Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	new_a	old_a	testament_n	6,607	5	8.4174	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66207	The false-prophets try'd by their fruits being a sermon preached at St. James's Westminister, November Vth 1699, in which it is shewn, that the principles, and practices, of the Church of Rome, with relation to those whom they call hereticks, are not only destructive of civil society, but are utterly irreconcileable with the gospel of Christ / by William Wake ...	Wake, William, 1657-1737.	1700 (1700)	Wing W246; ESTC R39410	20,598	38

THE False-Prophets try'd by their Fruits BEING A SERMON PREACHED At St. JAMES's Westminster November v th 1699. In which it is shewn That the Principles and Practices of the CHURCH of ROME with relation to Those whom they call HERETICKS are not only Destructive of Civil Society but are utterly Irreconcileable with the Gospel of Christ. By WILLIAM WAKE D. D. and Rector of St. JAMES Westminster Publish'd at the Request of the Gentlemen of the VESTRY and several Others who Heard it LONDON Printed for Richard Sare at Gray's-Inn-Gate in Holborn M D C C. MAT. vii 15 16. Beware of False Prophets which come to you in Sheeps-Cloathing but Inwardly They are Ravening Wolves Ye shall know them by their Fruits THESE Words are a Caution given by our Blessed Saviour to his Disciples to have a Care what Persons They admitted to be their Guides and Instructors in things pertaining to Religion That They should not blindly follow Every One who should pretend to lead Them but should first diligently prove and Examine them And know whether They were indeed the true Ministers of Christ Or whether they were not rather False-Prophets whose design was not to instruct but to deceive Beware of False-Prophets which come to you in Sheeps-Cloathing but inwardly they are Ravening Wolves Ye shall know them by their Fruits In my Discourse upon which Words I shall I. Endeavour to Give you a clear account of the true Meaning of our Saviour in Them And having done this I will proceed II. To shew you what Vse We ought to make of them 1 st In General with Relation to all such as shall at any time pretend to Preach the Gospel of Christ to us 2dly In particular As they may be more immediately applied to the Subject and Solemnity of this day And I. Let us Enquire what is the true Meaning of that Caution which our Saviour here Gave to his Disciples Beware of False-Prophets In order whereunto I shall distinctly consider these two Things 1st Who They were whom our Saviour intended to Represent to them under the Name and Character of False Prophets 2dly What those Fruits are by which He directed them to discover and to avoid Them 1st As for the former of these The Persons whom our Saviour here design'd to Represent to his Disciples under the Name and Character of False Prophets They may be reduced to these two kinds Either 1 st Such as shou●d pretend to set up themselves as Men commissioned by God in an Extraordinary-Manner to Reveal hi● Will to Mankind tho' indeed They were never Sent by Him Or 2 dly Such as should pretend only to teach and expound the Common Doctrine of Christ but yet under the colour of that should deliver their own Imaginations and so Preach Themselves 2 Cor. iv 5. and not the Lord Jesus Of the Former of these Our Saviour spake to his Disciples Mat. xxiv 11 24. When He told Them That False Christs and False-Prophets should arise and should deceive many Mark xiii 22. And therefore warn'd Them not to be Deluded by them Of the latter kind are all Those who in the several Ages of the Church have Preached in the Name and pretended to deliver only that Pure Doctrine of Christ which was deliver'd by Him to his Apostles and by them Communicated to the Church but yet have mingled their Own Errours together with it And by means thereof have brought in Damnable Heresies 2 Pet. ii 1. Scandalous to Christianity and dangerous to the Souls of all Those who have unhappily suffer'd Themselves to be mis-led by Them Act. xx 29.30 1 Tim. iv 1 2 3. Now that Those of this latter kind no less than those of the foregoing are truly comprehended under the Name and Character of False-Prophets the language of the New Testament will not suffer Us to doubt Where to Prophesy do's commonly denote to Preach the Gospel of Christ And to be a Prophet Mat. vii 22. x. 41. xx ii 34. Luk xi 50. signifies no less to be a Teacher of the Doctrine already Revealed Rom. xii 6. 1 Cor. xiii 2. xiv 22. c. than to be a Publisher of such Things as were before unknown and for the Confirmation of which He who did so was therefore to be in an Extraordinary manner both Commissioned and Inspired by God The truth is tho' the former of these Significations of the Word Prophet was the more Common under the Old Testament when such kind of Persons were wont to be frequently sent by God to Mankind yet this latter seems to be the more proper and standing import of it under the New And the additional Character which is here Given to those of whom our Saviour spake that they should come in Sheeps-Cloathing that is to say under the Habit and Appearance of Disciples in the Name of Christ and as Pastors of his Flock plainly shews that They were not to be the Publishers of any new Doctrine but to pretend at least to Teach that Old-Religion Heb xiii 20. 1 Pet. v. 4. which our Blessed Lord the Great Shepherd of the Sheep once for all deliver'd to the Saints Jude 3. So that however then I would not exclude the other signification of the Word Prophet from having been in part intended by our Saviour in the Caution before us And according to which it is certainly our duty to Beware of False-Prophets that is to say of such as shall Go about to Preach a new Religion totally different from that of the Gospel which was in Effect Act. xxi 28. Joseph Antiqu lib. xx c. 2. De Bell. Jud. lib. v. c. 30 38. Orig. Contr. Cels. l. 2. Epiph. adv Haeres lib. i. Tom. 2. c. the Case of some of the most Early Hereticks in the first Ages after Christ and of that Great Impostor Mahomet afterwards Yet I cannot but look upon the more General Design of our Blessed Lord to have been to Caution us against those of whom we have commonly more need to Beware I mean The Ordinary Preachers of the Gospel And concerning whom it is without Controversy our Duty and should be our Care too to take heed that We do not suffer our selves to be mis-led by Them Whilst instead of delivering to Us the pure Doctrine of Christ they teach only their own Inventions and by so doing both corrupt our Faith and without Gods Infinite mercy Expose Us to Everlasting Ruine and Destruction And this may suffice to shew who the False-Prophets are of whom our Lord in the Text Requires us to Beware Let us consider 2dly By what Marks we may Discover and so be enabled to Avoid them Now the Rule laid down by our Saviour in order hereunto and again Repeated by him ver 20. is this Ye shall know them by their Fruits And those may be of two kinds Either 1st The Doctrine which they Preach and would Impose on those to whom they deliver it for the True Doctrine of Christ