Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	find_v	love_n	luk_n	92	3	16.0287	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12260	A sacred septenarie, or, A godly and fruitful exposition on the seven Psalmes of repentance viz. the VI. XXV. XXXII. XXXVIII. LI. CXXX. CXLIII. the 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. of the penitentials. Seruing especially for the direction and comfort of all such, who are either troubled in minde, diseased in body, or persecuted by the wicked. The second impression. By Mr. A. Symson, pastor of the church at Dalkeeth in Scotland.	Simson, Archibald, 1564-1628.	1623 (1623)	STC 22568; ESTC S107775	256,267	548

went vnto the house of God as companions And I am become a stranger to my brethren euen an alien to my mothers sonnes Psal 69.8 88.8.18 And. Thou hast put away my acquaintance far from me and me to be abhorred of them I am shut vp and cannot get forth and my louers and friends hast thou put farre from me and mine acquaintance hid themselues And Isaias the Prophet saith I looked and there was none to helpe Isa 63.5 Zech. 13.6 and I wondred that there was none to vphold And Zechariah Thus was I wounded in the house of my friends And Iob Iob 6.13 19.13.14 15.16.17.18.19 30.1 Is it not so that in me there is no help and that strength is taken from me And He hath remoued my brethren farre from me And also My acquaintance were strangers vnto me c. And But now those that are yonger then I am mocke me yea those whose fathers I haue refused to set with the dogs of my flocks Iulius Caesar said to Brutus stabbing him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and thou also my sonne And Apollinarius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Coram amici timuerunt pedes vero firma verunt socij 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Qui vero me prope euntes de longe recesserunt Many of the Fathers expound this of false teachers Against false teachers who in time of trouble forsake the flocke Bern ser 77 in Cantie who then looke a farre off to the sheepe and their people when they should be most comfortable to them in the day of their trouble Those are but hirelings who seeing the wolf coming do leaue the flock Woe be vnto those men who abound in the world to whom shame and condemnation doth appertaine Dauid had experience of this in Absolon his sonne Amasa his nephew Achitaphel his Counceller By this expenence of Dauid let vs learne Doctr. No coniunction can stand vnlesse it be in God that there is no coniunction so strict if it be not in God which can be able to bind any flesh to vs. For the bonds of nature are very weake because the ground of them is but fleshly that is brittle and inconstant Therefore let vs not trust in flesh and blood Woe be vnto him who putteth his strength in man Ier. 17.5 Next Trouble trieth our friends Trouble trieth who are friends Iob 6.15 ● They will be vnto thee as a brooke and as a broken tooth in the day of thy aduersitie I know the proofe of them and if thou wilt not trust me then thou shalt learne by thine owne experience when thou shalt stand in need of their comfort They will be as a broken reed 2. Ki. 18.21 which howsoeuer it may seem to be a precious staffe if thou leane vnto not onely will faile thee but iniure thee and pierce thy hand There are many rarities in the world which men seeke after but there is not it well ra●er then to find in all thy life a faithfull A rare thing to find a trustie and faithfull friend constant and secret friend whom if thou can find to keepe him is better then gold It is written of Alexander that coming to the sepulcher of Achilles he wept saying Plut in vita Alexandri O foelicem inuenem qui Homerum laudum suarum depredicatoram vnicum fidelem amicum Patroclum inuenerit O happy youth who found such a preacher of his praises as Homer was and such a faithfull friend as Patroclus Valerius Maximus maketh mention of two who kept constant kindnesse Pythias and Damon of whom the one being adiudged to death on a certaine day the other entered himselfe in his fellow companions place til he went home to put his affaires in order who abode vntill the very last day and then came which thing the Tyrant seeing and admiring pardoned the other desiring that they would admit him the third of their societie Should not we be ashamed that are called Christians that neither loue nor truth can be found amongst vs. We loue for gaine and we discord for gaine The heathens may condemne Christians amongst whom loue and truth is rare to be found Luk 18.18 Mat. 10.36 and therefore those Heathenish people shall condemne vs at the latter day Now is found to be true that sentence which our Sauiour foretold that in the latter dayes faith nor loue should not be found in the earth and loue should wax cold the father against the son c. a mans enemies should be those of his owne house Verse 12. They also that seeke after my life lay snares and they that go about to do me euill talke wicked things and imagine deceit continually BEllarmine expoundeth this and all the rest typically of Christ which may stand but he omitteth the literall interpretation of the person of Dauid and the common estate of Christs members The substance of it is Seeing my friends furnish me no comfort but look vpon me a far off carelesse of me yet mine enemies are not idle against me but set themselues by all their engine and labour to destroy me Whē friēds are slow in helping foes are most busie For it commeth often to passe that when our friends are slow in helping vs our foes are earnest against vs. Our friends should blush that the wicked should be more instant against vs then they are to maintaine vs. But it is no wonder since by nature men are more bent and prone to euill then to do good things By constraint they do good but willingly they commit euill He describeth his enemies 1. from their malice 2. from their meanes to performe it 3. from their continuance Their malice in two they sought his life and deuised euill things against him The meanes meditating and musing euill and taking counsell Next speaking euill last doing euil laying snares by craft like fowlers to take my life Their profit and pastime was to vndo me The order is here inuerted for meditating properly precedeth speaking and speaking doing but in the words of the text it is otherwayes their malice extendeth to the highest degree they will not be contented to banish him prison him and reuile him nothing can satisfie their thirst but his blood This is the enuie of the Serpent against the seed of the woman The Diuell is a murderer and so are his children The wild beasts do prey vpon the poore sheep and its blood is sweete to their taste so are the cruell and bloody Papists of the Iesuitical sect so much gape for the blood of Christians that albeit we professe one God one Christ Against the cruell malice of Iesuites one Bible and Scripture no bonds can bind them to vs. They will be content rather to agree with Iewes who denie Christ to whom Synagogues in Rome are not denied by the Pope or with Turks with whō they haue often taken assurance to the preiudice of Christians yea with the Diuell

to Pharaoh H● that c●mmitteth sinne saith Christ is a seruant to sinne as by the contrary He that is borne of God sinnes not because the seed of God is in him The worke of sinne seemes pleasant and againfull but in the end yee shall find it both vnplesant and painfull Vse when you get your wages payed you from your master the Deuill ye shall know the truth of that saying of the Apostle The reward of sinne is death Rom 6.23 Ibid. 21. And in another place What haue ye gaine whereof now ye are ashamed whose end is death The deuill may giue you the bait of present pleasures but he lets you not see the mischieuous hooke lying vnder the bait Vse 2 Let vs refuse therefore to worke any longer task vnto Satan and betake vs to a better Master and better seruice and work in the Lords vineyard Iohn 6.27 Labour after that meat which perisheth not whose fruits shall be eternall life Of iniquity Some thinke these to be hypocrites as in the 41. Psalme verse 7. All they that hate me whisper together against me euen against me doe they imagine mine hurt But here it imports more when he cals them workers of iniquity A manifest practice of their wicked deuices in their actions against Dauid What iniquity is for iniquity is that which is contrary to equity and iustice and equity is defined by Cicero Suum cuique tribuere whereas iniquity is to defraud any man of his due Whereby yee see that God abhorreth all iniuries wee can doe to our neighbours Doct. God abhorreth all iniuries done to our neighbours 1 Ioh. 4.20 Mat. 9.13 and esteemes then his seruice to be true when it beginneth at our neighbours For how can we loue God whom we see not saith the Apostle when wee loue not man made to the Image of God whom we see And our Sauiour saith I will haue mercy and not sacrifice So that he refuseth the principall part of his seruice which consisteth in sacrifices if they bee not conjoyned with mercy to our neighbours and in Isaiah Isai 66.3 he that kelleth a Bullocke or a Lambe offers a gift as though he had killed a dogge or a sowe and onely because of their iniuries Woe to this sinfull generation Vse who make no conscience but doe all manner of iniuries to whom they may and doe not spare either fatherlesse or widow or strangers or the gray haires or pupils or Orphans and yet vaunt of their religion Note I wish rather they would professe Papistry or Paganisme that their confession and profession might be answerable and that they would either professe as they liue or liue as they professe for it is shame that a good faith should be backed with had works For the Lord hath heard the voyce of my weeping Doctr. The neerer we draw to God the further we must flee from all his enemies The argument whereby he repelleth the wicked from his is taken from his familiarity with God and sure it is the nearer we draw to God the further will we flee from all his enemies what makes vs such associates with the children of the Diuell but that wee are strangers to God and when once we haue drawne in friendship and seruice with him then we hate the other partie Next Prayer ioyneth vs to God yee shall know that the principall mean by which we can frequent with God is Prayer for if God giue vs the Spirit of Prayer then he giues vs an accesse to the throne of his grace Many yea the most part of the world know not what prayer meaneth others pray perfunctoriously and hypocritically and their prayer turneth into sinne The benefit of true prayer But happy are those whom Gods most holy Spirit teacheth to pray and those onely can pray aright The voyce There is ascribed to prayer a voyce Doctr. The voice of prayer more mentall then vocall which is not so much vocall as mental alwayes it hath a piercing voyce which pierceth the heauens and preuaileth mightily with God and is so importunate that it will not come from heauens gates till and answer be giuen as Ezechias Moses c. Of my weeping As Dauids prayers were not dumbe His prayer was not dry but had a voyce so they are not dry but full of teares those sappy prayers be acceptable to God which proceed not from a barren and dry heart but from an heart well watered with the clouds of heauen hears planted at the Riuers of waters which wee should all pray after Hee hath this comfort that God heard his prayers Doct. Our prayers in faith will surely be heard not that he heard them wit eares as he who planted the eares doth heare but hee heard his praier when he granted yeelded to his petition And this is a great prouocation to vs to make vs pray in faith and then wee may perswade our selues God wil heare them Thinke ye not that a mother will discerne the voyce Simil. but much more the weeping of her owne childe nad the Ewe discerne the bleating of her owne lambe amongst a thousand and will not God regard the praier of his own childe being in affliction Vse And this certaintie that we haue to be heard should hearten vs all to pray Whomsoeuer Christ cured he asked if they beleeued then said Mat. 9.29 Marke 7.9 Be it to thee according to thy faith And again I saw not greater faith in Israel It is then superfluous to pray except thou beleeue Infidelitie is the cause why we lacke many good things Vse Distrust is the cause we receiue nothing from God for wee doe God great iniury in vttering forth words to him when eyther we doubt of his power that he cannot or of his loue that he will not bestow good things necessary to vs. Verse 9. The Lord hath heard my petition the Lord will receiue my prayer Why he repeateth three times that he was heard HE repeats the hearing of his prayer three times for two causes First to let vs see how frequently he vsed the exercise of praier for he diuide the day in three Morning noon and at euening tide did I call vpon thee and the night in three for he beganne the night with prayer I arose at midnight and called vpon thee and he preuented the breake of day and the morning watch Secondly that by his threefold repetition he might perswade himselfe of the acceptation of his prayers that they were heard of God which is a great matter for God heareth not sinners Ioh. 9.31 but If any be a worshipper of God and doth his will him heareth he then if the Lord heare our suifs grant them Vse we may perswade our selues that we are in his fauour Ester 7. When Hester obtained her suite at Ahashuerosh it was an argument she was acceptable to him So is it with vs in our petitions to God VERSE 10. All mine

the holiest to an account he could finde them euen by their owne conscience guilty of iudgement Thus Christ reasoned with the Iewes taking an argument from their conscience Let him Ioh. 8.7 saith he who is without sinne among you cast the first stone at the woman taking in adulterie The papists confesse that the imperfection of our workes are supplied by Gods mercie but they diuide righteousnesse giuing Christ one part and taking to themselues another who doth not see how farre they erre from the Prophet Dauids confession Why establish they workes of supererogation which is a superlatiue folly if they cannot deserue more then may saue themselues It is a vaine thing to dreame either of satisfaction or satispassion Against merits that either a man can doe enough or suffer enough to satisfie God for his sinne Christ hath satisfied for vs all both the law by obedience and the iustice of God by his suffering who hath closed all vnder sinne that he may haue mercy on all Rom. 11.32 Bellarmine saith well on this place Vide Bellermin Psal 130. Offensio in Deum est infinita magnitudinis The offence done against God is of an infinite hudgenesse that we can neither condignely and worthily satisfie for them yea not acknowledge the grauitie and weight of them 2. How can a finite man make account for an infinite summe to such a God who knoweth the number of them and craueth so exact a reckoning But mercie is with thee that thou maiest be feared He being plunged in the deepthes of sinnes sorrowes is not able to reskew himselfe What he f●ndeth not in himselfe or others he sindeth In God Simil. till God relieued him The thing which he cannot finde in himselfe or in any other he seeketh it in God The earth is barren by nature an hard deud and cold element till it get life heate and moisture from heauen the same warmeth and quickeneth it and so it becommeth fruitfull euen so by nature there is neither light life nor grace in vs vntill God send them downe from heauen Wherefore then doe sinners seeke any releefe from beneath Iam. 2.17 Euery good gift commeth from the father of lights Let vs seeke it where it is to be found Luk. 24 5 Why seeke yee him that is liuing saith the Angell among the dead Why seeke we life in the dead world Mercy excludeth merit Rom. 3.28 Mercie excludeth all merits For grace and merits as Paule reasoneth doe fight ex diametro If we be saued by grace then merite is no merite if by merite then grace is no grace To ioyne those two grace and merite with these olde heretiques the Pelagians or with the Semipelagians arch-here-tique papists is great folly for they can no more agree together then fire and water of which of force the one will destroy the other 1. Iam. 5.2 Dagon and the Arke of God or the foote of Nebuchadnzars image composed of iron and clay Dan. 2.43 How mercie is said to be in God and with God Is with thee It is of him and from him as the author and God of all mercies it is in him as a fountaine to be found It is with him lying in his treasurie yea in a word it is himselfe beginning mids and end is ener mercie and compassion Are you in miserie stand you in neede of mercie ye know where to finde it euen in God and with God All the waies of the Lord are mercie and truth Psal 25.10 to them that walke vprightly If thou be sick thou knowest where to haue medicine without mony if poore where true riches are to be gotten if hungry wher food is The mercies of God supplie all the miseries of man There is no miserie in mans nature which may not be helped by Gods mercie and remission of thy sinnes This mercie as Augustine saith is to be found in the redemption of Christ blood That thou maiest be feared The consequent of this mercie is showen in the latter part of this verse that God may be feared But it seemeth very strange that mercy should beget feare Obiect where rather loue by it should be stirred vp in our hearts Solut. I answere the obteining of mercie begetteth both feare and loue a childish feare least we offend him a childish loue whereby to please him When the Apostle saith Charitas expellit timorem 1. Ioh. 4.18 loue expelleth feare he meaneth of a beastlie and slauish feare True loue and true feare are alwaies together Simil. but true loue and true feare may stand both together a child may feare to offend his louing father whom he loueth The end for which God offereth himselfe so peaceablie to man and so ready to graunt him mercie is that he may be feared If men were not assured to get mercie when they repent there could be no worshipping of God or godlinesse and if we had no esperance of grace why should we pray or vse diuine seruice in vaine The papists vnderstand not this ground for albeit they speake largely of the feare of God The papists are miserable comforters yet they keepe miserable soules in perplexitie denying that God will shew mercie vnto them calling it an high presumption that any should assure himselfe of Gods mercie what do they I pray you but build without a foundation for God can neuer be rightly worshipped vnles we haue an assurance of his mercie I wish that those Doctors who obscure the grace of God and teach mens righteousnesse could weigh this rightly Is it not a vaine thing in them to affirme that they would haue Gods seruice and worship aduanced themselues in the meane while obscuring Gods graces and mercies which should moue men most to worship him But the doctrine of grace say they maketh men secure and negligent of good workes Obiect it is true Solut. fleshly men will abuse Gods grace in wantonnesse but it is reasonable that for their peruersitie the glorie of God should be obscured and the elect and faithfull should be defrauded of their comfort Verse 5. I haue waited on the Lord my soule hath waited and I haue trusted in his word Verse 6. My soule waiteth on the Lord more then the morning watch watching for the morning IN these two verses Dauid declareth that out of the faith which he had of the remission of his sinnes sprang forth the hope which he had of the accomplishment both of his spirituall and temporall deliueries for faith must preceede Wherein faith and hope differ and hope must follow and attend vpon that which was beleeued faith and hope are both one in substance they differ in this that faith presently apprehendeth the promises of God and hope attendeth the receiuing of them If a king would giue his word Ex verbo Principis vpon the word of a king he would giue such a token to his subiects whereby he might be sure of that which he promised Simil.