Selected quad for the lemma: love_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
love_n	believe_v	faith_n	soul_n	3,669	5	5.1746	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A70057	Logos autopistos, or, Scriptures self-evidence to prove its existence, authority, certainty in it [sic] self, and sufficiency (in its kind) to ascertain others that it is inspir'd of God to be the only rule of faith : published as a plea for Protestants in the defence of their profession and intended only for the use and instruction of the vulgar sort.	Ford, Thomas, 1598-1674.	1667 (1667)	Wing F1514; Wing L2842; ESTC R13905	71,286	202

lineal succession but look only after succession in doctrine And this we have reason to do seeing the Heavenly inheritance is entayled only upon those who know and obey the truth And where is this truth if not in Scripture and if we once let go Scriptures verdict in the Cause must we not stand or fall according to the sentence of the Church and what Church can pretend to more then the Church of Rome will pretend unto but let Scripture be judge in the Case and it will soon appear that all is but a vain and empty pretence And why should we not appeal to it alone and leave it to umpire the differences Our adversaries never durst say as yet for ought I have known that it is not the Word of God though some of them have spoken most unworthily of it and reproached it so as none would I think do that seriously believed it to be indeed the Word of God However they say not in terms that it is not the Word of God though that will be the consequence of what they say and that we think unavoidable if all things be duly considered Surely to us it must be so For if it hath no credit as to us without a Certificate under the hands of men it deserves no credit at all such as we must give to it as a Rule of faith and the ground work of all our hopes And this is rational because then we need not go to Scripture since there is somewhat else that is more to be credited then it For no man that is reasonable can be ignorant that what makes any thing to be what it is must be more such if not formally yet virtually or eminently And our adversaries take it so and therefore say plainly that Scripture for many reasons is no competent Rule of faith but Tradition doth the work that is needfull to be done and is a Rule in every respect compleat Now let this be granted and then look about and see what follows They say and think though not truly that they have Tradition by the forepart viz. that all the first ages of the Christian Church held as they do now And for the hinder end they h●…ve it fast enough as we all know For we must grant what we cannot without impudence deny 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of these parts of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ward for many of the latter ages And we do not wonder at it because it is no more then what Scripture hath foretold And now if Scripture be thus laid by what will become of all that faith which we have other then what Papists have or how can we refuse whatever they shall impose by their Tradition And shall it be ever said that we have made a separation so long and now turn back again upon no other ground then this viz. that Tradition is the Rule of Faith and Scripture is every way unfit for such a work what is this but to cast dirt in the faces of all that went before us and hazarded all to vindicate and ob●…ain that liberty which the written Word so long suppressed hath since had amongst us For this was the rise and root of all the disorders and distempers that ever have been since the Apostles times unto this day viz. that men have not contented themselves with a Rule of Gods making but in the pride of their hearts would frame Laws unto themselves And this began in the Apostles times by the workings of Satan in the false Apostles who would then keep up the antient Laws of God intended only till the time of Reformation when according to his will they ought to be laid aside This I say we may justly suspect to have given the first occasion to others afterwards of devising many things besides the only Rule And so it is come to pass by many degrees at last that Scripture is no Rule at all if some men may be credited in what they say And now let us consider what we have been adoing for an hundred years and more Have we all this while believed in vain And have all those who are gone to another world before our eyes died without hope What! have we been in a sweet dream so long and could never be awakened till now Are we now to seek of a Rule of faith Indeed we have then believed to small purpose and so have many others whom we have hitherto thought to be with the Lord. What! have we never received any fruits of the Spirit such as have been a seal to the truths of the written Word so as we can say we know what and whom we have believed were our eyes never opened nor our hearts ever humbled or melted If they have been then consider what doctrine hath been preached to us and by what means we came to be what we are And have we not enough for all intents and purposes we have Jesus Christ evidently set forth to us in Scripture and no where else And have we need of any other Saviour we have the way of holiness in Scripture as no where else and can we go to heaven in any other way Are we in danger of perishing by believing in Christ alone or will the denyal of our selves and all ungodliness and worldly lusts as Scripture commands and requires hazard our souls Nay will not faith in Christ alone such faith I mean as works by love save us then what will become of me and others who never yet learnt any other way of salvation and resolve through Gods help and grace never to think of any other But I shall say no more when I have related one story Darbishire Benners kinsman said to Hawkes the Martyr You will have nothing but your pretty Gods Book No said Hawkes and is not that enough for my salvation Yes said the other but not for your instruction Then said Hawkes God send me the salvation and take you the instruction And of his mind am I and many others too I hope If Scripture be not sufficient to shew and assure us what we are to believe and do in order to our salvation as some would perswade us we are resolved however to leave our souls to Gods free mercy as it is revealed therein and leave others that have a mind to take all the Instruction that is to be had by Tradition FINIS AN ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER THE late dreadfull Fire kindled by our God-provoking sins and abominations transcending all our Forefathers after so many miracles of mercies and deliverances within three dayes space turned no less than 88 Pari●…es and P●…ish-Churches with the Cathed●…al Church of the late great and glorious City of London into heaps of ashes and rubbish to the just horror and amazement of all Spectators of their ●…mes and ruines which as it proved extremely prejudicial and destructive to most Companies of the City yet none of them received so grand losses and dammages by that devouring Conflagration as the Company of Stationers most of

2. Cor. 5. 14. That the love of Christ constraineth us Such and so great are the manifestations which he hath made of himself and his love to our Souls as we can never be thankfull as we ought but in a full and absolute resignation of our selves and all we have to his service and glory 2. I advise yet far●…her that in our greatest inlargements we walk humbly with God as knowing that his power alone is all the strength whereby we are enabled to stand Peters pre●…umptuous confidence in his own strength wrought nothing but repentance for his sainting in an evil day By his own strength shall no man prevail And therefore the Apostle exhorts to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might Eph. 6. 10. and to put on the whole armour of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil v II. It is God alone that keeps the feet of his Saints 1 Sam. 2. 9. There need no motives I hope to perswade However consider 1. What we have believed Not cunningly devised fables but a sure Word of Prophecy such as the Apostle seems to prefer if the comparative be senc'd according to the letter before visions and immediate Revelations Or he might so call them because the Prophecies might be more sure to the godly Jews through long use and acquaintance We know the Jews at Berea examined Pauls doctrine by the Scriptures and are not taxed but commended for it And if an Angel from heaven should preach any other doctrine then what we have in Scripture we have no reason to believe it Those blessed Spirits indeed never did it nor ever will But we make the supposition which the Apostle doth Gal. 1. for the more Emphasis For Scripture-truths they are of long standing and approved by their abiding the test and triall of so many ages Christ and his Apostles made the old Testament the Standard of their doctrine and appealed to it for the proof of all they preacht to the people Moses and the Prophets are more to be heeded then if a man rose from the dead Luk. 16. 31. And they who hear not the one will never regard the other if our Saviour said true Was it ever heard that any doctrine so much as pretended to Scriptures antiquity Or is it possible that any thing but certain truth should outstand the siftings and winnowings of so many ages specially when it hath had so many professed enemies Shall we now call in question what was never questioned before Have not all Christians who deserved that name unanimously agreed in believing the faith and truth delivered in Scripture or do Protestants now believe any thing that was not believed by all Saints ever since any part of Scripture was penned we believe on the Son of God who gave himself a ransome for all And this Doctrine we have in Mos●…s who was the first penman of Scripture and as our Saviour saith wrote of him Must we now call in question all that Moses and the Prophets and the Apostles have written yea and cry it down as no Rule of faith then farewell all our Christianity and the Christian Religion at once For where have we learnt all the mystery of godliness God manifested in the flesh justified in the spirit c. 1 Tim. 3. fin Who or what hath given us to know what have been all the Transactions of God with the sons of men in order to eternal life from the beginning Will our Adversaries say roundly once for all that the doctrine of Scripture is not the doctrine of Christ Let them speak out if they have a mind to say so and then we know what to answer them But if they will not avow this as indeed they have not yet in plain terms we have this to say for our selves that we believe what they deny not to be the truth of God and the doctrine of Christ. That we cannot be assured of this otherwise then by Tradition hath been already answered and no more needs to be said about it For mens Tradition we know it will serve nothing better to usher in and establish mens Inventions But shall we renounce our own Reason so far as to appeal to men who are all lyars for the truth of what is spoken by him that cannot lye Oh! consider and remember that in believing Scripture we believe not Prophecies or Prodigies not heard of till yesterday No we believe the everlasting Gospel and the good old way to rest and peace The very doctrine of practical godliness and moral righteousness taught us in Scripture is such as we cannot but assent unto it as agreeing with and approved by our natural light so as we must forfeit out Reason ere we can be perswaded to question Scriptures authority Read but the Prophets and the Psalms and the Proverbs and Pauls Epistles or other parts of Scripture and consider the precepts of sobriety temperance righteousness justice and truth which are there so many and will not our consciences say these are all of God and we know they are Divine by the natural light which is in us Who could have cleared up the inbred notions and impressions that are upon all mens hearts so as they are cleared in Scripture but that light in which alone we see light for the mysterie of Godliness we know it is altogether of supernatural Divine Revelation and being such what need is there or can there be of any mens or Churches authority to confirm it To say no more let Reason judge and determine whether the faith of men can authoritatively confirm the faith of God And yet it must if we cannot be ascertained of the one without the other yea and our faith in Gods testimony must be resolved into the testimony of men as yielding to us the greatest certainty beyond all doubt or question Consider I say what we have believed viz. the antient yea eternal Word of the everliving God and this Word alwayes one and the same as God is only at sundry times and in divers manners it was spoken to the Fathers by the Prophets and in these last times to us by the Son himself and such as he hath sent 2. Consider that in believing the testimony of God in his written Word we believe and receive the faith of our Forefathers who suffered for their close adhering to Scriptures doctrine and could not be parted from it but rather chose to part with their lives for it And herein they approved themselves the genuine and kindly issue of all the antient Martyrs who loved not their lives unto the death for the testimony of Jesus We should too much wrong our selves and the cause of Christian Religion to yield that which our Adversaries will never be able by dint of argument to force from us viz. That we are upstarts newly s●…rung out of the ashes of our late Reformers They were as we call them Reformers that repaired the desolations which