Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	know_v	speak_v	word_n	9,131	5	4.2861	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26854	Richard Baxter his account to his dearly beloved, the inhabitants of Kidderminster, of the causes of his being forbidden by the Bishop of Worcester to preach within his diocess with the Bishop of Worcester's letter in answer thereunto : and some short animadversions upon the said bishops letter.; Account to his dearly beloved, the inhabitants of Kidderminster, of the causes of his being forbidden by the Bishop of Worcester to preach within his diocess	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.; Stillingfleet, Edward, 1635-1699. Letter to a friend for vindication of himself from Mr. Baxter's calumny.	1662 (1662)	Wing B1179; ESTC R1412	40,242	54

to urge Christs example against himself for as we conform our selves to the Churches order and custome of our times in receiving the Communion otherwise in point of gesture then perhaps it was received at the first institution so Christ and his Apostles conforming themselves to the order and practise of the Church of their times did celebrate the Passeover otherwise then according to the first Institution it was to be celebrated in point of gesture also thereby intending to teach us that as long as the Essentials of Doctrine and Worship which are unalteraable are preserved we are not to separate from the Church or quarrel with our Superiours if those things that are in their own nature alterable be not alwaies and in all places just the same that they were at first because there may be very just cause for the alteration of them and whether there be such a cause or no in this and the like particulars it is the Church that is to be the Judge So that there is nothing that can be collected either from the Canons of the Councels or from the practise of the Primitive Church no nor from Christs own example that can prove Kneeling at the Sacrament to be a sin neither doth Mr. Baxter himself believe it to be sinful for if he did he would not say as he does Pag. 4. 11. of his five Disputations that he himself would kneel rather then disturb the Peace of the Church or be deprived of its Communion In which words he confesseth First that Kneeling at the Sacrament is not sinful or unlawful Secondly that not to Kneel when it is imposed is to disturb the Peace of the Church and Thirdly that the imposing of it upon penalty of being deprived of the Communion is an effectual means to make those that otherwise would not kneel to conform to it and consequently that the imposing of it upon such a penalty is prudent and rational and whatsoever is prudent and rational cannot be unlawful so that not only the Act of Kneeling it self but the imposition of it by lawful Authority must needs be lawful Neither indeed would the People scruple at the imposition if they had not been taught that the thing it self were unlawful or if Mr. Baxter would yet teach them to believe what he himself believes namely that it is lawful which with what conscience he can refuse to do I know not for sure he is obliged to teach them obedience not to Divine Authority only but to humane Authority also in all lawful things and not to let them go on in such an erroneous opinion as will disturb the Peace and deprive them of the Communion of the Church and consequently make them sin against God and Man and their own Souls Of which sin of theirs he must needs be a partaker in a great measure if he do not perswade them from it seeing as he himself saith Qui non vetat peccare cum potest jubet And what Power he hath to lead or mislead those kind of men their venturing to kill and be killed in a most unrighteous quarrel upon his perswasion hath more then enough demonstrated during the time of the late troubles unlesse he will say that he hath conjured up a Spirit that he cannot lay Howsoever by how much the more faulty he hath been in misleading them heretofore by so much the more zealous he should be to reduce them into the right way hereafter which if he and the rest of his Brethren can do as I am confident they can if they wil they wil make some amends for the mischief they have done and then there will be no fear or danger of Ministers being Ejected for their tenderness towards the People nor of the Ejecting of any of the People from the communion of the Church for not conforming themselves to the Orders and Commands of it consequently there will be no Schisms or Divisions amongst us when we shall all worship the same God the same way But if they will not do this which by all obligations Humane and Divine they are bound to do for my part I know no better way for undeceiving reducing of the People then by removing such Ministers and then we shall see when the blowing of those boisterous winds ceaseth whether the waves will not be still or no In the mean time I hope the removing of erroneous and seditious will not necessitate the introducing of ignorant and scandalous Ministers though Mr. Baxter ought to remember that as there is no sin more heinous then Rebellion so no teacher ought to be more scandalous I am sure there is none more dangerous then a teacher of Rebellion And now to use Mr. Baxters own words I think there is no man to be found on earth that hath the ordinary reason of a Man but will confess That it is indeed destructive of all Government and Legislative power to Assert as Mr. Baxter did Assert the command of a thing in it self lawful by lawful Authority under no unjust punishment with no evil circumstance which the Commander can foresee or ought to provide against for all these pre-cautions were expresly put in the proposition which Mr. Baxter denied as a sinful Command for a●● other reason but because the Act Commanded may be by Accident a sin Let Mr. Baxter then know and if he have ingenuity enough confess that the words I spoke as to this particular were words of truth and words of charity also as being intended and spoken to no other end but to undeceive that People who by having his person too much in admiration as if he could neither deceive nor be deceived had been so long and so dangerously mislead by him so that it was not I that defamed him then but it is he that hath defamed me now Neither could I expect lesse from the boldnesse of this man and that party who have had the confidence publickly to own the obligation of the Covenant even since it hath been condemn'd to be burnt by the Parliament And truly I see no reason why all those Books and Sermons which have been Preach'd and Printed in defence of the Covenant or to maintain the same or worse principles of Sedition then are in the Covenant should not be burnt also Nay I dare be bold to say that if the Authors of such Books and Sermons were not still of the same opinions and if they be God deliver us from such Preachers if they were not still I say of the same opinions but did truly repent of them and were heartily sorry for the horrible mischief they have done by them they would with those converted Exorcists Act. 16. 19. bring all those Conjuring Books of theirs togethers and to save the Hang-man a labour would publickly burn them all with their own hands that so though by the burning of their works they may perhaps suffer some losse in point of reputation with some of their Disciples yet they themselves may be

saith he we were sworn and sworn and sworn again to be faithful to and to defend And yet speaking of that Parliament which contrary to their Oaths changed this Government by ruling alone and taking upon them the Supremacy he tells us that they were the best Governours in all the world and such as it is forbidden to Subjects to depose upon pain of damnation What then was he that deposed them one would think Mr. Baxter should have called him a Traytor but he calls him in the same Preface the Lord Protector adding That he did prudently piously faithfully and to his immortal honour exercise the Government which he left to his Son to whom as Mr. Baxter saith pag. 481. he is bound to submit as set over us by God and to obey for conscience sake and to hehave himself as a Loyal Subject towards him because as he saith in the same place a full and free Parliament had owned him thereby implying That a maimed and manacled House of Commons without King and Lords and notwithstanding the violent expulsion of the secluded Members were a full and free Parliament and consequently that if such a Parliament should have taken Arms against the King he must have sided with them Yea though they had been never so much in fault and though they had been the beginners of the War for he tells us in plain and expresse terms VIII That if he had known the Parliament had been the beginners of the War and in most fault yet the ruine of the Trustees and Representatives and so of all the security of the Nation being a punishment greater than any faults of theirs against the King could deserve from him their faults could not dis-oblige him meaning himself from defending the Common-wealth Pag. 480. And that he might do this lawfully and with a good Conscience he seems to be so confident that in his Preface he makes as it were a challenge saying that if any man can prove that the King was the highest power in the time of those Divisions and that he had power to make that War which he made he will offer his head to Justice as a Rebel As if in those times of Division the King had lost or forfeited his Soveraignty and the Parliament had not only a part but the whole Soveraignty in themselves IX Finally Mr. Baxter tells us pag. 486. That having often searched into his heart whether he did lawfully engage into the War or not and whether he did lawfully encourage so many thousands to it he tells us I say that the issue of all his search was but this That he cannot yet see that he was mistaken in the main cause nor dares he repent of it not forbear doing the same if it were to do again in the same state of things He tells us indeed in the same place that if he could be convinced he had sinned in this matter he would as gladly make a publick recantation as he would eat or drink which seeing he hath not yet done it is evident he is still of the same mind and consequently would upon the same occasion do the same things viz. fight and encourage as many thousands as he could to fight against the King for any thing that calls it self or which he is pleased to call a full and free Parliament as likewise that he would own and submit to any Usurper of the Soveraignty as set up by God although he came to it by the murder of his Master and by trampling upon the Parliament Lastly That he would hinder as much as possibly he could the restoring of the rightful Heir unto the Crown And now whether a man of this Judgement and of these affections ought to be permitted to Preach or no let any but himself judge A Letter unto a Person of Honour and Quality Containing some Animadversions upon the Bishop of Worcester's Letter Honourable and Worthy Sir I Am to thank You for the last piece of Divertisement you gave me in sending the Bishop of Worcester's Letter and I wish you would have let me enjoyed the satisfaction I took in reading it without obliging me to give You my sense upon it For besides my unwillingness to meddle in a Personal quarrel it will not I think be very safe for any to engage against so angry an Adversary which I shall be thought to do though I resolve to speak nothing but Truth in the Character I intend to give of him And it is briefly this That in fewer leaves I never yet read more Passion which is so very predominant that his disorderly and abrupt stile doth altogether partake of it so that the Bishops best way will be to get his Heat mistaken so Zeal for else it may justly be accounted something that hath a worse Name and which in the Dog-dayes will be very dangerous This being Sir my Judgement upon the whole Letter You may well expect that I should make it good by an Induction from particular instances but before I do this I must deal impartially and assure you that as to the main Controversie I think the Bishop hath much the better of Mr. Baxter For if the Question between them was as D. Gunning and Dr. Pearson do attest such a Command is so evidently lawful that I shall much wonder if Mr. Baxter did ever dispute it and till he doth clearly disprove that that was not the thing in Question I must needs think that he hath much forgot himself in making an Imperfect and Partial Relation Setting therefore aside the business of that particular Contest wherein You see how much I am inclined to favour the Bishop there are other things in his Letter of general Concernment which I think lyable to just Exception As First That he supposeth there is so strict an Union and so inseperable a Dependence between Kings and Bishops that they must stand and fall together and all who are Enemies to the one must needs be Enemies to the other I know very well this Axiom is much talked of and some advantage may be taken to confirm it from the event of our late Wars You know likewise Sir how much my Judgement is for the Order of Bishops and how Passionate a Lover I am both of the Kings Person and Government but yet being thus called by You to declare the truth though contrary to my own Humour and Interest I must needs say 1. It is clear from Story that Kings were in all parts of the World in their most flourishing Estate before ever Bishops were heard of and no reason can be given why what hath once been may not with the same terms of convenience be again 2. Bishops as they are by Law established in England are purely the Kings subordinate Ministers in the management of Ecclesiastical Affairs which His Majesty may confer upon what order of men he pleases though they be as much Lay persons as You and I are It is therefore very injurious to the Kings Authority to