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	heart_n	purify_v	2,568	5	11.6551	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A13111	The looking-glasse of schisme wherein by a briefe and true narration of the execrable murders, done by Enoch ap Evan, a downe-right separatist, on the bodies of his mother and brother, with the cause mooving him thereunto, the disobedience of that sect, against royall majesty, and the lawes of our Church is plainly set forth. By Peter Studley, Master of Arts, and minister of Gods Word, in Shrevvsbury.	Studley, Peter, 1587 or 8-1648.	1634 (1634)	STC 23403; ESTC S117932	73,005	313

hold of CHRIST for all this sinne of mine Min. Our LORD IESUS CHRIST is indeed the true the only the immoveable foundation of the Church and children of GOD But he is to be apprehended and applied to the soules of Christian men by pietie vertue and the constant feare of GOD and not by every idle imagination and fleeting fancie which springs up in the minds of carnall men But tell mee is our LORD CHRIST in your power to bee held or let go● at your pleasure His owne words are these c Ioh. 6.44 No man com●●●● unto 〈◊〉 except the Father who hath sent me draw him But undoubtedly GOD the Father doth draw His children to His SONNE CHRIST IESUS by faith and that faith workes in their hearts by love d Gal. 5.6 But Love and Murder are qualities of contrary nature each unto other they cannot actually subsist and have being in one and the same heart at one and the same time For the repugnancie and contrariety of their natures doth mainely labour to destroy and extinguish each other If the true faith cannot have being without pure Love its gracious and inseparable companion by what gift or grace within you doe you thinke to lay hold on and retaine our LORD IESUS CHRIST unto your selfe Enoch I hope by my repentance to recover my faith againe Min. Your sect is frequen● and much in talking of Faith which makes the Papists in●● proud scorne to call Protestants Soli-fidians Tell me 〈◊〉 you can What is faith whereof you so much presume Enoch I thinke faith is to trust in GOD for salvation Min. To trust in GOD for salvation is one principall act and practice of the Nature of Faith as it stands in relation to GOD's mercy and his promises But as Faith is a supernaturall Qualitie wrought into mans soule by GOD's Spirit it hath many more actions and operations than only affiance in the Love and Mercy of GOD. For true Faith purifies the hearts of all those who are endued therewith It begets Humilitie of heart unity peace 1 Ioh. 3.3 and love with all true beleevers Acts 4.32 But none of all these vertues have any affinity or agreement with your facts of cruell murder 1 Pet. 1.22 For if wee search all the volume of the sacred Bible and examine the ancient records of Infidels and Heathens No fact of man in any age may stand parallel with this of yours And therefore flatter not your selfe with a vaine opinion of the truth or the strength of your faith for had true faith been of any vertue and force in any faculty of your soule either in your understanding to guide your cogitations or in your will to rectifie your resolutions and actions you had never so fearfully and desperately fallen into these barbarous murders Enoch Doe you thinke then that there is no meanes or way left for me to recover GOD's favour and the pardon of these great and crying sinnes Min. Yes upon your deepe Humiliation and repentance undoubtedly GOD will pardon your facts stoppe the crie of bloud and receive you to grace and mercy Now the ground-worke of repentance for a man in your case is first to cast off all flattering and deluding conceit of your imaginary faith 2. To labour to bee convinced in your soule that your facts were wrought and acted by the Immediate presence of Satan within you 3 To Abhorre from the very heart and soule the things you have done 4. To powre out your soule continually to God in fervent and secret Prayer craving of His mercy to pardon your sinnes and to checke and restraine the malice power and prevailing of Satan against you 5. To cast away all presumptuous thoughts which you shall finde to spring up in your owne carnall heart and to be secretly conveighed into your minde by that infernall spirit These things if you shall carefully set your selfe to performe in singlenesse of heart GOD's promise is made and shall never be annulled At what time the wicked shall turne from his sinnes Ezek. 18.21 22. which hee hath committed and keepe all my Statutes and doe that which is lawfull and right he shall surely live hee shall not die But tell mee wherein differed you in opinion from your mother and brother Enoch Touching the Gesture at the Communion they would kneele and I would sit and bow my body Min. And did you for this very cause shed their bloud Enoch My wrath kindled for that cause only against my brother and in that wrath I slew him Min. Many persons in this Towne who have conferred with you are not of that opinion and do report other cause thereof Enoch Sir I told you I would confesse to you as unto CHRIST Himselfe as I hope to be pardoned of GOD I and my brother never differed nor disagreed in all our life but in that matter onely and in our difference therein I slew him Min. The Gesture of kneeling at the Communion is commanded by the Authority of our Soveraigne Lord the King with the assent of all the learned Bishops in our Land venerable for piety learning and vertue confirmed with the approbation and publike Testimony of both the Vniversities and the godly learned therein ratified by Act of Parliament And lastly obeyed by many thousands in this Land who neither want th● light of divine truth to direc●● them nor the true feare o● GOD to warrant their practice And thinke you of you● selfe that you are wiser o● more righteous than all these Enoch I should not doe so and with this answer hee ca● downe his countenance an● lifted up his hands Min. This spirituall pride● the fault of all your sect f●● no sooner doe any of you begin to looke toward Sion an● in your owne conceits to reli●● the things of GOD. but i●● stantly you so over-value you● owne small worthes that 〈◊〉 the learning and pietie in th● Kingdom is not able to equ●● your petty devotions eithe● for soundnesse of judgement truth of faith or uprightnesse of walking No doubt but we should have a jolly Church if you and your conceited companions had the new-moulding and rectifying of it Enoch I should not thinke so of my selfe And with this short reply he cast downe his countenance againe and lifted up his hands a very little Min. How came you at first to entertaine these opinions and to dislike the gestures of your betters for wisedome knowledge vertue and the true feare of GOD and constant integrity in all their wayes Have you got these itching toyish and vaine conceits by conference with any Ministers disaffected to peace and unitie Or were you privately perswaded thereto by some of your a● quaintance or have you hea● any Minister publikely to 〈◊〉 clare his dislike of the prese forme of government and ● this gesture in special or we●● you moved thereunto by 〈◊〉 example of any whose perse● you reverence for wisedo● and piety or have you by r●●ding any schismaticall

thinking For I know right well true faith such as you flatter your selfe to be endued with and effectuall conversion to GOD are the whole substance of a Christian mans New-birth by the Spirit of GOD and this Regeneration where it is sound and effectuall sets the soule of that man free from Satans prevailing in such measure and degree as he hath done in your heart and in all the powers of your soule For it is the testimony of Gods Spirit in His Apostle ● Iohn ● 18 They that are borne of GOD sinne not but hee that is begotten of GOD keepeth himselfe that the wicked one toucheth him not Enoch Sir I have heard some Preachers teach that faith once had can never be lost Min. And by hearing such doctrine preached your imagination deluded and Satanically bewitched became presumptuous bold and desperate to commit those vnnaturall flagitious and crying Sinnes which by continuall clamour call for vengeance at the hand of GOD's Iustice But better it were that such doctrines were never preached unlesse those just limitations prescribed in GOD's Word were both carefully judiciously and continually added thereunto The method and manner of the delivery of this doctrine by Ministers of your acquaintance and familiaritie is neither sound nor true For such Ministers suspend and hang the whole matter of a Christian mans preservation in grace in faith in obedience after his Conversion upon the Mercy the Will and the Act of GOD's power grounding themselves upon these Scriptures Rom. 11.29 The gifts and calling of GOD are without repentance And againe 1 Pet. 1.5 Yee are kept by the power of GOD through faith unto salvation And by these places of holy Scripture and such like the whole act of a Christians support in faith and holinesse is transposed and put off from the will and care of man himselfe unto the will the mercie the power of GOD. And thus the best of men who are naturally prone to selfe-flattery selfe-pleasing and spirituall securitie have the edge of gracious care vigilancie and circumspection blunted and abated But our LORD Himselfe in whose love mercie and holy degrees our preservation and salvation ●● firmely established commands all His children Matth. 26. To watch and pray that they enter not in●● temptation the spirit is readie but the flesh is weake And the Apostle of our LORD gives a caveat to all the true and faithfull people of the LORD 1 Cor. 10.12 saying Let him that thinketh hee standeth take bee● lest he fall And further by the same Apostle Philip. 2.12 13. Worke out your owne salvation with feare and trembling for it is GOD that worketh in you both to will and ●● doe of his good pleasure And the Apostle Iude hath pressed this godly care very home upon the hearts of all true Christians saying Iude 20 21 verse 20 21. But yee beloved building up your selves on your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Ghost keepe your selves in the love of God looking for the mercy of our Lord Iesus Christ unto eternall life Vnlesse then our understandings wills affections and all that is in us doe willingly submit themselves to the gracious motions and operations of GOD's holy Spirit within us we shall not onely grieve the holy Spirit of GOD Ephes 4.30 1 Thess ● 19 but also wee shall quench the lively flame therof in our hearts and soules By all which places of sacred Scriptures so pregnant and convincing we may informe our understandings that in mans preservation in faith and obedience after effectuall conversion there is a mutuall concurrence of two speciall agents The one supreme and principall and that is GOD our Father Psal 37.23 24. our LORD and SAVIOUR by His Spirit enlightning guiding and supporting The other inferiour subordinate and concurrent with the principall and that is mans understanding will and all other his faculties and powers readily apprehending sweetly embracing joyfully concurring with the divine motions issuing from Gods blessed Spirit according to that voice of the Church Draw me Cant. 1.4 we will run after thee And if this latter at any time be intermitted neglected or suspended The actions of GOD's Spirit in mens soules cannot possibly yeeld any spirituall joy delight and comfort no nor so much as be sensibly felt in the soule of any man But it growes late I must bid you for this time fare-well Enoch Good Sir let me see you again as soone as you can I like well your speeches and I hope you are sent of GOD to doe me good Min. I will GOD-willing see you again the next weeke in the meane time know there is no comming for you to heaven but thorow the suburbs of hell I meane a great measure of Humiliation and Repentance This being our conference at that time I left him to his prison cold irons and spirituall meditations And after this the first newes that I heard concerning him was a common report spread in five daies space throughout our whole Towne and Countrey that ● was the man with whom hee had greatest desire to conferre and to impart himselfe by revealing and discovering what hee intended to make knowne And his reason was that although many Ministers had questioned freely with him to search out his opinions and the secrets of his heart yet none had at that time administred any counsell or directions unto him but my selfe and therefore he conjectured at my intentions by my actions 20 This purpose of Enoch concerning me being publikely knowne by the generality of report The Puritans of whose generation he was were greatly displeased herewith And one of them no honest man I warrant you said of mee Hee is of a great and ungodly Wit and comes to this man of purpose to discredit our party and will worke him to his owne will And godly persons shall thereby sustaine disgrace by the unnaturall cruelty and wickednesse of this bloudie man This report I heard and digested it with silence and patience being by many yeares residence here inured to their bitternesse of spirit and frequent railings But I doe hereby challenge all the Puritanes of this Kingdome of England to charge if they can my Wit or my Will with any peece of ungodlinesse in the execution of my calling or the course of my conversation For I never thought nor they shall never prove it That to defend the Orthodox doctrine of the Church of England against the Papists k Iude 3. B● contending earnestly for the faith once given to the Saints Or the ancient discipline of the sam● Church against the Puritanes ●● be any branch of an ungodly W●● But on the contrary part the resolved and constant practice thereof in my publike Ministrie as occasion was incident to be a gracious inclination to solid pietie and a publike declarat on of an honest heart disposed to peace and unity 21 On the Munday following being the fifteenth day of Iuly 1633. Two messengers from Bishops