace for what Nation or people ever so deeply degenerated since Adams fall as these Indians and yet the Spirit of God is working upon them That it is very likely if ever the Lord convert any of these Natives that they will mourne for sin exceedingly and consequently love Christ dearely for if by a little measure of light such heartbreaking● have appeared what may wee thinke will bee when more is let in they are some of them very wicked some very ingenious these latter are very apt and quick of understanding and naturally sad and melancholly a good servant to repentance and therefore there is the greater hope of great heart-breakings if everGod brings them effectually home for which we should affectionately pray A third meeting with the Indians NOvember 26. I could not goe my selfe but heard from those who went of a third meeting the Indians having built more Wigwams in the wonted place of meeting to attend upon the Word the more readily The preacher understanding how many of the Indians discouraged their fellowes in this worke and threatning death to some if they heard any more spake therefore unto them about temptations of the Devill how hee tempted to all manner of sinne and how the evill heart closed with them and how a good heart abhorred them the Indians were this day more serious then ever before and propounded divers questions againe as 〈◊〉 Because some Indians say that we must pray to the Devill for all good and some to God they would know whether they might pray to the Devill or no 2. They said they heard the word humiliation oft

used in our Churches and they would know what that meant 3. Why the English call them Indians because before they came they had another name 4. What a Spirit is 5. Whether they should beleeve Dreames 6. How the English come to know God so much and they so little To all which they had fit answers but being not present I shall not set them downe onely their great desire this time was to have a place for a Towne and to learne to spinne Sir I did thinke I should have writ no more to you concerning the Indians but the Ship lingers in the Harbour and the Lord Jesus will have you see more of his conquests and triumphes among these forlorne and degenerate people surely hee heares the prayers of the destitute and that have long lien downe in the dust before God for these poore prisoners of the pit surely some of these American tongues and knees must confesse him and bow downe before him for the Saturday night after this third meeting as I am informed from that man of God who then preached to them there came to his house one Wampas a wise and sage Indian as a messenger sent to him from the rest of the company to offer unto him his owne sonne and three more Indian children to bee trained up among the English one of the children was nine yeares old another eight another five another foure and being demanded why they would have them brought up among the English his answer was because they would grow rude and wicked at home and would never come to know God which they hoped they should doe if they were constantly among the English This Wampas came also accompanied with two more Indians young lusty men who offered themselves voluntarily to the service of the English that by dwelling in some of their families they might come to know Jesus Christ these are two of those three men whom wee saw weeping and whose hearts were smitten at our second meeting above mentioned and continue still much affected and give great hopes these two are accepted of and received into two of the Elders houses but the children are not yet placed out because it is most meet to doe nothing that way too suddainly but they have a promise of acceptance and education of them either in learning or in some other trade of life in time convenient to which Wampas replyed that the Indians desired nothing more These two young men who are thus disposed of being at an Elders house upon the Sabbath day night upon some conference with them one of them began to confesse how wickedly he had lived and with how many Indian women hee had committed filthinesse and therefore professed that hee thought God would never looke upon him in love To which hee had this answer that indeed that sinne of whoredome was exceeding great yet if hee sought God for Christs sake to pardon him and confesse his sinne and repented of it indeed that the Lord would shew him mercy and hereupon acquainted him with the story of Christs conference with the Samaritan woman Iohn 4. and how Jesus Christ forgave her although shee lived in that sinne of filthinesse even when Christ began to speake to her whereupon he fell a weeping and lamenting bitterly and the other young man being present and confessing the like guiltinesse with his fellow hee burst out also into a great mourning wherein both continued for above halfe an houre together at that time also It is wonderfull to see what a little leven and that small mustardseed of the Gospell will doe and how truth will worke when the spirit of Christ hath the setting of it on even upon hearts and spirits most uncapable for the last night after they had heard the word this third time there was an English youth of good capacitie who lodged in Waaubons Wigwam that night upon speciall occasion and hee assured us that the same night Waaubon instructed all his company out of the things which they had heard that day from the Preacher and prayed among them and awaking often that night continually fell to praying and speaking to some or other of the things hee had heard so that this man being a man of gravitie and chiefe prudence and counsell among them although no Sachem is like to bee a meanes of great good to the rest of his company unlesse cowardise or witchery put an end as usually they have done to such hopefull beginnings The old man who askt the first question the second time of our meeting viz. whether there was any hope for such old men or no hath six sonnes one of his sonnes was a Pawwaw and his wife a great Pawwaw and both these God hath convinced of their wickednesse and they resolve to heare the word and seeke to the devill no more This the two Indians who are come to us acquaint us with and that they now say that Chepian i. e. the devill is naught and that God is the author onely of all good as they have been taught Hee therefore who preacheth to the Indians desired them to tell him who were Pawwaws when hee went againe to preach amongst them and upon speciall occasion this Decemb. 4. being called of God to another place where the Indians use to meet and having preacht among them after the Sermon hee that was the Pawwaw of that company was discovered to him to whom hee addressed himselfe and propounded these questions viz. 1. Whether doe you thinke that God or or Chepian is the author of all good he answered God 2. If God bee the author of all good why doe you pray to Chepian the devill The Pawwaw perceiving him to propound the last question with a sterne countenance and unaccustomed terrour hee gave him no answer but spake to other Indians that hee did never hurt any body by his Pawwawing and could not bee got by all the meanes and turnings of questions that might bee to give the least word of answer againe but a little after the conference was ended hee met with this Pawwaw alone and spake more lovingly and curteously to him and askt him why hee would not answer he then told him that his last question struck a terrour into him and made him afraid and promised that at the next meeting hee would propound some question to him as others did And here it may not bee amisse to take notice of what these two Indians have discovered to us concerning these Pawwaws for they were askt how they came to bee made Pawwaws and they answered thus that if any of the Indians fall into any strange dreame wherein Chepian appeares unto them as a serpent then the next day they tell the other Indians of it and for two dayes after the rest of the Indians dance and rejoyce for what they tell them about this Serpent and so they become their Pawwaws Being further askt what doe these Pawwaws and what use are they of and they said the principall