Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	seek_v	worship_v	worshipper_n	1,970	5	12.2546	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61129	Of trust in God, or, A discourse concerning the duty of casting our care upon God in all our difficulties together with An exhortation to patient suffering for righteousness, in a sermon on 1 S. Pet. III. 14, 15 / by Nathaniel Spinckes ...	Spinckes, Nathaniel, 1654-1727.	1696 (1696)	Wing S4978; ESTC R1589	208,951	357

who deny a Providence and choose rather to ascribe all events either to Chance or Mechanism than to the hand of God And the same Prediction our blessed Saviour repeated assuring them that their magnificent Temple wherein they so highly gloried S. Matt. 24.2 should not have one stone left upon another that should not be thrown down and that S. Luk 1943 44. their Enemies should cast a trench about them and compass them round and keep them in on every side and should lay their City even with the ground and its Children within it and as to the time of this vengeance that it was not to be deferred beyond the present age For so saith our Saviour S. Mat. 24 34. Verily I say unto you this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled A Prediction as true as it seemed to the Jews to be improbable For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Orig. c. Cels l. 4. not many years had passed after they had barbarously put to death the Lord of Glory when whilst part of that Generation were yet alive Titus Vespasian the Roman General came against them and cut them off with a very great slaughter as De bello Jud. l. 4. c. 21 c. Josephus their own Historian reports at large their Temburied in its ruines At which time L. 7. c. 17. were slain by the Enemy no fewer than eleven hundred thousand persons and ninety seven thousand carried captive besides the vast numbers that had perished before by the famine and the pestilence and the intestine fury of their fellow-citizens and country-men And that which makes the completion of this Prediction the more remarkable is what L. 23. Ammianus Marcellinus has recorded concerning Julian's fruitless attempt for rebuilding this Temple thus destroyed namely that when Alypius of Antioch with the assistance of the Governour of the Province had undertaken it fearfull balls of fire issuing forth near the foundation and sometimes burning the work-men rendered the place inaccessible and constrained them to desist from their enterprize The very same account that is given both by Hist Eccl. l. 3. c. 20. Socrates and Hid. Eccl. l. 5. c. 22. Sozomen except that the former of them differs in this circumstance that he speaks of the fire 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not as arising from the foundation but descending from above and the other adds a material intimation omitted by other Authors that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 what they did in this case was done on purpose to deseat our Saviour's Prophecy And Adv. Judaeos l. 2. S. Chrysostome together with this mentions also two other attempts to this purpose the one under Adrian the other under Constantine which both proved likewise abortive though not interrupted in so miraculous a manner And though there was a City built by the Emperour Aelius Adrianus in the room of Jerusalem yet neither was it called Jerusalem but Aelius Adrianus à quo postea de ruinis Hierusalem urbs Aelia condita est D. Hieron in Dan. 9. ult 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb Hist Eccl. l. 4. c. 6. Aelia from the Emperour who built it nor was it ever the Metropolis of the Jews as Jerusalem was but on the contrary had a Baron Annal. To. 2.137.2 3. Sow and Pigs set over its Gate towards Bethlehem as it were in direct opposition to the Jews nor was it ever famous for any thing besides our Saviour's Tomb there 2. The Dissolution of the Jewish Polity and Dispersion of the Jews into all parts to continue a lasting Monument of God's just vengeance upon them for all their impieties and especially for their intolerable rage and malice in procuring the crucifixion of our ever-blessed Saviour S. Luk. 21.23 There was to be great distress in the land and wrath upon this People Ver. 24. They were to fall by the edge of the Sword and to be led captive into all Nations and Jerusalem to be trodden down of the Gentiles untill the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled according to our Saviour's Prediction And thus much Adv Jud. l. 2. S. Chrysostome urges to have been declared by the Prophet Daniel and admitted for truth by Josephus in that the Prophet from the information of the Angel Gabriel fore-telling their Captivity by Antiochus Epiphanes limited it to a certain time after which they should be delivered from his Tyranny as they had also long before had a time prefix'd for their Deliverance out of Egypt and had been delivered accordingly but in this Prophecy of the overthrow of their City and Nation by the Romans he makes no mention of any recovery but affirms at large that their City and Temple should be destroyed acquainting them with the Sufferings that were to come upon them but giving them no encouragement to hope for a release from them Which it might have been expected that he would have done if he had foreseen that they should be delivered again as they had been formerly Dan. 9.27 ch 12.11 The Sacrifice and Oblation was also utterly to cease Mal. 1.11 and a pure Offering to succeed instead hereof a more holy and spiritual Worship supplying the place of their Carnal Ordinances and Legal Offerings And to this purpose our Saviour informed the Woman of Samaria S. Joh. 4.21 23 24. that the wonted Ceremonious Worship should have an end there should be no Sacrifice in Jerusalem no Image at Samaria no Ephod at Jerusalem no Teraphim at Samaria as the learned Third part of the Harmony of the four Evangelists Dr. Lightfoot comments upon our Saviour's words but that those places and that manner of Worship should fall and be abolished and that it was therefore needless for her to enquire whether Jerusalem or Gerizim were the more eminent place of Worship for the time was just now in coming when neither the one nor the other should be the place of Worship at all Woman believe me saith our Saviour the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this Mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father The hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship him God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth And not only their Worship but their Polity too was to have a period put to it by the just Judgment of God upon them for their sins Gen. 49.10 The Scepter was to depart from Judah and the Law-giver from between his feet He that had the Dominion was to be taken away from Judah and the Scribe from his Children's Children as the Chaldee Paraphrast expounds this Prophecy Or as the Jerusalem Targum has it to the same effect Kings or as Jonathan's Kings and Princes or Presidents were to cease from the House of Judah and Doctors that teach the Law from his Children's Children This indeed was not to be accomplished till the coming of the Shiloh † ‑ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Messiah says

that in complying herein they had denied Christ and worshipped Idols they immediately look'd like Men half dead and running forth as if they were besides themselves they publickly owned themselves Christians with Tears and Cries declaring that what they had done was meerly by surprize returning the Emperour his Money and begging Death at his Hand as due to their Apostacy Thus S. * Epist 24. Cyprian tells of a certain Woman named Bona that being drawn by her Husband to offer Sacrifice which she did not of her self but as her Hands were overpower'd by others and made to do it she presently disclaimed the fact as theirs only who had offered her this Violence and so submitted to banishment rather than undergo the scandal of being thought to have fallen from the Faith when she had not And I have † Sect. 2. n. 2. already observed how multitudes of others willingly offered themselves to undergo all kinds of Tortures for their Saviour's sake ‖ Steterunt torti torquentibus fortiores pulsantes ac laniantes ungulas pulsata ac laniata membra vicerunt D. Cyprian Epist 10. Neque tunc civitas Christi quamvis adhuc peregrinaretur in terris haberet tam magnorum agmina populorum adversus impios persecutores suos pro temporali salute pugnavit sed potius ut obtineret aeternam non repugnavit D. August de civ Del. l. 22. c. 6. Inter fatigatos carnifices Lactant. Inst l. 5. c. 1.3 discovering a kind of impatience for a Crown of Martyrdom and even tyring out the Cruelty of their outrageous Persecutors insomuch that Arius Antonius having undertaken to persecute those in Asia and seeing them so little terrify'd at the Severities executed upon their Brethren that they came flocking by troops to receive the like Sentence astonished at this their unparallell'd Courage he put a stop to his proceedings and dismiss'd them * Tertul. ad Scap. saying 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be gone ye wretches and since you are so fond of Death either hang your selves or break your own Necks Some indeed there were who for want of a due Dependance upon God when Persecutions threatened them sought to save themselves by pretending to have complied with what was required of them though in truth they had not * Qui seipsos infideles illicitâ nefariorum Libellorum professione prodiderant quasi evasuri irretientes illos Diaboli laqueos viderentur D. Cypr. Epist 30. procuring Certificates to testifie that they had done it in hope by this deceitful Artifice to find the better quarter amongst the Enemies of the Christian Name † Annot. Oxon. in loc Some would venture to subscribe a Profession that they were of the Worshippers of Jupiter and Mars and the rest of the Heathen Deities that this being shewn to their Persecutors might obtain their quiet Others who dared not to proceed thus far yet would ‖ Ibid. not discountenance any Libels or Tickets that were either sent them by the Magistrates or procured them by any of their Friends but would make use of them in order to their Peace And * Ibid. Epist 55. Vid. Annot. in lib. de lapsis p. 133. a third sort there was who would buy them who though they would not go up to the Capitol to offer Sacrifice would fee some Officer there to suborn another to do it in their stead or to procure a Certificate of their having done it when they had not or some other way to get them excused from doing it yet so as that they might pass amongst those who had But these indirect and unwarrantable Courses the better Christians utterly condemned censuring them as *† Illicita nefariorum c. Ut supra Quo non minus quàm si ad nefarias aras accessissent tenerentur Ibid Illa professio denegantis contestatio est Christiani quod fuerat abnuentis fecisse se dixit quicquid alius faciendo commisit De Lapsis Servivit seculari Domino qui obtemperavit ejus edicto magis obaudivit humano imperio quàm Deo Ibid. Deum tamen judicem subterfugere vitare non poterit Ibid. unlawful and wicked comparing the users of them to those who actually worshipped at the Heathen Altars construing their Profession of having denied Christ to be indeed one way of denying him charging them as vertually the doers of what any else had done at their instigation and on their behalf and endeavouring to make them sensible that they had herein chosen to serve Man rather than God and that God whom they had thus affronted would be sure to take notice of it and bring them to an account for it And what they thus disapproved of in others they were very carefull to avoid themselves They were * Parati ad patientiam carceris armati ad tolerantiam mortis repugnatis fortiter seculo spectaculum gloriosum praebuistis Deo secuturis fratribus fuistis exemplo Ibid prepared to endure Imprisonment and were armed against the fear of Death they valiantly resisted the World they were a glorious spectacle in the sight of God and an eminent pattern for the imitation of succeeding Christians † Quosdam jam comperi coronatos quosdam vero ad victoriae coronam proximos universos autem quos agmine glorioso carcer inclusit pari ac simsli calore virtutis ad gerendum certamen animatos sicut esse oportet in divinis castris milites Christi ut incorruptam fidei firmitatem non blanditiae decipiant non minae terreant non cruciatus ac tormenta devincant D. Cypr. Ep. 10. Whilst part of them actually laid down their lives for their blessed Saviour others were ready to do it upon the first occasion They were generally prepared and animated for their spiritual Combat as became the Souldiers of Christ that the uncorrupted soundness of their Faith might neither be allured by Flatteries nor terrified by Menaces nor overcome by Racks and Tortures ‖ Famemvincitis sitim spernitis c. Ep. 37. They were above the dread of Hunger and despised Thirst and undervalued the filth of the Prison and the horrer of their Punishment They overcame their Sufferings were out their Torments and did not fear Death but wish for it as being vanquished by the hope of an immortal Reward that he which conquers may be crowned with an eternal Life And there is the same reason for persisting still in a resolute adherence to our Religion and all the parts of it notwithstanding the utmost attempts of Men or Devils for enticing or affrighting from it the same obligation willingly to expose our selves to whatever hardships for our Saviours sake the same encouragement to them that come off Victors in the Christian Warfare and the same danger to him that is overcome And if they who know thus much have not the Courage to demean themselves accordingly this can be imputed to nothing else but too great love to the things of this World and

purchase of his Sin and that he must therefore look to suffer one day severely for them How gawdily soever he may appear or whatever shew he make † Dii deaeque quàm malè est extra legem viventibus quicquid meruerunt semper expectant Petron. Arb. Satyr c 85. his Mind may yet be very uneasie ‖ Is 57.20 like the troubled Sea whose Waters cast up Mire and Dirt. And none but himself knows what private Pangs and Agonies seize him in his most Halcyon days * Poena autem vehemens ac multò saevior illis Quas aut caeditius gravis invenit aut Radamanthus Nocte dieque suum gestare in pectore testem Juv. Sat. 13. v. 195. what Anguish Fear and Grief possess his Soul how dissembled his Joys are for the most part and how much more miserable he is in truth than those who are most tempted to envy his Success His seeming advantages above others are no evidence that all is right within for notwithstanding these his Mind may be continually upon the Rack and he may hereby pay dearly even at present for what he so values himself upon Instances are frequent in History of Persons whom no outward Grandeur Wealth or Power could set at rest that their own guilty Consciences should not fill their Souls with dread and terrour as if they were just upon the point of coming to account for their Iniquities Such as 1 Tacit. Annal. l. 6. Sueton. in vit Tiber. c. 63 64 65 66. Tiberius 2 Id. in vit Cal. c. 51. Caligula and 3 Zon. Annal. To. 3. Anastasius of Rome 4 Cic. Tusc Quaest l. 5. c. 20. Dionysius of Corinth 5 P. de Comines l. 6. c. 7. Lewis XI of France and 6 Speed Baker Trussel al. Richard III. of our own Nation c. whose frightfull Dreams by Night and restless Fears by Day were a sufficient confirmation of the Poet's Assertion that 7 Afferat ipse licet sacras Epidaurius herbas Sanabit nullâ vulnera cordis ope Ovid. l. 1. de pont El. 4. Aesculapius with all his Medicaments had no cure for a troubled Conscience If the greatest affluence of outward Enjoyments could set a Man at ease sure Kings and Emperours should have the best Title to it yet these forementioned and others shew that they are many times farther from it than the meanest of their Subjects When once the greatest of Men rebell against God on whom they have their whole Dependance for their Lives and all their Enjoyments they may conclude that he will have no regard to them more than others but will be at least as highly incensed against them And consequently they must have as much cause as any to dread the heavy effects of his Displeasure There is a great deal of Truth in that of the Moralist That * Tutum aliqua res in malâ conscientiâ praestat nulla securum Putat enim se etiamsi non deprehenditur posse deprehendi inter somnos movetur quoties alicujus scelus loquitur de suo cogitat Senec. Epist 105. he who hath a guilty Conscience may sometimes be safe from any present danger but never from the fear of it For though his Sin be not yet discovered he knows not how soon it may and is disturbed in his Sleep and as oft as he mentions another's Wickedness is possessed with a tormenting remembrance of his own But if to this be added the Consideration of another Life and the extremity of those dismal Tortures the Sinner must then expect to undergo no wonder though he find himself very uneasie at the thoughts hereof These will pursue him into his closest Retirements in spight of all the care he can take to prevent them and will be as so many Darts piercing him to the quick The remembrance of having acted unagreeably to his Profession a sense of the guilt hereby contracted and a fear of present Sufferings together with the dread of an approaching Judgment and the ineffable Terrours of the Lord in the other World will cut him to the Soul will even overwhelm him with Grief and if duly attended to will make him heartily repent that ever he should have taken so indirect a course to promote his own welfare And yet all this is but the beginning of Sorrows and is nothing in comparison of what I mentioned in the Second place namely 2. The intolerable Tortures that are due to these Practices in a future state when both Soul and Body shall be everlastingly punished in Hell-fire with the Devil and his Angels This will undoubtedly be the Portion of all that fear not God and amongst others in particular of those whose distrust of his Goodness hath put them upon unwarrantable Contrivances for their own Safety or Advancement There is nothing more certain than that * 2 Cor. 5.10 we must all appear and God knows how soon before the judgment seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad and then † Rom. 2.6 c. will he render to every man according to his deeds to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality eternal life but to them who obey not the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doth evil though for never so plausible an End and upon never so advantageous a Prospect Nothing of this Nature will then be allow'd of as an excuse for having transgressed God's Laws or will deliver from the Severities denounced against such as knowingly transgress them But howsoever they escape at present they will be sure unless a timely Repentance prevent it to be confined hereafter to unavoidable insupportable and yet incessant Agonies And how disadvantageous a bargain this will be to them may be collected from those words of our Blessed Lord to his Disciples * S. Matt. 16.26 What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul If a Man can possibly satisfie himself in any profitable or otherwise usefull Wickedness at present yet he will find a dolefull and an amazing change when he shall come at last to † Is 50.11 lie down in sorrows and ‖ Rev. 20.10 be tormented day and Night for ever and ever For if the gain of the whole World would be an unequal Compensation for the loss of a Soul as our Saviour teaches us how egregious must their folly be that will dare to ruine their Souls beyond hope of recovery only for some small inconsiderable advantage which may soon be gone again and whilst it lasts may administer but little satisfaction or for the avoiding some present uneasiness which possibly might have been soon over without it and much better and more desirably than with