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A12350 A fruitfull sermon vpon part of the 5. chapter of the first epistle of Saint Paule to the Thessalonians. By Henry Smith, which sermon being taken by characterie, is now published for the benefite of the faithfull Smith, Henry, 1550?-1591. 1591 (1591) STC 22665; ESTC S113466 14,732 47

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doctrine This made Iohn say Trie the Spirites and therefore wee reade in the 17. of the Acts howe the men of Beroea woulde not receiue Paules doctrine before they had tried it and how did they trye it It is sayde that they Searched the Scripture that is the way which Paul would teach you to trye other euen as he was tryed himselfe wherby you may see that if you vse to reade the Scriptures you shall bee able to trie all doctrines for the word of GOD is the touchstone of euery thing like the Light which God made to illuminate all his creatures so is the Scripture to decide all questions euery doubt must come to the worde and all controuersies must be ended at this tribunall the Scripture must speake which is right and which is wrong which is truth and which is error and all tongues must keepe silence to heare it So GOD hath appointed that the iudge of our controuersies which he saith in the 12. of Iohn shall iudge vs in the last day Heere a man may aske if it be so that God would haue vs trye all our Religion by the Scripture and not by Fathers nor by Doctors nor by Counsels nor by Angell nor by Pope how then doe the Papists say we must beleeue as the Church beleeueth and neuer looke into the Scripture whether our teachers saye as God saith but take it vpon theyr credite as a blinde man eateth his meate a man tryeth his horse which must beare him and shall he not trye his faith which must saue him Peter saith Let euerie one bee able to giue a reason of his faith Is this a reason to saye I beleeue so because Rome beleeueth so or rather because the Worde of GOD dooth teach me so It will not bee an auailable aunswere for them which dye in heresie superstition or blindnesse to saye the Priestes taught vs so no more than it serued the first woman Eue to saye the Serpent taught her so for GOD saith Bee not deceiued neither by Serpent nor by Prophet nor by Angell Therefore I conclude with the Apostle Paule Despise not Prophecying least the Gospell bee taken away from you and yet trie Prophecying least you receiue errour for trueth and mens dreames for doctrine As wee are to trye doctrines so Paule woulde haue vs to trie our thoughts and speeches and our actions therefore hee sayth Trye all thinges Hee dooth not bid vs take a taste of all sinnes and vanities as Salomon did to trye them for they are tryed alreadie but that we shoulde set the Worde of GOD alway before vs like a rule and beleeue nothing but that alone which it teacheth loue nothing but that which it prescribeth hate nothing but that which it forbiddeth and doe nothing but that which it commaundeth and then wee Trie all thinges by the Worde of GOD. As the Eunuch sayde Howe shoulde I vnderstande without an Interpreter so thou maist say howe shall I trie without the Worde which is the touchstone of good and euill Nowe when wee haue tryed by the Worde of God which is trueth and which is errour which is light and which is darknes what shoulde we doe then Keepe that which is best That is stay at the trueth stay at the light as the wise men that followed the conduction of the bright shining starre from the East stayed when they came to Christ We must keepe and holde fast the trueth euen as a man gripeth a thing strongly with both his hands that is defend it with thy tongue maintaine it with thy purse further it with thy labour in daunger and trouble and losse and displeasure come life come death think alwaies as Christ did seale the trueth of his promise with his blood most precious so thou must seale the trueth of thy professiō with thy deerest blood else is it apparant thou doost not keepe it but let it goe Well therfore dooth Paul put trye before choose for he which in choise of all things first tryeth may after his tryall choose the best But hee which chooseth before he trye takes oftentimes the worst sooner than he dooth the best And in this was exceedingly manifested the notable deceit of sathan by his instrumēts the popish Priests in the dayes of ignorance who because the people should take superstition before Religion would neuer let them haue the touchstone of the Word to trye their doctrines but kept them from the Scripture and lockt it vp from their vnderstanding in an vnknowne tongue which they could not skill of least they shoulde trye their teaching as the men of Beroea tryed the wholsome doctrine of S. Paule and by their sleights making all their Religion a craft as men call their trades for in no deceiuable trade howe full of falshood soeuer could more deceit be harboured than in theirs Therefore as Iosiah reioyced in his time that the booke of GOD was sound againe so we may reioyce in these dayes that the booke of God is found againe for when the people might not read it nor heare it it was all one to them as if they had for so long time vtterly lost it After this precept of the Apostle Trye all things and keepe the best hee addeth Abstaine from all appearance of euill as if hee shoulde say that is like to bee best which is so farre deuided from euill that it hath not so much as the appearance of euill and that is like to bee trueth which is so farre from errour that it hath not the shewe of errour whereby hee sheweth that nothing should bee brought into the Church or added in matters of faith and doctrine to our Religion but that which is agreeable and consonant to the vndoubted trueth and vtterly without suspicion of errour It is not inough to bee perswaded of our faith but wee must be assured of it for our Religion is not built vppon wauering and inconstant doubtes but vppon most assured certaine knowledge Heere we may maruaile why Paul biddeth vs Abstaine from all appearance of euill because it is apparant that sinne and heresie and superstition are hypocrites and common experience approoueth that sinne hath the appearance of vertue heresie hath the appearance of Trueth Superstition hath the appearance of Religion but let our wonder heerein be thus aunswered By this the Apostle dooth note that there is no sinne nor heresie nor superstition but if the visour or vaile bee remooued or rather taken away from it which maketh it seeme vertue or trueth or Religion it will appeare in the right nature to be a sinne and heresie and superstition though at the first sight the maske or visour doe make it seeme none because it couers the euill like a painted Sepulcher vpon rotten bones Heereby we are taught prudently to iudge of all thinges as they are and not as in outward appearance they seeme to bee and as wee drawe aside the curtaine before we beholde the picture so
we must remooue to auoyde our owne preiudice all opinions and surmises and then behold the thing naked as it is if wee determine to knowe it indeede for trueth needes no collours to make it glorious Heere I might admonish them which seperate themselues from our Church in such manner as S. Paule admonisheth all men when he saith Examine whether you be in the faith so examine whether you haue the shewe of errour Hath it not the shewe of errour to broach a Religion which was neuer hearde of before these late yeeres Hath it not the shewe of errour to retaine an errour which the Author himselfe hath voluntarily recanted euen as yee would sucke vp with greedines the dogs vomite Hath it not the shewe of errour to affirme that those Preachers may in no wise be hearde which by their owne confessions haue first conuerted and painfully brought them to the knowledge of God and daylie conuerteth others Hath it not the shewe of errour to affirme that the Lordes Prayer may not bee vsed as a lawfull Prayer which for the excellencie of Christian peticion and without any controuersie for any thing that wee or they can read was so vsed from the beginning Hath it not the shewe of errour to say that no man may vse any set praier seing there be many Prayers and Psalmes and blessings and thankesgiuings in the Scripture which were vsed in that fourme Hath it not the shewe of errour to affirme that wee haue no Church and yet to graunt that our Martyrs which dyed in the bloody persecution of tyrannous poperie were true members of the Catholike Church Hath it not the shewe of errour to affirme that two or three may excommunicate all the rest without a Ministerie seeing the Pastor is the mouth of the Church Hath it not the shewe of errour to affirme that the Church of Christ was neuer inuisible before this age and that it is such a small flocke as their number is and that it hath set foote no where but in England Hath it not the shewe of errour to holde that for sound and good Religion which is altered euerie day adding and detracting as though a man should make a Religion of his owne inuentions changing and altering so fast as newe conceits come into his idle braine Let them thinke that Paule saith vnto them Be wise vnto sobrietie and suspect that construction which your selues deuised for Salomon saith There is an errour vppon the right hande as well as vpon the left that is as I may call it The zealous errour And if this be not that errour of zeale I knowe none at all in this lande Yet shall not I say that wee haue not the shewe of euill too Naye I would that we were but in the shewe thereof I may not call euill good no more than I may call good euill and therefore let vs pull the Beame out of our owne eyes as we woulde pull out the moate out of other mens Let vs amend our sinnes and then boldly reprooue others If Paule woulde haue vs abstaine from euerie appearance of euill sure he would haue vs abstaine frome heresie and hypocrisie and not to surfet with the blessings of peace and then saye it was neuer merry world since this newe Religion came vp not to pretende conscience in not comming to Church and haue no conscience in oppressing the poore and vndooing the Fatherlesse and widdowes Antechrist and all his shauelings thankes bee to GOD are meetly well rooted out from amongst vs yet his taile I feare me remaines behind in the hearts of a number which liuing amongst vs like men of another Nation are an ill sauour vnto vs as the remnant of the Cananites were vnto the Iewes GOD charged his people of Israell to roote out all the inhabitants of Canaan yet they spared some as Saul disobaying the voice of the Prophet spared Agag but that remnant hindered their peace and neuer suffered them to be in quiet for they were goades in their sides prickes in their eyes it is with vs likewise to bee feared that the remnant of Canaan which nowe contemne Prophets will be a meane to pull downe Prophecying But let vs apply this doctrine of the Apostle to the kindling of the Spirite in all feruencie of zeale and mildenesse of loue not deferring to imbrace grace when it is offered least by delay the Spirite bee quenched and let vs reuerence Prophets and Prophecying for despisers and mockers may in their scoffings mocke at Elisha but the rewarde of their enuye is a deuouring ende Neither let vs forsake the Word for any inuention of man but trie all things by the touchstone of the Scriptures indeuoring to auoide all occasion of offence and to hold of that foundation which is best and soundest and not to be mooued Beseeching him that hath taken the euill of Antechristian errour and superstition away to take away also the apparance of the same FINIS ¶ IMPRINTED AT LONDON for the widdowe Broome Anno Dom. 1591. Luke 17 17. Gen 19 30. 1 Cor 4 7. Gen 2 8. Psal 147 1. Math 8 1 Sam 1. Iob 1 Math 3 Math 3 11. Acts 2 Esay 58 2 Exo 16 18. Rom 12 3. Math 10 28. Luke 9 55. 1 Reg 10 20. Acts 17. 22. Eph 4 30. Acts 17 11. Luk 24 32 1 Sam 19 20. 1 Sam 19 23. 24. Heb 5. Prou 29 18. Mat 11 5. Rom 1 16. Rom 1 14. Mat 10 41. Iere 11 21. Mat 23 3. Mat 16 13. 2 Cor 5 20 Reu 1 20 Amos 7 3. 1 Kings 13 1 1 Cor 14 34. 2 King 5 8. 1 King 13 14. Acts 16. 15. Gal 4 1● 1 Tim 5 14. Exo 28 30. Phil 2 29. Ios● 6 20. Exo 13 20. Iohn 1. 14 Luke 2 28. Mar 10 49. Gen 19. 1 King 21 20. 1 S●m 19 10 2 Kin 4 10. 1 Tim 4 12. Mal 1 3. Gen 4 10. Mat 21 43. 2 Chro 10 4. 1 Sam 28. 2 Kings 2 2 11. Gen 7. 9. Mat 11 17. 2 Kings 5 11. 1 Cor 1 27. 1 King 15. 26. 1 King 13 33. Deut 10 8. 1 Sam 2 17. Math 4. Mica 7. Acts 5 3. Luk 10 16. Iob 1 16. Math 10 2 Cor 2 15. Mar 8 25. 1 Iohn 4 1. Acts 17 11 Gen 1 2. Iohn 12. 48 Gen 3 13. Acts 8. 31. Math 2. Acts 17 Rom 12 3 Pro 4 27. Num. 33 55 2 Kings 2 23 24.