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	spirit_n	worshipper_n	4,419	5	12.5461	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A05470	Two sermons viz. 1. A preseruatiue lilie to cure soules. And 2. How to seeke to finde Christ. Preached by that famous and iudicious diuine, Peter Lilie, Doctor of Diuinitie, and sometime fellow of Iesus Colledge in Cambridge.	Lily, Peter, d. 1615.; Lily, Dorothy, d. 1627.	1619 (1619)	STC 15600; ESTC S108559	27,509	75

much euery day and therefore not onely while as yet we liue we must seeke him but we must not neglect any time yea we must with expedition accept any occasion of seeking Christ for wee know not if euer hee will knocke at our doores againe The second error men commit in seeking of Christ is in the manner it is long ere wee beginne to seeke him whom we should seeke before all things but when wee doe begin to seeke it is after a negligent and carelesse manner as if the matter were not great whether found him or no. Matth. 6.33 But what saith our Sauiour Christ Seeke first the Kingdome of God and by First is meant not a priority in order and the anticipation of time but a priority in the earnestnes or intention of our minde as if he should haue said Seeke the Kingdome of heauen not onely before all things but aboue all things with greater vehemencie and affection then you doe any other thing in the world besides This is the meaning of our Sauiour and so much doth the words of our Sauiour import Hee that would finde Christ must seeke him zealously with feruour and heate Mat. 11.12 For the Kingdome of heauen suffereth violence the violent take it by force And after we haue found him then we must seeke how to keepe him too To which purpose Tertullian hath a notable admonition and very fit for our times in which many are like vnto children Ephes 4.14 Carried about with euerie blast of doctrine or like those women who were euer learning 2. Tim. 3.7 and yet neuer came to the knowledge of the truth euer seeking and neuer finding because when they haue found they loose that they haue found either of too much curiositie in seeking or of too much inconstancie in relecting and learning to seeke of whom Tertullian thus speaketh Our Sauiour saith Seeke and yee shall finde knocke it shal be opened vnto you aske and it shall be giuen The true vnderstanding of which place saith he consists in three points For our Sauiour speaketh this Jnipsis doctrinae primitijs when first he began to teach when hee was yet scarce knowne to his Disciples while as yet Peter had not acknowledged him to be the Sonne of God and so most peculiarly saith he doth the speech belong to the Iewes who did not acknowledge Christ to be the Messias and therefore were willed to seeke He addeth further admit it be spoken to vs as in truth it is yet saith he it hath his bounds and the true vnderstanding of these words consists in three points in re in tempore in modo in the thing in the time in the manner The diuision is not much vnlike that of Bernard that is saith he we must vnderstand what it is wee seeke how wee seeke and when wee are to seeke it That which we ought to seeke is Christ and we ought to seeke him till we finde him Et invenisti cùm credidisti and then thou hast found him when thou hast beleeued in him and then seeke how thou mayest keepe him for no man saith he seeketh but he which either neuer had Christ or else hath lost him Luke 11.5 The man in the Gospel who repaired to his friends house knockt at his doore desiring him to lend him three loaues was very importunate to be let in but as soone as he was let in he ceased to knocke any more The widdow that lost her Groat Luke 15.8 swept the house diligently till she found it but after shee once found it shee gaue ouer seeking and sweeping Luke 18.3 The widdow was importunate to be heard of the wicked Iudge but after she was admitted to audience she gaue ouer her importunity and therefore there is a measure in Seeking and Knocking therefore after we haue by Faith working by Charitie apprehended Christ we must not seeke after any other Faith No nor if wee will follow the policie of some States not suffer disputation in the question of Faith and Religion for though disputing of truth be a kind of teaching of truth and that truth feares no examination or discussion yet as often as factious or schismaticall spirits shall offer disputation in the matter of Faith or Gouernemrnt to accept of that challenge is to bring those things that are soundly and surely setled to new trialls and to seeke after that which is already found which neyther the rules of Pollicie nor Diuinitie doe admit I speake this to stop the mouths of some who with more insolency then confidency desire that things in controuersie may be disputed of which according to the sence in which they desire it were to seeke for that which indeede wee haue found and which without curiositie or distrusting wee ought to maintayne euen with the perill of our liues As wee haue learned Christ so let vs goe on rooted and grounded in Charitie and not be moued from the profession of our most holy Faith Neither let vs giue eare to those who vnder pretence either of truth in Religion or sincerity in Ceremonie would alienate your mindes from that obedience and gouernement in which you haue been trayned vp in Christ Iesus VVee presume that we haue found Christ so farre forth now our endeuour is and must be to keepe him not onely in our heads by speculation that in our hearts by affection to which purpose I shall speake more in conuenient place The third errour men commit in seeking after Christ is that they seeke him not in the place they should seeke him This is the errour committed by these holy women for which the Angels blamed them and therefore a little longer to be insisted vpon And this error may be collected easily and plainly from the speach of our Sauiour in the Gospell who telleth vs That false Christs Matt. 24.24 26. and false Prophets shall arise and shall shew great signes and wonders saying Beholde hee is in the wildernesse hee is in the secret places On which place Doctor Stapleton writing according to his virulent manner sayth it is accomplished in our teachers who leauing the right way the Kings high-way the auncient and Apostolike Church doe seeke after Christ in corners in the wildernesse of our owne wandring imaginations and amongst such Apostataes who challenge to themselues the name of the Church But the truth is it is much better fulfilled amongst them who confine Christ vnto a certayne place and thinke he cannot be found out of the limits of their Churches In times past the visible Church was in one Kingdome I meane among the Iewes Notus in Iudaea Deus God is well knowne in Jewrie But now the time is come which our Sauiour spake of Iohn 4.23 The houre commeth and now is that the true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and truth And this was long fore-told by the Prophets and namely the Prophet Malachy Mala. 1.11 who saith From the rising of the

the Scriptures in some respects all things are easy They are hard to flesh and bloud for they cannot bee assented to till God open the eyes of our hearts as he did to his disciples but all things are set downe in termes plaine inough so we vse diligence to vnderstand them I say all things all the mysteries of Religion without as they call it any mentall reseruation Yet so besotted are they with this foolish deuice of theirs as that they stumble euen at the plainest Scriptures S. Mathew reports that when our Sauiour cometh to iudgement he shall say to the reprobate Nescio vos I know you not and heere saith the Friar Christ vseth a mentall reseruation wherein I know not whether they are more ridiculous or impious For Christ there alludeth to an vsual forme of speech amongst the Jewes who when they misliked a man gaue him a Nescio that is I know you not VVhich form of speech is vsed at this day by many consuetudo vocabuli vita vocabuli The custome of speech is the life of a speech Neither could our Sauiour more significantly haue expressed his minde or purpose of reiecting them then in saying Nescio vos so far was he from equiuocation or mentall reseruation VVhen we tell them Hoc est corpus meum This is my body is figuratiuely to be vnderstoode they say figures are not vsed in matters of VVills which ought to be plaine and can they not remember how the sentence of Iudges ought to be plaine But these men in some respect may be pardoned for because they when they are cited appeare at the Barre doe equiuocate and dissemble they think also that when Christ shall come to iudgement and pronounce sentence of saluation or damnation he shal speak doubtfully But God be mercifull to vs and make vs of the number of those to whom he shall say Come ye blessed of my Father For certainly they to whom it shal be said Nescio I know you not shall not only vnderstand it but feele it they shall not neede a Commentary to know the meaning of our Sauiour whose words they grossely childishly wrest to the maintenance and defence of their deceit I am loath to wade further and had not this violence bin vsed to this Text I should haue abstained at this time and therefore I will conclude this point with the end of the 15. Psalme adding withall S. Jeromes obseruation on it He in the 15. Psalme describing a righteous man addeth among other things Who sweareth to his neighbour and disappointeth him not though it were to his hindrance Such a man saith Dauid shall stand in the Tabernacle of the Lord. By which is meant not onely him that sweareth promissoriê that taketh a promissory oath but euen he that sweareth assertiuè that formally affirmeth or denyeth any thing by oath He that sweareth whether in promising a thing to come or in affirming a thing past shall stand in the Tabernacle then he concludes He that doth this shall neuer be moued Out of which S. Jerome inferres this therefore he that doth shall be moued If he that sweareth and that truly shall stand in the Tabernacle then he that forsweareth himselfe that eludeth all others by lying and dissembling and such trickes as the Heathen man did abhorre shall not stand in the Tabernacle Sure I am it is no way to get Heauen the whole Scripture from the beginning to the ending in euery place condemneth fraude lying periurie and such like vanitie extolling sincerity truth plain-dealing both in word and deed this is the Lawe and the Prophets this in euery lease is contained thus it becommeth men who are baptized in the name of the Father the Sonne and the Holy-ghost God is the Author of truth and those that are of him will say truth the Diuell is the father of lies and his children they are that practise that trade And because I haue tolde you that there are particular dueties giue mee leaue I pray you to be somewhat particular as the Text the Time and this present honorable Audience doth in some sort require It were a simplicitie or rather folly to thinke it were impossible to be both a Courtier and a Christian S. Iohn Baptist was a Courtier for though he kept in the wildernesse yet sometimes he came to the Court He was in good grace with Herod who heard him gladly and could he haue flattered he might haue obtained any preferment or honour in the Court but he was plaine and told the truth He was not of his opinion that said Lex alia est solio alia priuato that which was adultery in a priuate man could not be adultery in a Prince Daniel and Ezra and many others were great Courtiers in high fauour with their princes How did they vse their fauour Surely but little to their owne preferment wholely to the benefite of the Church of God and their Country Saint Ierome reporteth of one who was the Emperours Nephew and yet neuer asked any thing of the Emperour It were to be wished that men of eminent place great birth and in high fauour would know that it is one part of their duty to imploy their greatnes to the good and behoofe of the Church of God and their country and that God doth require this of them as a speciall duty It cannot bee offensiue I hope to haue admonished thus much The second thing is that which in particular pertaineth to women who for the most part are the chiefest in this assembly at this time and if I speake not to them to whom should I speake But what should I say Tertullian hath written many Bookes against the brauery of that sexe amongst other things he saith That siluer golde and precious stones were first found out by Sathan and that forasmuch as in Baptisme they professe to renounce the diuell and all his works the ornaments and attire they weare is against their vow in Baptisme But heere I am not altogether of his mind For the things themselues are the good creaturs of God and may be vsed so that the minde be not wickedly puffed vp scandall be auoyded and decency both in respect of person and condition bee kept Yet in one thing I thinke women cannot bee excused and that is in painting of themselues which howsoeuer some defend the most religious and learned Fathers haue condemned Cyprian sayth that they which paint themselues doe in a sort make Christ a lier For whereas our Sauiour sayth Yee cannot make one haire black or white they haue a mean to make them all of what colour they list Another saith that when a Carpenter or Ioyner hath made a peece of work he will not thinke well that any should discommend it or rend and deface it And is it not a disgrace when God hath framed and fashioned vs well but wee must ouer-lay Gods worke with the diuels colours How this may stand with your Christian profession with your vow in