Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	father_n	life_n	way_n	6,604	5	5.4332	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45325	Qvakers principles quaking, or, Pretended light proved darkness, and perfections found to be greatest imperfections in an answer to a written paper, subscribed with the name of Thomas Holme, and scattered through the country about Liverpool and Lancashire / modestly propounded by Ralph Hall ...	Hall, Ralph.	1656 (1656)	Wing H423; ESTC R39227	32,660	37

Prov. 3.9 Take heed how yee dishonour him by giving his goods to his open Enemies who uphold and maintain that which he hath disanulled and witnessed against for you that do so are unprofitable Stewards and hee will call you to an account of your Stewardship And hee that is unjust in the least is also unjust in much Luke 16.10 11. And if yee be not righteous in the unrighteous Mammon who will commit to your trust the true riches And if yee have not been faithful in that which is another mans who shall give you that which is your own hee that hath an ear to hear let him hear and understand And if your Priests will take Tythes as they did in the time of the Law see ye do the office of the Priests that took Tythes they kept a Store-house and the widows and the fatherless and the strangers which was within the Priests gate was fed And if they do thus they must own themselves to bee Ministers of the Law and not of the Gospel And if they do not thus they rob the poor the fatherless the widows and strangers and neither are Priests of the Law nor Gospel so from the Law and Gospel do wee shut them who are neither in the steps of them who were under the Law nor in the steps of Christs Ministers who was the end of the Law so from being Ministers of either Law or Gospel yee have cleared your selves and shut your selves out by your practices And thou Priest Fogge of Liverpool who said They that hold forth the way of perfection holdeth not the way of God but from under this thou canst not get but under the condemnation must come for the way of God is perfect which way is Jesus Christ for saith hee I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh to the Father but by mee So thou that saith The way of perfection is not the way of God art out of the way of God and thy condemnation thou must own So confesse thy error to the people who hast spoken against Christ who is the way of God and the way to God which way is perfect and indures for ever So for the simple ones sake have I given this forth who was at the meeting and received not satisfaction because of the disorder that day That they might come to see their Teachers who hath long deceived them taking their goods from them contrary to the Law of God written in mens hearts so with the light which comes from Christ which convinceth you of sin shall you see them to bee such as the Prophet speaks of and saith Put into their mouths and they cry Peace Peace but put not into their mouths and they prepare War against you Mat. 3.5 And this is fulfilled by many of the Priests of England this day who sue many at the Law and cast many into prison because they put not into their mouths so to the light of Christ in you all take heed which is your way and Teacher and from all false wayes and Teachers doth lead Given forth by him whom in scorn is called QUAKER Thomas Holme QVAKERS Principles quaking Friend and Friends I Have perused your written Paper directed to the Priests as you are pleas'd to call them and people in and about Walton and Liverpool and you adde in one Clause of it that for the simples sake you sent it forth it was my purpose that one of those simple ones should return you an Answer and I humbly beg upon the bended knees of my Soul that the Answer I shall return may be so full of Gospel simplicity that God may have the glory my duty may be discharged and your judgements rightly informed and then I doubt not but some of you at least will consider from whence you are fallen Rev. 3.3 and repent and do your first works and so prevent the Lords coming against you in fury and in wrath for I seriously profess I look upon it as a very dangerous peece to break our selves off and rent our selves from the Church of God for as Gen. 9.1 c. Noahs Ark was a clear Figure and Type of the Church of God so Noahs Dove is a clear embleme of such as through affectation of new and unknown paths do stray from the Church of God and forsake the assemblies of the Saints as the manner of some is Heb. 10.25 And I pray you observe with me what became of Noahs Dove whilst she was out of the Ark and you shall finde she found no rest for the sole of her foot till she return'd to the Ark Gen. 9.9 and Noah took her in again and let me tell you this Scripture as well as other Scriptures Rom. 15.4 was written for our learning consider what I say and the Lord if it be his good pleasure give you understanding 2 Tim. 2.7 But before I come to the Answer of your Paper let me tell you at what I very much wonder viz. That you should make use of the Scriptures to prove what your deluded Fancies would hold forth and yet will not acknowledge them to be the Word of God I know what you are ready to say viz. That Christ is the Word and I through Gods mercy know it as well as you and am I bless God able in some measure to distinguish between the Word of God and God the Word yet let me tell you if I did not beleeve really that Jesus Christ and the Scriptures speak one and the same thing or that Jesus Christ the internal Word and the Bible or Book of God the external word were both one I would as soon prove my Tenents from the Turkish Alchoron as from the Scriptures which were Blasphemy for me once to imagine And now to the answer of your Paper in which I have observed and seriously considered three things 1. From whence it came 2. To whom it is directed and 3. The subject matter of it which indeed savours so much of rayling and reproach than I dare not answer you in your own Language least I should betray my self not to be guided by the Spirit of God which is a spirit of meekness But to the First of these viz. from whence it came I have only this one word to say viz. it came from a people that I look upon as objects of much pity not of envie a people that I have sometimes been very intimate with at least some of you A people with whom I have taken sweet counsel when we have walked to the House of God together as friends a people that I have dearly loved with Christian love a people that I have often prayed with and shall not yet cease to pray for Luk. 10.20 Luk. 15.4 5 that as many of you as have your names written in Heaven may be brought back upon the shoulder of Gods power to the Fold of Christ from whence yee are gone astray 1 Pet. 2.25 and thus much I am confident of with which I

Conscience doth at large resolve the great Controversie about Tythes And shall proceed to the other great Query mentioned in your Paper and so take leave with you and all of your Opinions till you return again to the owning of the Truth of God laid down in the Scriptures and submit to order and break your selves off from disorder and confusion which tends to every evil work Jam. 5.16 And now to your Second great Question concerning Perfection I must first lay down your own words and then answer them for I desire to be faithful and not to wrong you in a syllable your words are these And thou Priest Fogge of Liverpool who said they that hold forth the way of perfection holdeth not the way of God but from under this thou canst not get but under the Condemnation must come and your reason is annexed viz. for the way of God is perfect which way is Jesus Christ for saith he I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh to the Father but by me but before I come to the Answer of this from under the just censure of false accusation you cannot get I use your own Language for Mr. Fogge was farre from denying the way of God to be perfect or from denying Christ to be the way the truth and the life But his Argument was that neither you nor any man nor woman upon earth had attained to perfection so as to be absolutely perfect in this life And for all he brought in many pertinent Scriptures to make good what he said yet you stick not so far to abuse him that you bury them all in silence not mentioning one of them I cannot conceive why you should do so unless it be your aim to hold him forth to the world to be so sottish that he could not make good his Argument against yours but blessed be God there were many ear witnesses that day but had there been none but your selves and that you should make your boast thereof yet I am confident no man indowed with reason would give credit to you in such a thing his abilities being better known than your own I shall pass by that disorder that you truly acknowledge was that day which was the occasion that many received not satisfaction For in truth I know not how such a thing as Order could be expected from a people that have cast off both order and decensie 1 Cor. 14.40 I shall now proceed to the direct Answer of your Question viz. Whether perfection be attainable in this life yea or no you say it is I say it is not except we take along with us these following limitations or as I may call them these steps to or degrees of perfection I shall for your and my own better understanding acknowledge four degrees of pefection and acknowledge three of them attainable in this life and the fourth unattainable all which I shall by the assistance of God make clear by Scripture and that very briefly First There is an imputative perfection that is when the perfection of Christ is imputed to a man and this was doubtless Jobs case hee was a perfect man in Gods account Job 1.8 because God had in the eternal Decree of his unchangeable love imputed the perfection of Christ to him he laying hold thereon by faith as it is written Abraham beleeved God and it was imputed to him for righteousness Gen. 15.6 and Rom. 4.3 which is all one with perfection for that man that is perfectly righteous is a perfect man but there is none in himself and from himself righteous no not one Rom. 3.10 There is none that doth good no not one vers. 12. And therefore whoever thou art that boastest of standing upon the feet of thy own perfection I say unto thee in the name of the Lord if thou standest at all thou standest by faith be not high minded but fear Rom. 11.20 Secondly There is perfection in part This is it the Apostle Paul owneth 2 Cor. 13 9 10. For we know in part and prophesie in part but when that which is perfect is come then that which is imperfect shall be done away And if any ask when this shall bee the same Apostle makes answer 1 Cor. 15.54 When this corruptible hath put on incorruption and this mortal hath put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that was written Death is swallowed up in victory Hos. 13.4 For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality And the same Apostle speaking of our bodies saith It is sown in dishonour it is raised in glory it is sown in weakness it ●s raised in power it is sown a natural but is raised a spiritual body Now tell me where is the spiritual body till it be raised from the dead But I beleeve and am fully perswaded that though my body be sown in death a vile body it shall in the resurrection be made like unto Christs glorious body Philip 3.21 Thirdly There is a comparative perfection a man may be said to be a perfect man in comparison of others that have not received the earnest of their inheritance and of such we read Prov. 12.26 The righteous man is more excellent than his neighbour Ephes. 1.14 And indeed it is true every godly man is more righteous more excellent and more perfect than his neighbour for none but the truly godly walketh before God in uprightness of heart And that man that hath an upright and sincere heart is in Gods account a perfect man So Noah and Abraham are said to be perfect men Gen. 6.9 and 17.1 Fourthly and lastly There is an absolute perfection as I said before when we the members shal be made like Christ our head Col. 1.18 when we shall be glorified together with him Rom. 8.17 when these vile bodies shal be made like unto his glorious body When all the remainders of corrupt nature shall be consumed in Gods furnace I mean the grave but whilst we continue in the body wee are said to be absent from the Lord 2 Cor. 5.8 This absolute perfection then is not attainable here in this life which is the thing I am now to prove and by Gods assistance shall do it First By Scripture Secondly By undeniable Argument and so draw to a conclusion And first for the first I might fill up much room with places that would speak fully to this point but as our Saviour saith In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established I shall bring in two or three which I hope may suffice And first Job that was a perfect man in the sense I before mentioned viz. in Gods account yet in your sense he utterly disclaims it Job 9.20 If I justifie my self my own mouth shall condemn me And after Job had been as it were expostulating with God and pleading his own inno●●ncy and integrity and as it were Gods hard dealing with him and had in the bitterness