Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
authority_n	believe_v	faith_n	reason_n	5,276	5	5.9415	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09977	Life eternall or, A treatise of the knowledge of the divine essence and attributes Delivered in XVIII. sermons. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, D. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Majestie, master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Ball, Thomas, 1589 or 90-1659.; Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.	1631 (1631)	STC 20231; ESTC S115069	220,964	434

expected some rest after his weary journey yet then his daughter was ravished and his two sonnes were rebellious and committed murther after that Rachel died and Deborah who was Rebeccah's nurse who was a good woman and therfore a great losse to his family after all this a famine fell upon him yet for all this God said that he would doe him good and doubtlesse God was as good as his word and hee did him good for that medicine is good that doth us good though it be bitter and so was it with these afflictions So Paul he prayed that he might have an happie journey to Rome and no doubt the LORD heard his prayer as appeareth by the Lords appearing to him yet see what a kinde of prosperous journey he had what a deale of trouble did he meet with Being in great afflictions he went to Ierusalem thinking there to be comforted by the Saints and when he came thither hee went into the Temple thinking he had well provided for himselfe but then he was hardly entertained put into prison and sent bound to Caesarea and afterwards was in many perils upon the sea And this was the prosperous journey that Paul had and surely it was happie and did much good to his owne soule whereby he did good to others a journey that led him into many experiments of Gods providence and goodnesse towards him therefore wee must not judge according to the outside or that which the world accounts of and appeares to be evill for they may be causes of much good to us therefore Saint Iames wils us Iames 1.2 3. to rejoyce when wee fall into divers temptations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because it is but a triall of your faith These varieties of afflictions are as fire to cleanse your faith and make it shine more and grow more therefore saith he rejoyce when you fall into variety of them for the variety of them will cure that variety of evils and diseases in us as poverty may do that which sicknesse cannot do and imprisonment may heale that which povertie or disgrace cannot doe c. So on the contrary those good things are not alwayes good which we account good as when a man goes on from one good blessing to another and is carried with a prosperous wind and findes no change in any thing this may also tend to his hurt and destruction as the other to his salvation these slay the foolish even as the other save the godly for these often-times doe make the soule fouler and fouler and make it to be more rustie This want of changes makes men to depart from God and fall into evill whereas the other makes us the more carefully to cleanse our wayes and to cleave more firmely to him Therefore let us take heed that we be not deceived about these evils Object 5 What is the reason then that as dies the beast so doth man die to our appearance there are none that rise from the dead indeed if one should come from heaven or hell and bring us word what is done there wee should beleeve it but when did any ever heare of such a thing Answ. You have more than if a man should come from the dead from either of these two places for you have Christ come into the world from the bosome of the Father and he hath brought us newes what is done there Besides we have God himselfe who is as it were come from heaven and hath revealed many things unto us and hath declared his will what he would have us to doe as to Moses upon Mount Sinai and hee would have done it to this day but that our weaknesse cannot endure the mightinesse and greatnesse of his Majestie but would say as the people did Let not the Lord speake to us any more lest we die but let MOSES let him send his messengers let him speake no more Againe the Spirit whereby the Prophets and Apostles spake to us was it not sent from heaven Againe suppose one should come from either of those two places would you beleeve him It might be a false relation would you beleeve him without further ground But it is a direct answer which our Saviour giveth to this question Luke 16. the two last verses it was the objection of Dives if there came one from the dead againe they would beleeve it Abraham answers They have Moses and the Prophets and if they will not beleeve them they will not beleeve though one should come from the dead as if he should say these carry greater evidence in them they have more power to confirme the truth that they delivered that it came from the great God of heaven and earth than if a man should arise from the dead if we consider the many miracles which they did and holy life which they led Object But if you will say that indeed for the declaring of things and for the confirmring of truths there is more evidence in these than if one did arise from the dead but if one should come from the dead this would be much to shew the eternitie of things and the immortality of the soule Answ. If this be so you see that men have risen from the dead as when Christ did arise then many arose from the dead THE THIRD SERMON HEBREWES 11.6 He that commeth to God must beleeve that God is c. NOw we proceed to that which remaines we will shew you how this point is made manifest to you by faith that GOD made the Heavens and the Earth It is done after this manner When you beleeve the Scriptures to be true and finde this set downe in the Scripture that God made Heaven and Earth then you beleeve that there is an eternall Deity that is the Author and Maker of all these things and thus faith gathers the conclusion Object If you aske me how faith differs from reason and how this second proofe differs from the former Answ. 1 I answer after this manner There is a double assent One is a doubtfull assent which we call Opinion that is when we assent to the one part so as we feare the contrary to be true The other is a firme assent and this is two-fold Either it is grounded upon reason which we call Knowledge or else is grounded upon the authoritie of him that reveales it and this wee call Faith And the difference of them stands in this The objects of the first which wee call Knowledge are naturall things such as God did not reveale himselfe but they lye before us and reason can finde them out but Faith beleeveth things that are revealed by God yet so as that there is no reason for them as well as for the other For if one come and tell you any thing and if you beleeve it you can give a reason of it and why you beleeve it aswell as of any other naturall conclusion as that he is a wise man and one that I know will tell the truth

have from Heathen men Quest. But this Question may now be made How should we know that these bookes which wee have as written by Moses that these are they that there is no alteration in them or supposititious prophecies put in Answ. You have the Iewes agreeing with the Christians who were enemies and the Iewes kept it exactly yet theirs agree with ours Object But how should we know that the Iewes are true Answ. They have testimony from the Samaritans and they were enemies to the Iewes and there being once a rent made were never reconciled againe yet in the Samaritan Bible there is no difference at all to any purpose Now adde to this the testimony of the Churches from Christs time downward still it hath continued so as in Eusebius and Baronius you shall see plentifull testimonies thereof The third Argument is from the Scriptures themselves if you consider but these three things 1 The majestie and plainnesse of the stile and the manner of the expressions a meere relation and no more In the beginning was the Word c. Where doth any booke expresse it selfe in a manner in the relation of any stories So as that it carries evidence from God so that Iunius reading the first Chapter of Iohn was stricken with an amazement by a kinde of divine and stupendious authoritie and so he was converted from Atheisme as himselfe said in his life 2 If you consider the purity of the doctrine If a man would deceive the world then the things that he teaches must needs be to please men but the Scripture is quite contrary it ties men to strict rules and therefore see how it is etertained and how hard it is for men to keepe it in the purity of the doctrine which is an argument it came from God If the Scriptures were delivered by men then either by good men or by bad if by holy men then they would speake the truth and not lye if by bad men then they would never have set downe such strict rules of doctrine that they must live by and which condemne themselves 3 Consider the an●●quitie of them they were before all other Heathen stories which will answer an objection namely why there is no more testimony from them of the Scriptures The answer is that when Scriptures ended their writings did but begin there being little use and trading of learning in those dayes but it seemes the Grecians were the first or rather the Chaldees but there were not so many bookes written then as afterward Now when all these things are considered we are brought to beleeve the Scriptures are the Word of God and you finde this in the Scriptures that there is a God that made Heaven and Earth then this begets faith and so By faith we beleeve as here saith the Apostle that there is one GOD. I confesse all this which hath beene said is not enough unlesse God infuseth an inward light by his Spirit to worke this faith but yet there is enough left in the Scriptures to give evidence of themselves THE FOVRTH SERMON HEBREWES 11.6 He that commeth to God must beleeve that God is c. THere is one reason more remains that is from the testimony of the Church doubtlesse it is an argument of great strength That so many generations since CHRISTS time and before have from hand to hand delivered it unto us and that so many holy men as the Martyrs were and as the Fathers were when they lived that these all gave testimony to this Scripture in all ages But yet we will adde something to it because the Papists have abused this and say they would have the truth of the Scriptures to depend upon the authority of the Church and not so much upon the testimony it hath received from all ages and generations they would have it to be such a testimony as the present Church gives of it because say they that can erre in nothing therefore not in this and therefore they say This is the Bible and the very Dictate of the Pope in cathedrâ with his Councell some say makes it so and you must receive it for Scripture upon this ground without any further inquiry But with us who doe not receive that conclusion that the Church cannot erre it is out of question that the Scripture doth not depend on the authoritie of the Church But yet we will give you this reason against it Aske that Church that Synod of men what is that which makes the Church to beleeve that the Scripture is the Word of God Surely they will give the same answer that we shall deliver vnto you that it could be nothing else but the Scripture it selfe which therefore must needs be of greater authoritie than the Church it selfe for the declaration of themselves and the Scriptures manifestation of this argument be of more force than the authority of the Church as the cause hath much more strength than the effect Againe the Church hath no authoritie to judge of the Scripture till it be knowne to be the Church which cannot be but by the Scripture Moreover the Scripture hath a testimony more ancient than the authoritie of the Church and therefore cannot receive its authoritie from any the Scripture being the first truth it cannot be proved by any other it is the confession of their owne Writers that Theologia non est argumentativa Theologie is not argumentative to prove its owne principles but only our deductions out of it As also they say we cannot prove the Scriptures probando sed solvendo by answering and resolving objections made against it In all other things you see it is so as the Standard that being the rule of all cannot be knowne but by it selfe the Sunne that shewes light to all things else cannot be knowne by any other light but its owne so the Scripture that is the ground of all other truths cannot be knowne but by the evidence of those truths that it carries in it selfe We have onely this word to be added more concerning the Scriptures You shall observe this difference betweene the Writings of the Scripture that were written by holy men inspired by the Holy Ghost and all mens Writings in the world In mens Writings you shall see that men are praised and extolled something spoken of their wisdome and of their courage and what acts they have done there is no story of any man but you shall finde something of his praise in it but you shall finde the quite contrary in the Booke of God there is nothing given to men but all to God himselfe as Moses David Paul and all the Worthies in the Scripture you shall finde nothing given to them But of David it is said that he walked wisely because the LORD was with him it was not his owne strength so when they had any victory it was not through their owne courage or stratagems that they used but the LORD did give their enemies into