Selected quad for the lemma: heart_n
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A12351
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Gods arrovve against atheists. By Henrie Smith
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Smith, Henry, 1550?-1591.
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1593
(1593)
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STC 22666; ESTC S119953
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81,568
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135
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being the Creator and preseruer of men and of all things els and the prouident father of all is planted and inseparably fixed in the harts of al men though al men of all nations know not how to worship him aright and in such sort as he requireth This is manifest by the examples of all nations and people in the world who all haue some one kinde of religion or other though all finde not the right religion All be deuoted to the worship of God howsoeuer all doe not finde out the true God nor his right name of worship but worship him according to the deuises of their owne braine Considering then that there is no Nation vnder the sunne so barberous nor euâ—r was but aymed at the worshippe of God and either worshipped him or some thing els in his place It appeareth to be a most vaine and foolish conceit which Atheists sometimes vtter namely that religion is nothing els but a matter of pollicie or a politicke deuise of humane Inuention For it is euident that a religious aâ—â—ection to worship God is naturallie sealed and euer was in the harts of all men And the conscience of euery man euen of the greatest scorner and contemner of God which sometimes trembleth before his iudgment seate doth aboundantlie testifie that a religious deuotion of feare toward God is bred and borne with euery man and therefore there cannot be any pollicie of humane Inuention in as much as if there were no lawes of men yet this religious affection to worship God and the feare of him would doth remaine written by the finger of God in the harts and consciences of all men liuing howe rude sauage or barberous soeuer they be What law of men I pray was there to make Caligula the Emperour when hee heard the tirrible thundering in the aire and sawe the flashing flames of lightning about him to runne vnder his bed and to hide himselfe for feare of this tirrible and great God Or what maketh the rankest Atheist in the worlde in the like case at the like tempest to do the like Or what made the heathen in any dangerous or sodaine distres to lift vp their eies or hands to heauen mightily to feare and to be astonished None can say it is the law of men for no law of men doth enforce this attempt But it is a naturall instinct of the Feare of God whome hee hath offended and whose vengeance he dreadeth and from whome he thinketh succour may come seated in all mens harts euen from their Natiuitie which doth make him to feare and cause him to seeke to God for refuge Let this therefore remaine firme and most vndoubted that the feare of the great God and a Religious disposition to worship the same God is not enforced by lawes of men but naturaly sowen in the harts of all men though all finde not out nor obserue the right religion Let vs therefore nowe seeke and serch out which is the true Religion which is acceptable to God and which without wauering doubting is tâ— be obserued of men For all nations people haue a kinde of religion as I said before but all haue not the true and right religion Chap. 2. Wherein and in the next Chapter is shewed that the Christian Religion is the onely true Religion in the world and wherewith onelie God is pleased IN auntient times all the world was deuided and distinguished into Iewes and Gentiles and this distinction doth and may still remaine among vs If therefore I canne proue the truth of this our Christian Religion against both Iewes Gentiles I shall then proue it against all the worlde In this Chapter I will first proue it against the Iewes and in the next against the Gentiles Concerning the Iewes they will easily graunt our Religion to be the true Religion if we can proue Iesus Christ whome we beléeue to be that Messias which was foretold by their prophets being the true and vndoubted prophets of God And this we are sure may easily be proued and therefore in vaine doe the Iewes looke for any other Messias than he that is already come namely Iesus Christ our Mediator Sauiour and Redeemer in whome God his Father is well pleased and for whose sake if we beleeue in him he will not be offended with vs but be reconciled to vs saue vs. Whatsoeuer was foretold to belong vnto their Messias is fullie performed and perfectly accomplished in our Iesus Christ and in no other And therefore our Iesus was and is the true Messias and no other Let vs herein consider the markes of the Messias whereby he might be knowne And so shal I we see that our Sauiour Iesus Christ is the onely true Messias none but he 1 One marke for vs to know the Messias by is that when hee came hee should not be knowne or acknowledged to be the Messias but should be reiected and refused of the Iewish Nation to the end he might be put to death amongst them according to the fore-apointment and determinate counsell of God for had they receaued him for the Messias they would neuer haue vsed him so shamefully as they did neither shuld he then haue bin slaine amongst them as was foretold he should This then being one marke of the Messias that he should be refused for the Messias of the Iewish Nation and of the chiefest rulers amongst them is a great confirmation of our faith in as much as it is found fully performed in our Sauiour Iesus Christ whome they scorned reiected condemned and put to death And therefore as if the Iewish Nation had receaued our Iesus for the Messias It had bin an vndoubted argument that he had not bin the right Messias so on the other side because they did refuse him It is a very strong perswasion to vs that he was and is the very true Messias indeede In vaine therefore it is if any do looke for such a Messias as should be wholie receaued of the Iewish Nation for none such was promised yea it was foretold contrarie wise that hee should be refused of them As our Iesus was that so he might be made an offering for sinne according to the preordination of God 2 It was foretold of the Messias that he should be borne of a Virgin Esay 7. ver 14. That the place of his byrth should be Bethlem Mich. 5. ver 1. That at his byrth all the Infantes rounde about Bethlem should be slaine for his sake Ier. 31. ver 15. That the King of the earth should come and adore him and offer gold and other gifts vnto him Psal. 71.10 That he should be presented in the temple of Ierusalem for the greater glorie of that second temple Mat. 3. ver 1. That he should fly into Egypt and be recalled thence againe Osc. 11.2 That a starre should appeare at his byrth to notifie his comming into the worlde Num. 2. That Iohn Baptist who came in the spirite and power of
GODS Arrovve against Atheists By Henrie Smith Printed at London by Iohn Danter and are to be sold by William Barley at his shop in Gratious-streete ouer against Leaden-Hall 1593. To the Right Worshipfull Vertuous and Godly Ladie Katherine Hayward VVife to Syr Rowland Hayward the graue Father and Auntient Alderman of the famous Citie of London Iohn Danter wisheth Health with increase of Authoritie THe Gardner right vertuous Godly Ladye Walking in the prime of Summer in a fragrant odoriferous Garden where growes all sortes of sweete Flowers commonly gathereth the pleasants Rose to gratifie his Maâ—â—er So I right Worshipfull hauing come to my hand many excellent workes to be published abroad the worlde haue from amongst them all chosen this Booke Entituled Gods Arrowe against Atheists as the purest Rose for your Ladyship to delight in hoping vpon this fauour that you will be the sweet Patronesse of this my poore good will and to shadow it vnder the winges of your clemencie from the bitter stormes of al Hereticall Schismaticks In so doing my minde will bee fully satisfied that long hath waited the time to shew my bounden dutie to the Graue Fathers and â—untient Gouernours of this famous Ciâ—ie of London but especially to the right worâ—hipfull Sir Rowland Hayward your reuerent Husband who thrice hath bin Lieftenant vnder her Maiestie and borne the chiefest office in this Citie to the preseruation of Londons Charter And you sweet Ladâ—â—is renowmed wife whose vertuous minde hath euer yet bin willing to preferre Schollers to the setting forth of Gods truth and to beautyfie the true endeuours of vs Citizens I therfore stil expecting your wonted fauorable liking that you wil spend away some part of winters weary nights Summers plesant Euenings in perusing ouer this worthy booke made by that famous learned man Master Henrie Smith before he departed this life wherein is discoursed the vaine Heresies of sundry religions now vsed in England to the great hurt of this flowrishing Common wealth In so doing I haue my desire wishing you the increase of all dignitie in this world and in the world to come euerlasting happines Amen â—â—urs in all Humble and dutifull seruice to his poore power Iohn Danter Printer ⧠A Table of such Chapters as are handled in this Booke following IN the first Chapter is contained the absurditie of Atheisme Irreligion with the confutation thereof In the second and third Chapters the Christian Religion is approoued to be the only true Religion against the Gentiles and all the Infidels in the world In the fourth Chapter the Religion of Mahomet is confuted In the fift Chapter the Church of Rome is disproued to be the true Church of God In the sixth Chapter the Brownists and Barrowists with their detestable Schismes are confuted and our Church approoued to be the only true Church of God Gods Arrovve Against Atheisme and Irreligion The first Chapter ATheisme and Irreligion was euer odâ—ous euen amonge the Heathen themselues insomuch as that Protagoras for that he doubted whether there were any God or no was by the Athenians vanished out of their Country Diagoras was such a notorious Infidell that he helde there was no God him and all such like Atheists the very Heathens haue abhorred and detested as being more like rude beastes than reasonable men For Cicero the Heathen Philosopher doth condemne them all and further saith that there was neuer any Nation so sauadge or people so barbarous but alwaies confessed there was a God whereunto they were led euen by the light of Nature and naturall instinct For the very same is confirmed by the common vse of all Heathens in lifting vp their eyes and handes to heauen in any sodaine distresse that commeth vpon them Yea by experience of all ages it hath beene prooued that Atheists themselues that is such as in their health and prosperitie for more libertie of sinning would striue against the being of a God when they came to die or fall into any great miserie they of all other would shew themselues most fearefull of this God as Seneca himselfe declareth Insomuch as Zeno the Philosopher was woont to say that it seeâ—ned to him a more substantiall proofe of this matter to heare an Atheist at his dying day preach God when he asked God all the world forgiuenes then to heare all the Philosophers in the worlde dispute the point For that at this instant of death and miserie it is like that such doe speake in earnest and sobrietie of spirite who before in the wantonnes impugned God It is remembred of Caius Caligula that wicked and incestuous Emperour that he was a notable scorner and contemner of God made no reckoning of any other to be God but himselfe yet this abhominable and wicked Atheist as God left him not vnpunished for by his iust iudgement hee was slaine by some of his owne officers so whilest he liued he was woont as the Historiographers report of him at the terrible thundering and lightning not onely to couer his head but also to get himselfe vnder his bed and there to hide himselfe for feare Whence I praie â—ame this feare vpon him but that his own conscience did tell him howsoeuer in words perchance hee would not affirme so much that there was a God in heauen able to quaile and cast down his pride and all the Emperours of the world if hee listed whose thunderboltes were so terrible as that iustly by his owne example he shewed hee was to bee feared of all the world And heereof it is that some say that God is called Deus of the Greeke word Theos which signifieth feare because the feare of him is planted and engraffed in the verie natures and conscience of all reasonable creatures yea euen in the conscience of the greatest contemners and raâ—â—kest Atheists of the world who say what they list and doe what they list yet shall they neuer bee able to root out this impression namely that there is a God whose feare is engrauen in the hearts of all men And whence I pray you commeth shame in men after an offence committed Or why should men by naturall distinct put a difference betwéene vertue and vice good and euill if there were not a God who because hee loueth the one and hateth the other hath written that difference in euery mans heart Therefore conclude that euery mans knowledge conscience and féeling is in stead of a thousand witnesses to conuince him whosoeuer he be that there is a God which is to be feared which hateth iniquitie and wicked waies and which in time of trouble and déepe distresse is to be sought vnto for refuge and reliefe as the acts of the very heathen themselues do plainely demonstrate 2 Moreouer as God is to bee felt sensible in euerie mans conscience so is he to be séene visibly if I may so speake in the creation of the world and of all thinges therein contained for that this world