Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A29748
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Christ the way and the truth and the life, or, A short discourse pointing forth the way of making use of Christ for justification and especially and more particularly for sanctification in all its parts, from Johan. XIV, vers. VI : wherein several cases of conscience are briefly answered, chiefly touching sanctification / by John Brown.
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Brown, John, 1610?-1679.
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1677
(1677)
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Wing B5028; ESTC R27232
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262,893
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482
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master usher to the poor soul to lead him in to the Father so that by him we have accesse Ephes. 2 18. yea boldnesse and accesse through faith in Him Ephes. 3 12. and He is our advocate 1. Iohn 2 1. and as our atturnay is gone to heaven before us and there liveth for ever to make intercession Heb. 6 20 7 25. And what is there more to be done to procure us accesse or to move encourage us to come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtaine mercy and finde grace to helpe in time of need Heb. 4 14 16. 6. As to that want of freedome and liberty in prayer He helpeth that also for He maketh the dumb to sing Esa. 35 6. and maketh the tongue of the stammerers to be ready to speak elegantly Esai 32 4. He can enlairge the heart and help the soul to pour-out its heart before God 7. As to outward persecution He can easily take that discouragement away by giving the hundereth fold with it by supporting under it and bringing saife thorow it when his presence is with them through fire and water Esa. 43 2. what can trouble them and when he maketh their consolations abound 2 Cor. 1 5. what can discourage them Have not his sung in the very fires and rejoyced in all their afflictions The resting of the Spirit of God and of glory which Peter speaketh of 1 Pet. 4 14. is comfortable enough 8. As for all those sharpe dispensations mentioned in the last place He having taken the sting of all even of death away by taking away sin and purchased the blessing and love of the Father having made reconciliation through his blood all those dispensations flow from love even such as seem sharpest being inflicted for sin as we see Heb. 12 6. So that there is no cause here of fainting or of being so discouraged as to give over the matter But for helpe in this case there should be an use making of Jesus as the Life and that is The third thing which we shall speak a little to viz How the soul should make use of Christ as the Life to the end it may be delivered from this fainting occasioned through manifold discouragements 1. The beleever in this case would minde the covenant of Redemption wherein Christ hath promised and so standeth obliged and engaged to carry on his own through all discouragements to the end so that if any one beleever miscarry Christ loseth more than they can lose for the beleever can but lose his soul but Christ shall lose his glory and this is more worth than all the souls that ever were created And further not only shall Christ lose his glory as Redeemer But the Father shall also lose his glory in not making good his promise to Christ his Son for by the same covenant He standeth engaged to carry thorow all the seed that Christ hath died for And his appointing Christ to be his servant for this end and chooseing Him from among all the folk and his upholding of Him concurring with him delighting in Him and promiseing that He shall bring forth judgment to the gentiles and that to victory or to truth speak out His engadgment to see all true beleevers brought home See Esai 42 1 2 3 4. Mat. 12 17 18 19 20 21. Psal. 89 19 20 21 28 29 35 36 37. Sâ—…re the faith of this would support the poor beleever under all those discouragements 2. They would minde likewise the covenant of Grace wherein all things are contrived and laid downe so as that the beleever may have abundant consolation and comfort in all cases and wherein there is enough to take away all cause of fainting discouragement as might fully be made to appeare if any did questione it 3. They would remember how richly Christ is furnished with all qualifications suiteing even that case wherein they are like to be overwhelmed with discouragements and could the beleever but think upon and beleeve those three things he might be keeped-up under all discouragements first That Christ is a compassionate tender-hearted mediator having bowels more tender than the bowels of any mother so that He will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax Esai 42 3. He had compassion on the very bodies of the multitude that followed him and would not let them go away fasting lest they should fainte in the way Mat. 15 32. Mark 8 3. and will He not have compassion on the soules of his followers when like to faint through spiritual discouragements Secondly That He hath power and authority to command all things that can serve to carray-on a poor beleever for all power in Heaven and Earth is given to Him all things are made subject to Him Thirdly That He hath a great readinesse and willingnesse upon many accounts to helpe his followers in their necessities Sure were these three firmly believed the beleever could not â—…aint having Christ who is tender and loving willing to helpe and withall able to do what he will to look to and to run to for supply 4. They would take up Christ under all his heart-strengthening and soul comforting relations as a tender Brother a careful Shepherd a fellow-feeling Highpriest a loving Husband a sympathizing Head a life-communicating Root an alsufficient King c. any one of which is enough to beare up the head and comfort the heart of a drouping discouraged and fainting soul much more may all of them yeeld strong consolation to support revive a soul staggering and fainting through discouragement Oh! if wee could but rightly improve and dwell upon the thoughts of these comforting and heart-quickening relations our hearts would not fail us so much as they do 5. They would eye Him as now in glory who as Head and Captaine of salvation hath wreastled through and overcome all difficulties and discouragments that were in his way and in name and behalf of all beleevers that are his followers and members of his body is now possessed of glory and thence draw an heart-comforting and soul-strengthening conclusion thus Is He entered into glory as Head than such a poor faint hearted heart-brocken discouraged worme as I am may at length come there as a little bit of his body especially since He said that seing He liveth all his shall live also Ioh. 14 19. 6. They would remember how Christ who was alwayes heard of his Father Iohn 11 41 42. did supplicat for this as Mediator and Intercessor for his people Iohn 17 24. saying Father I will thâ—… they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am c. May not the poor faint-hearted believer that is looking to Iesus draw an heart-reviveing soul encouraging conclusion out of this say Though my prayers be shote out and when I cry for reliefe under my discouragements I get no hearing but on the contrary my discouragements grow and my heart fainteth the more yet Christ alwayes was heard and
as 1. A good heart which many imagine they have when they have nothing lesse 2. Good intentions and purposes for time to come which such as were not under the power of errour and untruth would never deceive themselves withall 3. An harmelesse life without scandalous out-breakings to the reproach of christianity a foundation on which 〈◊〉 wise man led by truth would build his salvation or hopes of eternal happinesse 4 An outward morall civil and discreet carriage which no man can blame and wherein a heathen can outstripe many called christians so that it must be a poor ground to found our hopes upon and yet many are so blinded that they leane all their weight upon such a rotten staff 5. Outward exercise of religious dutyes wherein a Pharisee may outstripe many and yet O! how many build all their hopes of heaven upon this sandy foundation which none but blinded persons would do 6. The commendation applause of ministers christians is that which many rest upon which is a sad proof of the blindnesse of their hearts 7. The way of good works and almes deeds blindfoldeth many and sheweth that they were never led by truth or taught of Christ who is the Truth 8. Some pinching greif and sorrow for sin iâ—… another way which people strangers to the truth deceive themselves withall 9. A common sort of repentance backed with some kinde of amendement and outward reformation is away that many rest secure in though it lead to destruction 10. Freedom from challenges of conscience deceiveth many Though these and such like wayes be dangerous yea deadly yet how many is there to be found among christians that have no better ground of their hope of salvation and will cleave to them so fast as no preaching will make them so much as once question the matter or suspect that these wayes will in end deceive them so strong is their inclination to the way of errour though not as the way of errour Fourthly It presupposeth also an inclineableness in us by nature to wander out of the way for being nothing but a mass of errour made up of darkness ignorance and mistakes we have a strong byas to errour which agreeth best with our naturall corrupted temper Hence is it that we have such a strong propension to errour and mistakes Whether 1. Concearning God and his way of dealing with his Church or with our selves O how ready are our hearts by nature to hatch and foment wrong unseemly untrue yea unchristian if not blasphemous thoughts and conceptions of his Nature Attributes Word and Works And how ready and prone are we to receive and intertaine wrong apprehensions of all his wayes and dealings with his Church and people And as for his works in and about ourselves O what unsuteable erroneous false ungodly absurd and abominable opinions do we with greediness drink-in and foster yea feed upon with delight Who is able to recount all the errours and mistakes which our heart by nature is ready to admit and foster with complacency Are we not by nature ready to say that there is not a God as the fool Psal. 14 1. Or That He is not such a God as his word and works declare Him to be a Holy Just Righteous Omnipotent Omnipresent Omniscient God c Or that He is a changeable God and actually changed not being the same now which sometime he was That He hath forgotten to be gracious and remembereth not his people in adversity and so is not Tender and Mercifull That He hath forgotten his promises and so is not Faithful and True That he approveth of sin because he suffereth the way of the wicked to prosper and so is not an Holy God c. Yea do not ofttimes such thoughts as these lodge within the heart of the truly Godly All which sheweth how prone we are to receive and intertaine erroneous and false thoughts of God 2. Concearning Ourselves Supposeing ourselves to be borne againe and reconciled to God when yet we are living in black nature and who so â—…old and confident that they are right as such as are â—…thest out of the way Or on the other hand supâ—…osing ourselves to be in a bad state and in nature 〈◊〉 darknesse when the day starre from on high hath visited us and brought our souls from death unto life And who more ready to compleane then such as have least cause Or supposeing ourselves in a good condition lively active diligent watchfull c. when it is just other wayes with us or on the contrary compleaning of deadnesse formality upsitting fainting heartlesnesse in the wayes of God when it is not so Or in questioned matters taking truth to be errour and errour to be truth 3. Concearning Others How ready are we to run either to the one extremity or the other in judging their persons and actions O! where is the faith of this natural condition Where is the reall conviction of it Sure there is but little real beleeving of this when 1. There are so many that never so much as suspect themselves or question either their state or condition at one time or other never once imagine that their blinded hearts may deceive them never once dreame of a possibility of mistaking and of dying with a lie in their right hand 2. And so many that are not lamenting and bewailing this their condition nor crying out and compleaning of a false deceitful and desperatly wicked heart 3. And so few that are indeed humbled undeâ—… the sence of this and made therefore to walk morâ—… watchfully and soberly with an eye alwayes upoâ—… their treacherous and deceiving hearts 4. And so few crying for help from God against this deceitful adversary through dayly experience of the atheisme hypocrisie ignorancâ—… misconceptions of God and of his wayes and deceitfulness of our hearts might sufficiently put it out of doubt with us Next How miserable must their condition be who are yet strangers to Christ for they are living in darkness lying in darkness walking in darkness yea very darkness it self a mass of errour mistakes ignorance and misconceptions of all things that are good and still wandering out of the way Finally should not this preach out to and convince us all of a necessity of having more acquantance with Truth with Jesus Christ who is the Truth that we may be delivered from this wofull and wreatched condition for Truth only can set us free therefrom The Second general thing to be noticed here is That all other wayes and courses which we can take or follow that we may obtaine life beside Christ are but lies false and deceitful wayes there is no truth in them for He only is the Truth No other whatsoever can beare this epithete for 1. He only can satisfie the soul in all points other wayes whatever we may imagine and dreame can yeeld no true satisfaction in this matter 2. He only can secure the soul from destructive ruinous courses which will undoe