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	spirit_n	word_n	6,961	5	4.2967	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48839	A sermon preached at the funeral of the Right Reverend Father in God John late Lord Bishop of Chester, at the Guildhal Chappel London, on Thursday the 12 of December, 1672 by William Lloyd ...	Lloyd, William, 1627-1717.	1672 (1672)	Wing L2703; ESTC R20363	15,451	37

Adversaries and as vehemently denied by the Christians of those times By those of Smyrna in the undoubted acts of Polycarpus We cannot say they worship any other than Christ We love the Martyrs as being followers of Christ We celebrate the days of their passions with Ioy We do it both in remembrance of those Champions of God and to train up and prepare others for the like conflicts Besides this which was peculiar to the Martyrs they had a lower degree of remembrance for Bishops and Confessors and all other eminent persons departed this life whom they not only praised in Orations at their Funerals but writ their names in their Diptychs or two-leaved Records which contained in one page all the names of the Living in the other the Dead that were of note in the Church All these were recited in the Communion Service Where as the Living for themselves so far the Dead came their Friends and gave Oblations and Alms Which before they were distributed among the poor were first offered up to God in a prayer like that which we use for the Church Militant here on Earth These Doles were their only Sacrifices for the dead Only Alms to the poor with which sacrifices God is well pleased And their prayers were not for any deliverance from pains unless the Patriarchs and Prophets and the Apostles and Virgin Mother of Christ were in the same pains too and needed the same Deliverance For they were all mentioned alike and together as it is to be seen in the ancientest Liturgies Among all these Innocent Offices and Rites of the Primitive Christians was there any thing of prayer for souls in Purgatory Was there any thing of prayer to Saints departed this life Was there any foundation for those superstitious Observances Of adoring their Relics of Prostration to their Images of Pilgrimage to their Shrines of making Vows of saying Masses of offering to them and the like The Papists say there was they plead the practice of the Church for it they wrest places of Scripture to their Purpose Nay the Rhemists and others alledge this very Text without which I should not have mention'd them at this time But as the Learnedst men among themselves have been so just not to charge this upon my Text and some of them confess they have no ground for these things in any one Text of Canonical Scripture So they would do us but right to acknowledge that none of these things was practis'd for some hundreds of years after Christianity came into the world In those Primitive times all their Offices for the Dead were either to give Testimony of that Faith in which they died and that death had not dissolv'd their Communion with the Living or they were to bless God for their holy Life and happy Death or to Pray to him not for their deliverance from Purgatory of which there was no Faith in those times but for the Increase of that Good which they believ'd them to be possest of already or for the Atteinment of that farther good which they thought they were sure of namely for their speedy and happy Resurrection for their perfect discharge at the day of Judgement for the Consummation of their bliss with their own in the Kingdom of Glory Not to say how the Fathers differ among themselves in these particulars or how many of these particulars are omitted in the Roman Church as well as ours it is enough that here is nothing makes for them but much against those their Errors and Corruptions All that is agreed on all hands or that we find in the Practise of the first Ages being sufficiently contein'd in those Offices of our Church in the prayer for the Church Militant in the Collect on All-Saints day and in the Office for the burial of the Dead where we pray That it would please God of his gracious goodness shortly to accomplish the number of his Elect and to hasten his Kingdom that we with all those that are departed in the true faith of his holy Name may have our perfect consummation and bliss both in body and soul in his everlasting glory Lastly Remembrance in Action is the other duty enjoyn'd in my Text 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Imitate their Faith that is their Christian profession and practise their whole Life and Conversation according to their own belief of that word which they have spoken The Reason of this duty is plain for it is our business in this world to recover the image of God in which he created us to be like him here in Righteousness and Holiness that we may be like him hereafter in Glory and Happiness To this End God has given us those Lineaments of himself which are written sufficiently in our Nature but more fully and distinctly in Scripture In which Scripture he so oft and so vehemently requires us Be ye Holy as I am Holy be ye Iust as I am Iust be ye Merciful as I am Merciful be ye Pure as I am Pure be ye Perfect as your heavenly Father is Perfect This good word of God which was given by the Prophets and Apostles is still inculcated on us by them that speak to us the word of God Which Office being primarily of Bishops as appears in my Text They are first and above all others to conform themselves to it to shew others how possible and how practicable it is Our Apostle suppos'd this in those Primitive Bishops in my Text. God requires it of all that succeed them in the Church So of Timothy though he were young in Age yet being in that Place Be thou an Example to believers in word in Conversation in Spirit in faith in truth 1 Tim. 4 12. and in the last Verse Take heed to thy Self and to thy Doctrine Do this constantly and Continually and so thou shalt save both thy self and them that hear thee Whether they do this or no they are our Teachers and Rulers therefore in the 17 Verse of this Chapter while they live we must obey their word and submit to their Government When they are dead both for what they are and were we may do well to say no ill of them and since we can say no good e'en Forget them and leave them to God But if they are such as they ought which the Apostle supposes in my Text if they live as men that believe themselves what they say 'T is our duty not only to submit and obey them while they live but also to Remember them when they are dead Remember them in our thoughts with that honour they deserve In our Affections with a due sense of our loss and their gain Remember them in words with the just praise of their actions and lives In our prayers to God with due thankfulness for their graces and gifts in this life and for the glory they receive after death Lastly remember to follow them in that holy way which leads to so happy an end In our Apostles words follow their Faith considering