Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	hear_v	speak_v	word_n	7,138	5	4.4441	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64822	The new command renew'd, or, Love one another being an endeavour after the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, by several uniting principles, among which there are ten rules for a right understanding of scripture, very useful for these divided times / by Ralph Venning.	Venning, Ralph, 1621?-1674.	1652 (1652)	Wing V214; ESTC R3161	28,675	54

not hinder closing with truth The third Principle 3. When God is sought 3 Principle speak plainly aNd clearly and you begin to discourse deal faithfully as in the presence of God Fit words are better then fine use not policy and sophistry to vaile the truth Do not ye equivocate nor mince your meanings hiding it under dubious termes but propose all things clearly Affect not novelty or nicety of language but speak in known and familiar phrases Many times there 's such a do kept about termes that before the discourse be ended men lose themselves and the question too therefore speak plainly and not in parables * How many 3000 words have these three words cost 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It 's no little vanity to speak such words as will constrain you to use twenty and sometimes twenty times more to explain what you meant The fourth Principle 4. Be as willing to hear as to speak 4 Principle hear much speak little a man should hear twice as much as he should speak and it seems to be intimated in his having two cares but one tongue Were there in times of discourse more hearers and fewer speakers there would probably be easier and speedier determinations much talk hinders observation and keeps things from being weigh'd A man shall meet with such talkatives as like the beating of an unbrac'd drum are able to beat some men out of their wits at least their patience they are so confusedly busie and so busily confused The fifth Principle 5. 5 Principle weigh what is spoken Weigh not who speaks nor how it is spoken but what is spoken you should not overvalue nor undervalue a truth because ye like or dislike the party or his manner of speaking Sometime according to the Proverb we dandle the child for love of the Nurse and take up an opinion for his sake that brings it * Maldonate said of the explication of a place of Scripture that it was most agreeable to antiquity but because Calvin h●d so interpreted it he would chuse a new one Phil. 4.15 and others refuse an opinion because such a one holds it But Christians consider what you do would a man take poyson though from a Father or refuse a Cordiall though from an enemy It was better said Amicus Plato and Amicus Aristoteles sed magìs amica veritas And the Apostle rejoyced that Christ was preached though they that preacht him did it out of envy and to add to his bonds go from any man to go to truth but go from no truth to go to any man As Christ said the pollution is not from without neither indeed in this sense the purity What is the word the better for being in Pauls mouth or the worse for being in Apollos What is the Heavenly treasure the worse for being brought in an earthen vessell or the better when handed to us by an Angell is the word of Wisdome the better for the Wisdome of words or is truth the lesse beautifull because naked and not arrayed with Sattin words and silken phrases what though a man have neither silver nor gold to give you is not Christ worth the receiving 'T is strange to see how men are led into and led out of opinions meerly by an opinion of the man The Philosopher though he were the same man and of the same minde in his squallid rags could not finde admission when better robes procur'd both an open doore and reverence Boldnesse and readinesse of speech with the most though not with the most judicious bears away the Bell. To go from Aristotle Ipse dixit swaid all though a man go to reason is or had wont to be no small disgrace in the schooles If Herod speak then it is the voyce of God and not of man but if Paul speake then 't is what will this babler say Some cannot heare unlesse a Doctor preach others will not heare if a Doctor preach Surely Christians these things ought not to be so truth should be well-come to us though the Devill the father of lies brought it to us and no hing but truth though an Angel from Heaven be the messenger The sixth Principle 6. 6 Principle custome Christ call'd himself truth not custome Let not custome beare sway for or against an opinion Let not Antiquity or Novelty make you respect or disrespect a truth father truth for truths sake whether old or new Though all truth be old * Old truths may come newly to light God is not tied to time for the gift of Illumination Dr. Hall yet our sight of truth may be new why then should new light be a trouble to some or tradition a burthen to others why should Divine or Orthodox or Orthodox Divine grow out of date or why should not a Gospell-Preacher be in season Some like words and practices because of custome others have no other reason for their dislike Never walk by what hath been done or what is done unles it be what ought to be done Reduce things to their primitive institution and then see what God saith of them Matthew 19.8 as our Saviour told the Pharisees Matth. 19.8 Though Moses for the hardnesse of your hearts suffered you to put away your Wives yet from the beginning it was not so Men do now adayes by opinions as many do by their cloaths some will keep to their great grandfathers habit and fashion others as changeable as the Moone think they are never in fashion unlesse they be ever changing fashions Some cannot like a truth because 't is not of ancient standing others like it because it is of yesterday Some can reverence none but gray-hair'd opinons others like none but youthfull and smoothfac'd ones T is true the * Age. multitude of yeares teacheth wisdome and so may the * Youth few of dayes 't is truth and nothing but the truth and all the truth which should have our esteem whether it be old or young whether the first borne of time or the last The seventh Principle 7. 7 Principle proper Arguments In all discourses and disputations use proper Media or arguments to prove your tenets by bring not Scriptures to your reason but your reason to Scripture or judge reason by reason and Scripture by Scripture Morall arguments are not fit and proper to prove naturall Principles by nor in many things rationall Arguments to prove or disprove Scripture by Prove spirituall things by spirituall Arguments as the Apostle hints to us 1 Cor. 2.13 1 Cor. 2.13 which things also we speak not in the words which mans wisdome teacheth but which the holy Ghost teacheth comparing spirituall things with spirituall or judging spiritualls with spiritualls The Apostle did not borrow words or Arguments from without but fitted spirituall Arguments to prove spiritual things Neverdraw Ecclesiasticall conclusions from Politicall premisses The eighth Principle 8. Discourse not to cavill but to convince 8. Principle cavil not or to be

Christians hear a little if you think your selves in the right I hope you think so on good grounds and not that you are in the right meerly by thinking so now if your grounds be good upon which your conceits are built you need not be afraid nay you may be incouraged to produce them with boldnesse 'T is to be suspected that they who refuse to bring forth their strong arguments have no strong arguments to bring forth Christ tells us Joh. 3.21 John 3.21 that he that doth truth and he that holds truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God If mens arguments be pure and good they will not be the worse but the more confirmed by being weigh'd if they be found either base metal or counterfeit the discovery will ingage them to part with them and to take their part no longer lest they deceive their soul in short if they be good they may do good they may help others to see the light if bad 't will be a mercy they were produced for you are losers while you follow darknesse and lying vanities 2. 2 Let pride of heart The second hindrance to a meeting about agreement is Pride of heart Men are loth to be the first movers lest they should be thought timerous and willing to yeeld but beloved Christians Christ Jesus did not so God and we had never met nor had been reconciled together had not God come to us first Though God were offended by us and had thence just reason to be for ever offended with us yet he sounds a truce and makes the first tender of agreement shall we not walk as we have him for an example 'T is very observable that while any one party is low it pleads for moderation and reconciliation but when it hath got the staffe in its hand it scarce mindes much lesse practises either Ah Christians the very Heathens will shame us for Aristippus an Heathen though elder then Aeschines who began the strife sues first for peace shall we not be friends said he to Aeschines Christians I beseech you go to one another and say as Aristippus shall we not be friends And oh that every one would answer as did Aeschines yes with all mine heart 3. Satans policy A third hindrance to a meeting about an agreement is Satans policy we may take up Pauls words when he writes to the Thessalonians 1 Thes 2.18 we had come unto you once and again but Satan hindred us Christians why do ye not come one to another why are ye not in your journey 't is to be feared Satan stands in your way and stays you The second Principle Principle right understanding 2. Being met labour for a right understanding of each others mind there is nothing makes men stand at such a far distance as a mis-understanding 't is with men now as with the men at Babel the languages are confounded and they understand not one another At your meetings Three things begge of God The delivery of truth you seek God about these three things for a right understanding 1 That God would be pleased by his own Spirit to declare and make cleare his truth unto you that he would make known to you and make you to know what is his good perfect and acceptable Will that so you may walk before him in all well-pleasing 2. The delivery of truth 〈◊〉 you Intreat God that he would deliver you to the truth as well as deliver the truth to you not only that he would open his truth to your hearts but also open your hearts to his truth that so you may close with every truth embracing and welcoming it as your joy though it should open you to never so many repreaches in the world 3. Intreat God to remove all obstacles 3 Removal of obstacles and to take that out of the way which stands in the way and keeps you from understanding and owning truth Such as these 1. Self interest in holding any opinion 〈◊〉 Self-interest nothing more hinders men from going to or going from an opinion then the interest they have by holding it men do not care so much for the opinions they hold as for what they hold by their opinions Many a man thinks I am confident what Demetrius said Acts 19.27 This craft by which we have all our wealth is like to be set at nought and then we are like to come to nought Hence they begin to flie in the face of truth and oppose it with outragious rage so dearly sweet and sweetly dear is their darling gain They see they cannot have the Honey unlesse they burn the Bees and therefore fire them forthwith they cannot possesse the Vineyard unlesse Naboth be put to death and therefore he must be dispatch't When once the coppy-hold of gain and honour is touch't men begin to look about them and will never call godlinesse gain because gain is their godlinesse Beseech God therefore that you may be unselfed and may lay down all your interest of gain and honour Let the truth of God be ten times dearer then tenths or any income of gain and honour which cometh in by any opinion for as some say where gold grows no plant will prosper so certainly no truth will be dear nor have heart-room where the love of money or honour hath taken place 2. Intreat God to keep you from passionate discourses and disputations or from passion in discourses and disputations For 1. Tha wrath of man worketh not the righteousnesse of God So much passion as there is so much there is to no purpose yea to an ill purpose 2. Passion usually ariseth more from and for self then Christ 3. Passion hinders the efficacy of the argument for the tingling of passion hinders the sound of truth 4. Passion unfits a man for discourse and confounds both memory and understanding so that as Aristotle hath observed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they that are in passion cannot discern nor judge of truth 5. Christ loseth more by the passion then he gains by the disputation for while you seek to honour him he finds himself to be dishonoured 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 When two dispute and th' one begins to rage The other not retorting is more sage 3. 3 Prejudice Intreat God to remove prejudices for that doth very much prejudice the entertainment of truth Ahab had such a prejudice against Michaiah that he would not call him Prophet but 1 King 22.8 1 Kings 22 Michaiah the son of Imlah There 's one man Michaiah the son of Imlah but I hate him for he never speaks good concerning me but evil but as Jehoshaphat said to Ahab Let not the King say so even fo would I say to you Christians let not Christians say of one another this is a rigid man I will not hear him or this is a Sectary I will not hear him Beg of God that prejudice may