Selected quad for the lemma: act_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
act_n	faith_n	habit_n	justify_v	3,628	5	9.3789	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81815	The fulness and freeness of Gods grace in Jesus Christ, declared in two general points: first, that personal election is no ground of the saints perseverance in the grace of God by Jesus Christ. Secondly, in what sense the scriptures speake the saints perseverance in that grace. The third part. / By Francis Duke.; Fulnesse and freenesse of Gods grace in Jesus Christ. Part 3	Duke, Francis.	1656 (1656)	Wing D2503; Thomason E892_9; ESTC R205568	71,363	121

their power and houre of darkness upon this distressed Creature sitting in darkness and can see no light yet God for his glory sake secretly preserves the minde so to himself That when Satan thinks himself surest of his prey God then will set the soul at liberty by his word and spirit in this life and then will in effect say to Satan as of Job What sayest thou to my Servant Job c. or else by taking him into eternal glory and so Satan looseth his prey for ever Doth not Heman mean Quest when he saith Thy terrors hath cut me off as did Job I choose strangling rather then to live then if Heman or Iob had strangled themselves had not God then lost his glory in that Satan had got the prey I answer Answ Satan had not got his prey though he had hanged himself nor God lost the glory of his grace but the redundancy thereof to eternity How is this possible to be true Quest for they which do so die in an act of sin which nature abhorrs that is the destruction of it self I answer You must consider what capacity Heman and Iob were in namely right beleevers therefore not in an estate of unbeleef as was Achitophel and Judas that hanged themselves for dying such they are cut off from all pardon of sin because the sin of unbeleef in such cuts off all hope of pardon And whereas you say they died in the act of sin it is true yet it is as true in this case they are not themselves by reason of their deep trouble and distemper of minde therefore if Iob had hanged himself yet it might be said of him as Paul in another case That which I do I allow not for what I would that I do not but what I hate that do I. If I do that which I would not I consent to the Law that it is good Now then it is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me So might Iob in this case say It is not I Rom. 7.15 but my most deep distemper that dwells in me which strangled me Again Whereas you sty that in this case he had departed this world in the act of sin I answer it is true a sin in a transcendent degree for if God forbids to murther another man much more a mans self yet saith our Lord Mat. 12.31 All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men but the blasphemy against the holy Ghost shall not be forgiven therefore this being not the sin against the holy Ghost in Iob a beleever would have been pardoned unto him for there is no man in Heaven nor never shall but Christ himself but came thither by a pardon of his sin Again I answer It is proved that all men who by a patient well-doing seek for honour and glory immortality and eternal life having not as yet the gift of faith and dying without it they ascend to the heavenly glory through the universal imputation of Christs righteousness notwithstanding the universal imputation of Adams one sin one committed nor notwithstanding their own sin against Christ for they ascend to Heaven in the same right that all mankind do dying in infancy which have the seed of original sin in them therefore much more a right beleever as in this case of Iob is presupposed for this particular act of sin so committed cannot totally extinguish the internal habit of inherent righteousness wherof justifying faith is one branch which cannot be extinguished but by a custom in sin which in the minde of man produces another nature therefore this internal habit did detain in it self a virtual tendency to Christ its most proper Object although but as smoaking flax or a bruised Reed therefore in the very act of strangling Faiths virtual force will move to Christ its own objects as Ionas in the deep Seas from out the Whales belly the motions of his minde moved to Christ the true Temple then standing at Ierusalem so holy men in this disconsolate condition in the depth of sorrows and distractions their memory is renewed in beleef to receive comfort in the satisfactory righteousness of Iesus Christ as for example in London at the Counter in the Poultry Mr. Mercer being arrested in his passion slew the Sergeant and was hanged in the place The godly Ministers and his friends desired him when he was turned off the ladder during the time of his strangling if he did finde any divine consolation from God to give them some manifestation thereof the which he did by lifting up both his hands three times to his head notwithstanding his former deep sorrowes and his present pain his body so hanging yet he had the use of his minde and memory to give them the foresaid sign Doubtless so it is in this case concerning godly men that when Satan thinks himself surest of his prey he is furthest from attaining his desired end And thus God turns the rebound of his glory to himself in the salvation of holy men from so great a misery Also I remember Mr. Fox in the Acts and Monuments of the Church of a Martyr saith His godly friends desired him when he was in the flames that if such a sharp dissolution were sufferable with comfort to give some sign to them And notwithstanding the sharpness of the flame he being much burnt and their expectation as it were past hope yet then his comfort was internally so clear that his minde remembred the promise to his friends and gave a sign by lifting up both his hands three times to his head in those fierce flames to the great amazement of the people and the establishment of the godly at the which the people gave a great shout Is it so that the Saints of God by not improving their graces according to their measure received may turn that affliction which God inflicts on them for an honourable tryal into a dishonourable sharp chastizement as did Job under the execution of Satans second Commission Then hence observe that this case carries along in it a contingency as to the Saints of God and not an immutable current which cannot be turned by them another way for here we see Iob altered its course wherefore God proceeded against him for his fault as is proved therefore ye Saints of God keep to the exercise of your graces according to your measure or degrees given you by the word and Spirit of truth and be sure to operate according to the Scriptures direction for as from thence did arise the truth of your grace so from thence must arise your growth in grace and perseverance therein therefore make not the consultations with flesh and blood nor your vain imaginations your Religion as do those Saints which fall away to be Quakers and Familists not onely to the destruction of themselves but to the destruction of the Faith of many others by calling their fleshly wisdom and vain imaginations by the name of Christ and the divine