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
B10265	Balm in Gilead to heal Sions wounds: or, A treatise wherein there is a clear discovery of the most prevailing sicknesses of New-England, both in the civill and ecclesiasticall state; as also sutable remedies for the cure of them: collected out of that spirituall directory, The word of God. / Delivered in a sermon preached before the Generall Court of the colony of New-Plimouth on the first day of June 1669. being the day of election there. By Thomas Walley ...	Walley, Thomas, 1616-1678.	1670 (1670)	Wing W555; ESTC W33773	18,025	40

by all that love God Rom. 16. 17. they are Instruments of great evil Let their Corruptions be kept under by good Laws and their Manners healed It 's a bitter Imprecation the Apostle hath Gal. 5. 12. I would they were cut off that trouble you There is a Story that the Swevians had a Law That in a fray where Swords were drawn if a Woman or a Childe did but cry Peace though they were a great way off they must end the quarrel or else he died that strook the next Blow after Peace was named But alas where Contentions are the noise is so great that those that cry Peace are not heard nay those that speak of Peace are accounted Enemies Some are of such unquiet spirits they make the places where they live uncomfortable 4. Let it be your great care That the great Truths of God the Faith once committed to the Saints may be preserved Buy the Truth and sell it not Prov. 23. 23. Truth is the most precious Jewel that God hath trusted his people with Satan hath been labouring to rob us of this our greatest Jewel through the Apostacy of some Errour hath been spread and Truth is clouded in the eyes of too many The preservation of Truth requires much Wisdome Zeal Tenderness and Moderation There is a necessity of Wisdome in the management of this great work for you will finde that persons that are in Errour are of divers sorts 1. Some have weak understandings and yet have sincere hearts tender Consciences and unwillingly differ from the generality of the godly Pity and for bearance is due to such 2. There are others that shew much wilfulness pride and frowardness nothing of Conscience have a Frenzy a Madness These ought to be kept from hurting others 3. There is a difference to be put between lesser and greater Errours for there are Fundamentalia in Fide which are called Magnalia Dei and there are Minutila Zeal must be wisely ordered according to the nature of Truths It would argue Hypocrisie to be substantial in Circumstantial Truths and circumstantial in the Substantials of Faith and Repentance Paul's counsel to Titus was in matters of Consequence to affirm constantly Tit. 3. 8. but to avoid needless questions ver 9. Those Truths that more especially concern Gods glory and mans salvation should be especially prized preserved Labour to keep the great truths of God in credit It would not consist with love to God and Jesus Christ to tolerate that which would blaspheme the Name of God or damn the Souls of men Neither would it consist with our profession of love to Christ or Saints to trouble those that peaceably differ from the generality of Gods people in lesser things Those that are like to live in Heaven with us at last we should endeavour they might live peaceably with us here Those that differ in lesser things and 〈…〉 ●●●ringe the just Liberties of others why should they not have 〈◊〉 A well-bounded Toleration were very desireable in all Christian Common-wealths that there may be no just occasion for any to compl●in of Cruelty or Persecution but it must be such a Toleration that God may not be publickly blasphemed nor Idolatry practised Neither ought any Errour to be tolerated that hath a tendency in its own nature to Profaneness or the disturbing of Peace and Order in Church or State You are to labour to do all things so that you may keep God and Christ with you Though it be the duty of Magistrates to see that the great Truths of God be not vilified nor trampled in the dirt yet this I judge I may confidently affi●m That Truth never g●t ground by a violent opposition of smaller Errours Yet it is the duty of the people of God to contend for the least of Truths and it should be their endeavour in the Spirit of love and meekness to convince persons of their lesser Errours and those that do differ ought to be of a teachable spirit and to keep a holy fear of departing from the common faith though in the least things for when persons easily let go lesser Truths they quickly fall into great Errours Secondly I have a word to my Reverend Brethren in the Ministry and this I would press upon my self and you 1. Let us all be quickly and deeply sensible of the wounds of Sion of breaches in the Walls of Jerusalem else we cannot pray aright for its healing and repairing let not us be secure while Sion is s●ck Let it be our care to kill the Cockatrice in the Egge to make an end of Differences as soon as they begin if breaches be not repaired they g●ow great quickly if a house be on fire if the fire be not quenched quickly afterward it will be too late to attempt it Let not the beginnings of Divisions be contemptible a weak Enemy being slighted becomes potent A wound when it is green may be quickly healed but if it be let fester and gangrene at last it is past cure The spirits of persons are not much imbittered at first whereas afterwards they become irreconcileable As you are Watchmen so watch the times and seasons to perserve and recover Peace in the places God hath set you in 2. Labour to see Eye to Eye be of one minde and heart this will help to make up the glory of the best times Isa 52. 8. Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice with the voice together shall they sing for they shall see eye to eye they shall be of the same judgement and speak the same thing We that are Leaders of the people must take heed we do not cause them to erre Let it be our care to subject our judgements to the Word of God and take heed that we our selves never become Sect-masters and therefore we had need beware lest Pride lead us into Errour and Singularity It should be the great work of Ministers to keep themselves humble to tread in the steps of our dear Lord who is our Pattern 3. Labour to reconcile Differences by strong Arguments with meekness of Spirit put an end to Divisions if Self-denial will do it become all thing to all men Let it be your great aim to unite men to Christ and one unto another And for that end Deny your selves for Christ's sake bear as farre as you can without sin with the weakness and frowardness of those that are sick 4. Let not the Kids of the Flock be forgotten they are Members with us of the same Body let them have your love and care pray much for them labour to teach them the good wayes of the Lord the Trade-way to Heaven and the more hopeless you are of those that are grown to years by reason of their Stubbornness the greater let your care be of those that are but in their tender years Catechizing would be of great use in every Congregation and where there is but one Officer in a Church and no more can be had it will be necessary

Hence it comes to pass that a people perish or continue sick because they do not finde out the reason of their sickness for the sin of Achan things went ill with the Army of Israel Josh 7. and it was hid from Joshua and the people till God revealed it In Davids time the Famine continued long and the reason was not known till God discovered it to be for the sin of Saul in slaying the Gibeonites 2 Sam. 21. As secret sin in the heart causes decays of grace so here Many times God in afflicting hath an aim at a particular sin and it 's hard to find out what the sin is Reas 2. Because sometimes the Disease is old and deeply rooted grown Malignant and Pestilential when a people are hardned and rooted in their evils they grow incureable Jer. 13. 23. Can the Aethiopian change his skin or the Leopard his spots then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil Custom in sin hinders the cure of it it makes sin seem less then formerly it did it sears the Conscience makes persons secure Reas 3. Because of the opinion of the Patient Sometimes a sick people think they are well and have no need of any Physicians they are not sensible of their sickness hence Physicians are of no value with them and it is not Gods way to bless the best Means to those that flight them If a people con●emn Magistracy and Ministry though they are Gods Ordinances yet God is provoked to withhold his blessings from them so that they cannot prevent the ruine and destruction of a proud wilful and stubborn people that endeavour to exalt themselves above the Lord and his Appointments Reas 4. Because when Means are used to cure the Disease that is most visible some other Disease appears that is more dangerous and proves an Impediment to the Cure so that the sickness increases and becomes mortal When God would have healed Israel the iniquity of Ephraim appeared Hos 7. 1. Some think it refers to the time of Jehu's Reign who was anointed in Gilead the City of Chirurgions and was the Chirurgion of those Times but when he was busie in the work of the Lord destroying Baal and his Worships then the iniquity of the ten Tribes appeared which are called Ephraim and the wickedness of Samaria which was the Head of Ephraim But what wickedness and what iniquity did they discover Surely it was their love to the sin of Jeroboam their love to the Calves so that the work of Reformation was at a stand and Israel was not healed Many persons never discover the wickedness of their hearts till God gives them the Means of healing When God brings Means home to them their wounds and sores begin to smart and they are enraged more then ever and it may be such sins break forth as they themselves never thought were in their hearts Reas 5. Because those that are sick hearken to Mountebanks rather then to experienced and tryed Physicians The Jews in their sick estate had the false Prophets in high esteem but persecuted the true and this became the ruine of their Church and State they looked upon the Lords Prophets as the cause of all their troubles and hearkened to those that poisoned them in stead of healing them this was the temper of the people in Jeremiahs time Reas 6. Because sometimes God is so provoked that he will bless no Means to a people because of a peoples contempt of those Means God hath afforded them therefore all Means are without effect for their good that Word that was wont to be mighty and powe●ful becomes a dead word doth not quicken it becomes the savour of death to death 2 Cor. 2. 15. Reas 7. Sometimes those that are sick are not healed Because the Physicians themselves cannot agree about the Means for Cure one saith This is the Disease another That and one faith This must be the Cure another That Some think the D●sease not dangerous some think the way to cure it is to let the sick Patient do what he will and have what he will this is either gross ignorance or designed wickedness others think that the Disease can be cured by no other Means but violent Means for some are cruel Physicians Disagreement amongst those that should be Healers is a great hindrance of the health of the daughter of Sion VSE 1. This Doctrine discovers to us That we have cause to fear that our condition is but sad this day for our case looks like the case of this people that the Prophet speaks of We have Gileads Balm and Gileads Physicians and yet we are a sick people we have the Means of healing amongst us that Means that is proper and sutable and yet we continue a wounded and weak people What Means can a people have more for Cure then we have God is yet in our Sion we have healing Ordinances the Preaching of the Gospel the Seals of the Covenant of Grace Magistrates that would heal the Sicknesses of Sion and Ministers that mourn for the hurt of the daughter of Sion Surely this day New-England is sick the Country is a sickly Country the Country is full of healthful Bodies but sick Souls I shall name two or three of the Diseases that reign amongst us and do most mischief 1. The Lethargy a cold sleepy Disease there seems to be an insensibleness of sin and danger Faith is dead and Love is cold and Zeal is gone the wise and the foolish Virgins seem to be all asleep in a deep sleep of Security The power of godliness decayes the Trumpet sounds the Alarm is given yet the most sleep on O ye Christians that are not quite asleep do not you perceive that the love of the most of the Professors of Religion is grown cold to Christ to Truth to Ordinances to one another and that which renders our case the more sad is that neither the Word of God nor the Rod of God awakens us though we see that Satan is busie yet we are idle indeed when Saints do least good the Devil doth most hurt while they sleep he is awake It is to be feared that we shall be awakened in some dreadfull way by some sudden and expected Tempest of divine Wrath. A Laodicean frame of spirit is hateful to God Rev. 3. 15 16. 2. There is a Burning Feaver amongst us a Fire of Contention in Towns in Churches Fuell is laid upon this Fire daily What Town or what Church is there that is free from this Disease the work of Contention is followed as though it were the work of our day as though we had nothing else to do Many through the pride of their hearts are very unquiet and cannot be content in the places God hath set them in but strive for Mastery Dominion and Rule forgetting that counsel of the Apostle My brethren be not many Masters Jam. 3. 1. This comes from Pride and Self-love Proud Nature is discontented with the condition that God