Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	spirit_n	word_n	worship_v	4,374	5	9.1582	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A04597	A spiritual chaine, and armour of choice, for Sion souldiers Which, whosoeuer weareth graciously, shall be sure of the best honour, comfort and safetie (whether he liue or die in the battell) that can come to a Christian souldier. Very necessary for these times.	Jones, Anthony, fl. 1622.	1622 (1622)	STC 14717.5; ESTC S114423	39,266	114

saith the Apostle the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the euill day Eph. 6.13 and hauing done all to stand Stand therefore hauing your loines girt about with truth and hauing on the breastplate of righteousnesse and your feete sh●d with the preparation of the Gospell of peace aboue all things take the shield of faith wherewith ye shal be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked and take the helmet of saluation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God praying alwayes with all prayer and supplication in the spirit Let me now lay downe a little concerning euery of these seuen peeces of armour Truth the girdle the better to expresse them for the vnlearneds sake First of all Truth in worshipping the true God and soundnesse in this truth must compasse you about like a girdle to make you strong in your marching as they whose loines are girded whereby you may the better fight against all aduersaries whatsoeuer they be that oppose this truth In truth and in spirit you are to worship the true God hee will make this truth a mightie defence to you being indeed the first part of a Christian souldiers armour This armour is not like the corporall which is put on peecemeale this part first and that next and then the girdle last nay this is put on all together and so the girdle of veritie fastneth on all the rest For without this truth in Gods worship no other parts will sit closely or remaine orderly vpon you As the heathen man Cato said well of Cesar touching his earthly girdle Odi puerum male cinctum I hate that same yonker who goeth so loosely girded so our God hateth old and yong high and low who care not for his true worship this gracious girdle marke their behauiour you shal find it loose He that cares not for this truth in worshipping the true God shall be a false and a loose souldier Therefore keepe on your girdle you Sion souldiers Beware of idols beware of all false worship Masses and the purtenances adoration of Saints and such like Then hauing endeuoured to giue our God his due Righteousnesse the breastplate then I say comes your Breast-plate of righteousnes your righteous life must shine cleerly before men Part not this true life from true worship our glorious God shall haue great honour thereby and the aduersaries shall rest ashamed whē they speake that euill of you which they cannot proue This plate will so couer your breasts as to make them vndaunted and ioyfull continually yea it will be such a peece of armour as none shall be able to pierce no not the greatest Anack or Goliah in earth or hell This peece of armour thus setled you must also put on spirituall shooes before you go abroad Peace the shooes you must haue peace from the Prince of peace you cannot stand in any war without this peace which passeth all vnderstanding If you venture abroad without those shooes that peace euery place shall be as sharp stones nay as thornes wheresoeuer you tread and if you kicke you shall kick against pricks Therefore you must carefully put on this peece of armour euen that peace which comes from the God of peace you must fasten it on to your soules as shoes to your feete then shall you tread safely Mal. 4.3 Vpon what Euen vpon the neckes of the wicked at last till they be as dust how great soeuer they be They haue their pleasure now and you shall haue your ioy hereafter their pleasure is momentanie your ioy shall be euerlasting Nay more then so our good God doth oftentimes also affoord his souldiers this downe treading of his enmies in this world Ios 10 24.25 yea vpon their very necks as he did in Iosuahs time This peace with God is the chiefe peace which no war of the most vile enemies can keep from you This peace with God will breed peace with men also and with all the creatures yea and nourish patience and courage against all oppositions without which men shall come so vnprepared to battell as a traueller to his iourney if he want shooes What a comfortable peace is this How famous are the very soles of these shooes and how beautifull are the feete that bring you this peace To this peace you are prepared by the glad tidings which the word of our God brings you touching the Messiah Faith the shield in whom our peace consisteth Your shooes being on abroad you go but not without your Shield in any wise In your iourney ouer and aboue stones and thornes make account that you shall meete with Buls of Basan whom no inclosure will hold with yong and old foxes also yea mad dogs and other mad beasts such as Paul fought with nay vvith Beares vvolues lions tigres and aspes feare them not you Sion souldiers depend faithfully and wholy vpon your heauenly Father trusting in his mercie through the merits of his deare Sonne Iesus Christ our Lord Sauiour and grand Captaine and vpon his good will towards you and withall vpon his most powerfull abilitie to defend you This faith shall be your shield and by it you shall be shielded This part of your armor is of such proofe as you haue a whole cloud of witnesses in the word of our God Heb. 11. the whole chap. chap. 12.1 to testifie that whosoeuer vsed it in a gracious maner vvere alvvayes kept from all the hurt of any troubles You may haue seeming griefes Heb. 12.11 but they shall bring you a substantiall quiet fruit This is that shield which performeth that truly vvhich is falsly reported of inchanted shields viz. continuall preseruation no earthly nor infernall blow can vtterly and finally ouerturne him that hath vvell put on this shield 5. Saluation the Helmet But yet left notvvithstanding all this dreadfull death do offer to seize vpon you and vtterly to dismay you you must haue more armour then this deaths stroke is mightie it offereth violence to the verie heart of your temporall comfort euen to life it self How shall you doe now On vvith your Helmet O Sion souldier and that is saluation Say to your selfe and say truly Saluation is mine by my Christ reserued in heauen for me 1. Pet. 1.4 2. Pet. 1 1● nay an entrance into that euerlasting kingdome of our Lord and Sauiour Iesus Christ is ministred vnto me abundantly When this Helmet is thus put on let death strike and doe the vvorst it can this assurance that eternall life is yours and kept in store for you by him from whom none can vvrest it this this vvill couer your head in the day of your greatest battell Then shall you say to death 1. Cor. 15.55 where is thy sting and to the graue Where is thy victorie My head my life is kept safe by my Head that Lord of life Imitate the vvilie serpent in this he still

The aged who haue not bin nor are like to be speciall counsellers against God and his children it is good to shew mercie to them neuer insulting ouer the miserable but pittying their case rather Herein I would haue all Sion souldiers vtterly to abandon the horrible instructions of that infamous Florentine Machiauel who perswadeth to all crueltie esteeming Christian mercie to come from a silly simple minde vnfit for a valiant man This scorner derideth humilitie and meeknesse patience and gentlenesse esteeming that they do not become manhood but make Christians much inferiour to the Barbarians in courage and that it breedeth nothing but dastardlinesse A fit schoolemaster for Satans sonnes In particular therefore I ioyne with all good Christians in branding out this firebrand of hell and in admonishing all especally souldiers to learne of our blessed Sauiour that most meeke Lambe and gentle Doue Let his sayings be frequent in your mouthes and setled in your souls Amongst others remember these which follow some whereof proceeded from his owne most blessed mouth and all of them from his sacred Spirit Math. 5.12 Luke 6.36 Mica 7.18 Mat. 5.7 Do as thou wouldest be done vnto Be mercifull as your heauenly father is mercifull Mercie pleaseth our God Blessed are the mercifull for they shall obtaine mercie Let none thinke that mercie and manhood courage and kindnesse courtesie and chiualrie might and meeknesse cannot dwell together True courage hath pietie and pietie hath pittie Numb 12.3 This mixture was seene in Moses a most valiant Captaine yet the meekest man of that world It was seene also in noble Iosua yea and many worthy patternes there are left vs of great valiantnesse and great mercie ioyned together in Christian Emperours Kings and Captaines as Constantine Valentinian Charlemaine Charles the fift and our King Henrie the fift crowned in Paris What shall I say more Time would be too short to reckon vp many other valiant yet meeke and mercifull Christians As they who in their vocations do kill beasts to sustaine the life of man are not thereby made the more cruell to man if they be spiritually minded the fleshly I confesse may thence be fleshed to hardnes of heart no more are holy souldiers made sauage by embruing their hands in the blood of many beastly foes As they who in the old Law killed beasts continually for sacrifices were not thereby made bloody hearted no more are those Souldiers who performe an acceptable worke to our God by shedding the blood of his enemies thereby made fierce to his friends No no they continue innocent like Doues and milde as Lambes Though their banners be red their manners be white Though their swords be bloody their words be gentle and their deeds louely And thus should Sion Souldier-striue to make a difference between the Whore of whores bloodie souldiers and themselues these like our God full of mercie those like the King-killing Locusts and like Satan full of massacres So much for the fourth worthy linke Onely adding that all the matters here named concerning warlike mercie must still be weighed in the ballance of Christian wisedome with due regard first to the word of our God then to time place occasion circumstance and person each of which I leaue to the holy discretion of prudent Captains and Souldiers The fift worthy link the fift worthy thing I say 5. The fift worthy linke is Truth for sacred Souldiers to consider of and practise is Truth in all leagues cathes and promises The very heathen had great care of this how much more should Christians respect it Regulus in Tul. offic lib. 3 Students know what Tully wrote of Regulus namely how being at libertie giuing promise either to release certaine captiues or returne made choice to come backe yea to extreme torments for his promise sake Let the equiuocating dissembling double faced double dealing Whore of the world and her vassals whom she teacheth to dissemble by mentall reseruations and blasphemous abuse of that place of Scripture My sonne giue me thy heart Pro. 23.26 and it sufficeth let them be infamous as they are for breaking all bonds of truth but let Protestant souldiers binde fast and keepe fast these bonds though it should be to their great seeming losse our good God will requite it and it is no losse to gaine his fauour though with losse We may be depriued of some temporall comfort which might notwithstanding haue turned to our discomfort but the inward ioy of Gods Spirit by obeying him is of more value then any gaine especially the gaine of vngodlinesse Remember that although this truth is to be kept by all persons at all times and places and in all vocations yet specially among Princes Generals Captaines and souldiers in warre My reason is this In peace the matters betweene man and man are most commonly touching lands and houses or goods by some kind of contract bargain sale or exchange none of these do reach to the life of man directly albeit then that the breach of word in these cases may doe great harme yet I say againe it toucheth not life and withall it extends it selfe either to one person only or to one houshold onely or to some few persons or housholds but the breaches of promise in war are of so large extent as that that they stretch to the spoile of a whole armie sometimes of a whole countrie euen for all in all goods houses lands liues what not Therefore these breaches of promise are like the breaches of the sea into the maine land which carrie downe all before them and leaue no place no building no person vntoucht ouerwhelming Churches it is not thus in the breach of promise in ciuill contracts and bargaines in peaceable times at home Hereby I go not about to extenuate the least failing in common promises with the meanest sort of people for Gods children should be very wary to promise no more then they are willing and in all likelihood able to performe And though their purpose be euer so good yet if the plots faile if the paiment come short they are to be grieued for it and to endeuour by all possible meanes to giue satisfaction and not onely so but then withall they must be abundantly wary that they fall not into the like againe A deare child of God may be ouertaken in these ciuill things sometimes by his owne proiects missing sometimes by others deceiuing him sometimes by sudden losses or crosses which fall out to the sounes of men but they must take heed of wilfull defrauding any of their goods and much more of craftie cozening and deceiuing they must carefully make restitution by all good industrie and frugalitie and they must also for euer after be the more warie how they borow Consider now of the cases in warre Consider I say of the breaking of leagues vowes and oathes amongst wicked men in martiall matters You shall find that most of them are Machiauillian Ahitophel plots