Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	acknowledge_v	age_n	ancient_a	32	3	5.3997	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A66429	The truth of the Holy Scriptures a sermon preached at St. Martin's in the Fields, April 1, 1695 : being the fourth of the lecture for this present year, founded by the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esquire / by John Williams ...	Williams, John, 1636?-1709.	1695 (1695)	Wing W2736; ESTC R7718	13,649	37

shall be but God giveth it a body c. Where he first of all confirms it by a like Instance in Nature and then resolves it into the Power of God 'T is for want of these Two Considerations that is of the Understanding of Nature the Order Power and Operation of second Causes and of the Power of God the Supreme Cause that we often mistake about the Credibility of things and judge that to be Impossible and Incredible which in it self and often in the Event proves to be Possible and Credible And thus it frequently fares in matters of Fact of the Credibility or Incredibility of which we are as liable to mistake as about the Possibility or impossibility of Effects in Nature when we judge of other Nations and Ages by our own and of what we do not know by what we do and sometimes are so vain as to reason against others Experience and Observation Thus it was with the Ancients that thought the Torrid-Zone Uninhabitable and with others that accounted the Opinion of Antipodes Fabulous and Impossible Hence it is that the Errors of former Writers are so often Corrected by Modern Observations But this we may confidently affirm of the Holy Scripture that after it has stood the Test of above Three thousand Years in whole or in part for so long is it since the time of Moses and that nothing has been left unattempted by its Adversaries to overthrow its Authority it has yet maintained it so as to be the most Exact Faithful and Impartial Relation the World ever had For the better Judging of whose Veracity and Confirming its Credibility we may observe 1. That a great part of it carries with it its own Evidence and has the common Consent of Mankind to attest it Such I account the History of the Creation of the World the Formation of Man and the Degeneracy of Human Nature to be The first of these was universally acknowledged nor was the Creation of the World ever Questioned or Disputed till above a Thousand Years after the time of Moses as Aristotle who was of that Opinion acknowledges de Coelo lib. 1. cap. 10 And the last was the Observation of all Ages 2. There is a Relation of such things in Scripture as have in them the face and appearance of Truth and of which no certain or tolerable account can be given by any other Monuments of History that are or ever were extant in the World Such are the Age of the World the Dispersion of Nations the Variety of Languages the Distribution of Time c. Now if the Account given of these things in Scripture be True we are capable of Solving the greatest Difficulties as to these Matters And that they are True there is good Reason to conclude As for Instance let us consider the Instances before given viz. 1. The Origine of the World as it is in Genesis I acknowlege there may be nothing in the Composition of it or in the Course of Nature to determine this Point more in favour of Moses than of the Egyptians Chaldeans or Chinese But to lay aside all other Arguments from the Novelty of Arts and Sciences and the reputed Inventors of them it is certain that in the Account given by Moses there is an Exact Order the Narration begins and is carried on with a strict Coherence and let us trace it back from the Flood to Adam or from Abraham suppose to the Flood there is a very regular Relation of Persons and things But besides the Incredibility of the other of the Thousands of the Egyptians the Hundred thousands of the Chaldeans and the Millions of the Chineses it all ends at last in Fable in Apotheoses or imaginary Gods and Heroes and Self-Contradictions as has been shewn by many Learned Writers on this Argument 2. As to the Dispersion of Nations and the Consequents of it the Pedigree of Moses is justified in the Names of Places agreeing with those of the Persons as has been abundantly proved by Bochart in his Geographia Sacra And which would appear to the Eye of every Reader if a Table was made of the Tenth Chapter of Genesis and compared with the Ancient Geography and should have been here inserted were there a place for it 3. As to the Distribution of Time there is an orderly Progression both with respect to the Genealogies of Families and the several Periods from the Creation to the Flood from thence to the Law at Sinai from thence to the Rearing of Solomon's Temple from thence to the Captivity and from that to our Saviour's Death Time and Place are good Characters of the Truth of any matter of Fact as well as good Marks and Directors and carry in them a great appearance of Truth where they are to be found And then none can be presumed to be more certain than the Scripture where the Relation these had to the Messiah and each Person had to his Tribe and each Tribe to its Place and Scituation made them to be scrupulously exact and Critical 3. There are other things that are highly Credible and have nothing difficult to be admitted and if admitted are a wonderful Instance of the Divine Providence as in the Punishment of profligate and incorrigible Wickedness in the Two Notorious Examples of the Deluge and Sodom 2 Pet. 2. 5 6 So in the Preservation of Pious Persons such as Noah Abraham Lot Joseph David c. But above all is this evident in God's erecting establishing guiding and preserving his Church when in Egypt in Canaan though perpetually surrounded with watchful and malicious Adversaries and recovering so much of it out of Captivity as was sufficient in a continued Succession to answer the end of accomplishing all the Scripture-Prophecies in the Person of the Messiah that was to descend from the Lineage of Abraham the Tribe of Judah and the Family of David So that as the Ancient Genealogies together with the Chronology of Scripture were carefully recorded to demonstrate to succeeding Generations that the World had a beginning and a late beginning in comparison So the later Genealogies from Abraham were very exactly preserved that so it might appear to all the World that what had been foretold above 1800 years before was in its order and time punctually fulfilled Which if the Genealogies had been lost or confounded could not have been observed and so we had been wanting in a considerable Evidence of the Descent of our Saviour and consequently of his being the Messiah Indeed the whole Scripture History is little else than the History of Divine Providence where there is an admirable concatenation of Relations of various kinds but all subservient to the same End and were there an Extract made of it and all the Events rehearsed and Operations therein described brought into one entire Body it would be the best Commentary on that Divine Subject in the whole World and infinitely beyond any Human Composure 4. There are other things that are difficult either as

the Names and instead of Saturn read Adam and instead of Pandora Eve instead of the Garden of Jupiter Eden instead of Ogyges or Deucalion Noah c. for we should find more of the Truth under the disguise of the Fable than at the first appears and that the former gave occasion frequently to the later But over and above this we have a great part of the Ancient History of Scripture confirm'd by the express Testimony of some of their gravest and strictest Writers as the Collection that has been made in that way by several of the Learned shews To go no further than that of Moses who is placed by some of them in the first rank of the chiefest Lawgivers and whose Wonders in Egypt and at the Red-Sea are not obscurely referr'd to by them 4. When there is a Disagreement between the Scripture and other Authors there is sufficient reason to prefer the former before the later and to rectify these by that As for the first 3000 Years it is acknowledged That there was elsewhere little else than Fable and Conjecture Confusion and uncertain Tradition as has been before observed And who is there that is not able to see the difference between an Adam and a Saturn a Noah and Bacchus a Moses and Mercury between the Building of the Babylonish Tower and the War of the Giants with the gods that is between the true History and the Fable Who can observe the various Accounts amongst the Pagan Writers their inconsistencies one with another their apparent ignorance of what they write about especially when it concerns other Nations or Ages than those in which themselves liv'd but must needs surrender up the Cause and own that the one has much the advantage of the other in point of Credibility So that setting aside the Divine Authority of Scripture yet it has upon it all the Characters of Truth which any Book or Books in the World can pretend And if there be any thing necessary more than what those have to establish its certainty and Credibility that is not wanting In conclusion After all the attempt made to weaken its Authority it is with no better success than that of Celsus or Hierocles who endeavoured to set up an Aristeas or an Appollonius in Competition with our Blessed Saviour and opposed their pitiful Shifts and Impostures to his approved and incontestable Miracles But there is somewhat farther to be respected Hitherto we have consider'd the Scripture as able and sufficient to support it self without any supernatural Aid and by the sole evidence of Humane Testimony and such Characters as belong to other Writings in common with that But there is a further point in reserve and which I had chiefly in my Eye and that is an Authority superior to all others and peculiar to Scripture That I mean of Divine Revelation and what for the matter of it was inspired from above And this the due Consideration of it as an excellent History will open a way to when we find not only all the Principles Precepts and Means that are necessary to a virtuous Life therein taught and prescribed but also admirable Examples of it in Fact that nothing might be wanting to animate and incourage us to the like practice See it in the Noah's the Abraham's the Joseph's the Job's the Moses's the David's and all the Patriarchs of old See it in the Holy Apostles the Martyrs and Confessors but above all in the Example of Examples our Blessed Saviour Here is a History that fills the Mind with the best Ideas and Images of things that represents the Instances of our Duty with all the advantage to our Thoughts that recommends it self to our Attention by the importance and profitableness of the Argument as well as the force of its Authority Upon this therefore let us dwell and make it the delightful Subject of our most serious Hours which will abundantly reward all our Pains and is sufficient to furnish us throughly unto all good Works FINIS ERRATA PAge 11. l. 19. for Composers r. Composures ibid. l. 23. after Glory of God add to the manifestation of p. 16. l 19. for them r. the Jews p. 18. l. 3. after events add therein Euterpe c. 53. Vita Hom. Bochart Huetius Dr. Stillingfleet c.