Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	jerusalem_n	spirit_n	worship_v	3,034	5	9.5572	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01041	A defence of the lavvful calling of the ministers of reformed churches, against the cavillations of Romanists Whereto is subioined, an epistle to a recusant, for clearing and maintaining some points of the former treatise of defence, challenged by a Roman Elymas Bar-Iesus-it. With a short discovery of the adversarie his dottage in his impertinent and rediculously deceitfull demands. By Patrik Forbes, of Coirse.	Forbes, Patrick, 1564-1635.	1614 (1614)	STC 11146; ESTC S114324	93,515	180

Church why doe our adversaries make no end of bitter contention against vs We have indeed great sure promises that the gates of hell shall not prevaile against his Church but that the ordinarie Ministers shall alwayes and all in common holde the trueth not one syllable yea contrarie we have not only manie and serious warnings of false prophetes to arise in the bowells of the church in sheepes clothing but also most clearlie foretold that such an Apostasie should come whereby Antichrist in al effectual deceyt should even sit and beare rule in the Temple of God If they will saye that the Church of Israel had not such promises of continuall presence and preservation of truth as the Christian Church hath It is a treacherous sophisme For they had also sure promises of continuall presence and preservation of truth according to the measure dispensed albeit not of so great measure of presence and light And as for that point whereof our adversaries glorie most and wherein now at last they are faine to place all defence namelie the prerogative of places and persons the Church of Israell had much more for them in so ample and many promises made of Ierusalem And to the house of Levie and familie of Aaron where as the Church vnder the Gospell in which neither at Ierusalem nor in any mountaine but every-where and of all men God is to bee worshipped in spirit and truth albeit having great sure promises of presence and preservation yet of tying God or his truth to any places or persons in all Scripture shee hath not so much as any shew of a warrant which if the holy Ghost had minded hee might with much lesse ado have reduced those many grave and earnest warnings given both by Christ in the dayes of his fleshe and by his Apostles thereafter of the perill of false prophetes and those carefull instructions of notes how to discerne and avoid them to a short and sure compende against all fraude bidding the Church but holde whatsoever the Bishop of Rome did holde for that hee forsooth could not erre If our adversaries yet oppone that howsoever the Church vnder the Law did sometime fall away all in common and that albeit the Christian Church should also in like manner yet the truth of God his promises should not therefore faile but that no such thing hath befallen the Christian Church or could befall her in respect of the great measure of light and cleare dispensation by the Gospell It is many wayes both foolish and impertinentlie alleadged for first it is a plaine taking of that which is in question Next as the state of our question is whither possiblie the Church may erre communiter tota and God his promise yet abyde true to oppone that shee hath not erred is alse ridiculous as if in disputation de iure one should answer de facto If God his promise still may consist albeit shee did so erre wee have the point wee pleade for And whither shee hath erred or not they must of necessitie come with vs to trye by such rules of examination as wee only labour to reduce them to and they in an evill conscience alwayes flee onely crying against vs The Tēple of the Lord The Temple of the Lord And the Church can not erre Thirdlie this their presumption of the ones possible and easie falling away and of the others assured standing in truth grounded vpon the lesse and greater measure of light it sheweth their foolishnes in divine matters For as whatsoever measure of light dispensed is God his free benefite so is our either imbracing or abyding therein his only gift Who as hee iustlie will give over presumptuous and secure men to groape even at noone day so is hee faithfull and wil not suffer his owne to bee tempted above that they are able but will give the issue with the tentation Wee have indeed to glorifie God and even to glorie in him for the huge measure of light and gracefull dispensation by the Gospell but so farre ought men to have bene from vaine boasting thereof or carnall and secure relying thervpon as in all watchfulnes and godly care they should have remembred with all that accordingly Satan was to advaunce the mysterie of iniquitie by all effectual working with all power signes and lying wonders and in all deceaveablenes of vnrighteousnes among them that perish because they receaved not the love of the truth that they might be saved and therefore God should send them strong delusion c. for Sathan as a craftie warriour and subtill enemie reserved and framed his last cunning force and maner of working according as he did see that for deceaving was requisite and accordinglie by God his wise permission iust iudgement obtained a throne even in the temple of God And as in the dealing of God it is not to be esteemed strange that he so farre gave over the world to the efficacie of errour whereby he iustlie punished the contempt of his truth and clearlie foretold the case so is it nothing derogatorie either to his goodnes and truth of his promises made to his Church or to his power of performance as our adversaries because the Lord whom they would make a varlet to their lustes hath iustlie cast dunge vpon their faces therefore by a doting dilemma would inforce vpon vs this blasphemie as a necessarie consec●arie of our doctrine For that if the Church have erred it must have beene that either GOD would not or then that hee could not keepe his promise to her But it is the propertie of their king Abaddon to blaspheme the name of God his Tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven Wee both acknowledge his goodnes and praise his truth and power and confesse that by this course of dealing they are more highlie manifested then if the gates of hell and smoake of the bottomles pit had never assailed the Church Or if the weaknes of men had never appeared to the praise both of his goodnes and power For as his incomprehensible goodnes and constant truth are herein magnified that though all men be liers yet hee abydeth true and the infidelitie of men can not make his promise of none effect so did his infinite power exceedinglie extoll the selfe in this that as hee bringeth light out of darknes and maketh his light to shine in darknes as hee bringeth life out of death and preserveth the children of death so in the middest of Antichrist his vsurpation and such absolute domination in the holy Citie and Court of the Temple the visible Church as no possible meanes appeared of intertaining light yet hee not only all the while preserved two candlestickes and two olives true witnesses and Ministers of light and grace but also when spyed out by Antichrist they were cruellie murthered and in his and his sectatours estimation vtterlie vndone hee revived them in furder vigour to his and their terrour That while all the earth

inviolable truth of God be subiect vnto men or men vnto it And though all men were liars shall therefore the truth of God faile Shal tyme so strengthen errour as what from the beginning was invalid any length of dayes shall make it good The Lord himselfe being accused as we are now of transgressing the tradition of the Fathers answered that in vaine they worship God who teach for doctrines the traditions of men and against most inveterat strongly authorized and obtaining errours hee opposed this one reason that it was not so from the beginning The most approoved amongst the Fathers have taught vs that for warrant of faith we have neither to rely vpon what they themselves or what the Fathers who were before them have said but vpon that which Christ and his Apostles who were before all have delivered Antiquity I confesse were a great argument for truth if Sathan had not beene a lier from the beginning And yet the adversarie is so ridiculous as to demaund vs what men they are whose doctrine and writtings in all points of religion wee will advow and byde ate But miserable men is there an option left vs or any who will not perish in blindnes to make a choise to whose doctrine and writings in all points of religion wee will betake vs Hath the Lord left vs so incertain what to flee or follow We are not to advow or byde at any either doctrine or writings as vndoubted truth but what in the sacred scriptures is set downe All other whither doctrine or writings of whatsoever men and in whatsoever age wee advow and byde at but so far as they are consonant to that So as if an Angell from heaven preach any other Gospell let him be anathema Eis solis Scriptur arum libris qui iani Canonici appellantur sayeth Augustin didici hunc timorem honoremq̄ue deferre vt nullum serum authorem scribendo aliquid errasse firmiter credam And a little after Alias autem ita lego vt quanta libet sanctitata doctrinaque pr●p●lleant non ideo verum putem quia ipsi ita censerunt sed quia mihi vel per ill●s authores canonicos vel probabili rations quod à veró non abhorreat persuadere potuerant That is onely to these bookes of Scripture which are called Canonik have I learned to yeeld this feare and honour that I firmelie believe no Author of them to have erred ought in writings As for others I so read them as how excellently soever holy or learned they be yet I thinke not ought to bee therefore true because they have thought so but because either by these Canonicall authors or by probable reason they were able to perswade me that which doth not abhorre from truth And have we not more then a thousand times evinced evidētly that we professe maintaine no other doctrine then that which Christ his Apostles first taught by word therafter left vs in register for a stable and vndoudted rule to al succeeding ages which in despyt of Satan albeit busily advancing the mysterie of iniquitie yet was commonly holden in the Church more then three hundreth yeeres thereafter And which howsoever by prevayling darknes of the bottomles pitt it was so farre at length eclipsed as Sathan obtayned a throne even in the Temple of God yet was all the tyme of that prevayling errour the true both light and life of these who dwelling even where Sathan his throne was and albeit in weaknes tolerating spirituall fornication yet keeped the name of God lived reigned with him a 1000. yeres not receaving the beast his character albeit lurking vnder the shadow of his name or number which from vnder that overwhelming deluge of darknes hath brokē foorth again now three hundreth yeres agoe and that by degrees praysed bee God so clearly and powerfully to the convincing and dispelling therof as it maketh the recurelesse characterized followers of the beast to gnaw their toungs for sorow blaspheme bitterly Our adversaries in this their demaūd are no lesse ridiculous thē were either a senseles foole or a perverse iangler who the sunne arysing bright in the morning yet because soone after it is by degrees so lapped vp in clouddes and mist as it is not seene of men in the earth till that some houres before even breaking out again clearly dispelling all that overshadowing darknes it lighten of new the earth would therefore with pertinacie plead that the sunne thus wrestling out from vnder that overvailing cloud were not the true sunne which in the morning had shyned but some counterfait and never before seene Comet because foresooth their eies had not all the minuts of the day sensibly seene the shyning body and particular progres of it But poor Idiots the sunne hath such a soveraine and singular both light and heat as though all the dolts in the worlde would disclaime it yet wil evince it to be alwayes one and the same and albeit long covered and vnperceaved in common yet that all the while it still so shyned as howsoever in all Aegipt was palpable darknes yet in Gosben was cleare and confortable light In my treatise of defence and 19. section thereof answering this same obiection I alledged that as divers of our men had done so I might bring faire Catalogues of men who in former ages had holden the truth heavely lamented the prevayling corruptions of their tymes But I gave there divers and good reasons why neither ought that iustly bee required of vs neither we bee so foolish as to divert with our adversaries to so vnnecessary an altercation And long before in my commentarie vpon the 14. Chap. of the Revelation I shewed how to answer the adversarie ought hereto were but vainly to hale the coard of contention with men whose mouthes wee might stoppe by more sure and evident arguments And yet the adversarie in a good conscience I warrant you of a iust cause will admit now no rule whereby to examine vs but which hee knew verie well that before any demande from him I had for good reasons reiected and he is so extreemly impudent heerein as not onely without refelling any of my reasons he still vrgeth it but fearing also what herein I might verie well performe if I pleased to answer a foole to his follie and so proove a foole with him that wherto I refused to answere being proponed evē in a large case he reponeth to me now with such strict limitations as any sensible Reader may evidently perceave he hath fore-caston his evasions how to escape taking And for this it is that forsooth we must show who frō age to age not onley held but also professed the same Religion and that in all substantiall points And whose writinges in all points wee will advow and byde at Heere hee hath prepared to him selfe exceptions against any whom hee thinketh that in those most corrupted times wee can produce against him First if