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	justify_v	work_n	4,711	5	6.9461	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09262	Fiue godly, and profitable sermons concerning 1 The slaverie of sinne. 2 The mischiefe of ignorance. 3 The roote of apostasie. 4 The benefit of Gods service. 5 The Christians loue. Preached in his life time in sundry places. By that late faithfull minister of Christ Mr William Pemble of Magdalen Hall in the Vniversity of Oxford.	Pemble, William, 1592?-1623.; Tombes, John, 1603?-1676.	1628 (1628)	STC 19576A; ESTC S114334	73,812	112

departing frō the living God This attribute compriseth all the rest more to vs thē all the rest not only what God is in himselfe but what he is vnto the creatures namely the author of their life being so the fountain of their happynesse and welfare He therefore that forsakes God leaues the wellspring of liuing waters to drinke puddle out of a broken Cisterne he leaues the Sunne to warme himselfe at a candle and departs from life to goe into death God is truth and light and they that goe from him runne into darkenesse and error in him only is peace and happinesse without him there 's nothing but woe and misery They forsake their owne mercy that trust in lying vanities Ionah 3. 8. being taught by his owne experience he that flyes away from Gods presence to goe to Tharsis thinking there to be in safety he shal be deceiued in his expectation the windes will not blow fauorably vpon such a runagate the seas will not brooke the shippe that beares him safety he finds none but whē we least looked for it in the belly of a fish and that neither vntil he had returned vnto God whom he had forsaken by prayer and promise of obedience Men and Angels and all creatures are but lying vanityes deceiuing the hope of them that seeke vnto them for helpe when their ayde is only sought after and God forsaken they then leade vs into sinne and misery and there leaue vs. Wherefore miserable is the case of Apostates who turne their backes to religion and sanctity of life in as much as these things cannot be left but God must be forsaken too There is indeede an imagination amongst them that God will be a friend vnto them in all religions and in all practises whatsoeuer But this is but a Turkish dreame No he that departs from faith and obedience departs also from the liuing God And whosoeuer so forsakes God let him also be sure God will forsake him then which no greater miserie can betide a creature You see Beloued what iust cause we haue to enforce this exhortation vpon our selues Take heede c. It is easie yet most dangerous to be deceiued herein wherefore now bethinke your selues try your hearts in an vnpartiall examination of them whether they be sound in the faith yea or no now that yee may not wander in this search fasten your meditations vpon these two particulars 1. Looke to thy knowledge see vpon what grounds thy faith in God and profession in religion is built Stands thy faith in the wisedome of men beleiuest thou because of their saying is it founded vpon the custome of the countrie of thine owne education vpon the authoritie of lawes and good liking of men that establish and maintaine the religion thou professest if this be the ground worke of thy faith thou buildest vpon the sand Hast thou no sound knowledge of religion thy selfe Art thou vnable to iustifie thy faith by the Scriptures Is not thy conscience convinced by sure proofe that the religion which thou professest is the very truth of God If so know then for a certaine that there is an euill heart within thee that will betray thee to Apostasie in the time of trouble Shall a man thinke thou wilt stand to that which thou knowest not throughly when arguments threatnings persuasions and faire promises shall assault thee Will such sleight imaginations as these endure the stake when all that thou canst say for thy selfe is I thinke so men say so I haue beene taught so by such and such Ministers other men are of that opinion I neuer heard to the contrarie And wil such slender and ill grounded conceites as these in matter of religion vphold thy heart in a constant resolution to stand for the maintenance of the faith will these arme thee with courage against the point of the sword the heate of the fire the teeth of the beast the force of torments losse of friends of country of life for Christs sake Be assured that if thy religion rest vpon such propps as these that it will fall vpon the dust when peace credit and other temporall respects which are now the maine vndersetters of it shal be remoued and the whole weight of it shall leane vpon such a broken reede 2 Looke to thy practice whereby thou shalt best discover what thy heart is Is the practice of thy religion entire faire vniuersal equally respecting all the commandements so that thou studiest to thy power to walke before God in vprightnesse and to please him in all things Art thou the same man in priuate that thou art in publike in thy closet and in thy parlour in the Church and in the market in thy life and in the pulpit Is thy carriage even and smooth doe thy holines towards God thy righteousnesse towards men thy sobrietie towards thy selfe keepe pace together goe hand in hand Art thou a faithfull Minister a iust Magistrate an honest tradesman as well as thou pretendest to be a Christian If thou canst say yea that truly there 's hope of such a one that what ever may befall him he will not start back nor deale vnfaithfully in the covenant he hath made with God but that his faithfulnesse and vprightnesse shal preserue him from backsliding But Beloued if ye serue God with reservations and secret dispensations picking and choosing according as it fits your owne humonrs doing this thing disobeying that If ye trust God in some promises mistrust him in others feare him in some threatnings despise him in others then know all is not well within for there is within an evill heart of vnbeleife and religion will gaine but litle credit by your cōstācie in the professing of it He that shuffles and cutts and choakes his conscience by shifts of wit stifles in him the good motions of grace nourisheth in him some wicked affection or other and liues in the practice of some secret abomination He that can stumble at a straw and leape ouer a block straine at a ceremony and neglect the substance of righteousnesse and iudgment and the feare of God he that is forward in such maters as gaine applause making the shew of his religion his reputation but in the meane time where there 's no notice taken of him he liues loosely intemperatly and vnconscionably Let not such a one deceiue himselfe it is certaine his heart is naught and vnfaithfull and when God his religion haue most neede of him such a false friend will faile them both He that hath already denied the power of Godlinesse will it be any wonder if afterwards he deny the forme of it one sinne liued in without repentance is enough to pull a man to hell and will it not be enough to poperie or any other heresie He that will not leaue his sin for his religions sake will easily be perswaded to leaue his religion for his sinnes sake he that will not at Gods commande or intreaty be

no other grace that hath the proper office and power to vphold a man in the constant embracing of all holy dueties and constant practise of all good workes but only faith and therefore where that is not men must needes fall away from both That such is the force and vse of true faith you shall see by considering the obiects of it 1 All divine trueths to be held and professed in matter of Religion which are aboue our naturall and corrupt reason and therefore vnlesse our vnderstanding bee by a true faith captivated vnto the obedience of Christ that we can resigne vp our owne wits to be ruled by Gods wisedome and rest our selues only vpon the true word of God it is not possible that ever we should finde sure footing where and in what certaine trueth to rest our selues but shall alwaies bee as those Children spoken of Ephes. 4. 14. of weake and vnsetled mindes easily perswaded to belieue any thing being like small barkes without sufficient balance 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tossed vp and downe vpon the waues like a feather and driven this way and that way with every winde of false Doctrine raised vp by our owne foolish fancies or by the device and craftinesse of men lying in wait to delude vs. 2 All commaundements of God touching our holy practises together with all the threatnings if we doe not obey and promises if we doe Now these things are partly contrary to our corrupt nature and vile affections which cannot subiect themselues to Gods law partly they are beyond the reach and desire of our sensual and worldly minds which see no great matter to be loved and feared in whatsoever God threatneth or promiseth Gods law is holy but we are not so Gods promises are spirituall but we are carnall led by sensuality placing our affections on things that are in present view and therefore naturally everie man from the wombe is adverse and backeward from doing that which God commandeth or believing what he promiseth or threatneth Now then what can vphold a man in his obedience to Gods law and dependance vpon Gods promises It is only a true faith which apprehending truely the authority and high soveraignety which God hath in commanding vs and together therewith beholding the excellent holynesse and goodnesse of his commandements makes the heart stoope vnto obedience be it neuer so irkesome vnto it selfe Againe when faith apprehendes the immutablenesse of God in his word when it seeth the pretiousnesse of the promises of mercie with their certainety when it seeth the terriblenesse of its threates togither with the vnavoideable accomplishment of them vpon obstinate men Here nowe the heart rests it selfe as on an anchor sure and stedfast it is filled with a constant feare to offend because it knowes punishment is not to be escaped it is filled with continuall ioye in its obedience because it abides assured of the rewarde But where this support of faith is wanting all obedience presently falls to pieces then if God command or forbid vs any thing we beginne to take advise whether it be good to obey yea or no we fall to aske councell of Sathan of our selues of other men as bad as our selues If they say no there is our resolution too God must looke him out other servants we are not for his turne If Sathan tempt vs strongly if our affections rage when they are crossed if men frowne or fawne vpon vs we are quickely turned out of the way and our purposes of obedience are all dasht in a moment Let God and his Ministers threaten never so much we then thinke within our selues that threatned men liue longest such angrie words breake no bones let God promise neuer so faire we can beginne to smile secretly in our hearts and thinke they are but faire words that make none but fooles faine Indeede if the worlde threaten or promise wee thinke there is something in an arme of flesh that may doe vs hurt or good but when faith is fled certaine close Atheisticall imaginations beginne to fasten vpon the minde concerning God and religion as if religion were but a pretty politicke complement that God is one who will doe neither good nor evill and that we haue no great cause to feare or trust him We see then my brethren how plaine a downfall there is from Infidelity to Apostasie from God and all goodnes when men want faith by the light whereof their blinde reason might be guided by the power whereof their disordered hearts might bee kept in compasse they straight runne madly into all wicked opinions and mischievous practises Most true is that of Saint Iames Chap. 1. ver 8. A double minded man is vnstable in all his waies A double minded man that is an vnbelieving person whose faith and opinion stands vpon tearmes of indifferencie probabilitie hee is in vtramque partem on both sides or betweene both in neither his opinions in matters of religion are variable according to seasons and occasions he holds much of his religion by the copie of m●ns countenances much of it by permission of his lusts with manifold reservations and provisoes that it shal bee lawfull for him in such and such cases to doe or belieue otherwise then for the present hee doth when men are thus of double mindes who resolue vpon both sides and so resolue vpon neither who cast about in their thoughts and say I belieue this but it may be 't is otherwise I doe this but what if I do it not what if I do the contrary when mens mindes looke thus a squint on two thinges at once they must needes bee vnstable in their waies If saving faith in the trueth of God doe not establish the heart in a full relyance vpon God only it is impossible but that a man should be of a wauering and moueable temper vnstable in his opinions vnsetled in his practises 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like a man that standes vpon one legge easily overturned like a bowle on a smooth table that 's pushed aside with the least touch of a finger whereas the true believer founded and stablished in the faith is one of those living stones which S t Peter speaketh of 1. Pet. 2. 5. which are squared and surely placed vpon the foundation therevpon resting vnmoueable Thus much for the opening of this point sufficiently for our vse as that which needs practise more then proofe The vses I shall commende vnto you shal be no other then those which are made already to our hand in the text Vse 1 The first vse shal be for exhortation that we be now admonished of this matter what the Apostle speakes to these Hebrewes the same I say vnto you Beloved Take he●d brethren lest there be in any of you an evill heart of vnbeliefe in departing from the living God Be well advised looke well about you it is a matter of greatest moment herevpon depends your constancie in religion and vpon that dependes your happynesse