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A96335
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An essay to promote virtue by example in a collection of excellent sayings (divine and moral) of devout & learned men, in all ages, from the apostles time, to this present year, 1689 / By William Whitcombe, gent.
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Whitcombe, William.
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1689
(1689)
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Wing W1743B; ESTC R42718
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61,072
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231
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World that Christ the Messias is come in the Flesh c. Or to Things present as That Almighty God knows all I do and knows all I think or That he is a reconciled Father unto me in Christ Jesus Or Things to come which principally excite those Two great movers of the Soul Hope and Fear in relation to the future Life of Rewards and Punishments Hale Faith worketh by Love consumeth our Corruptions and Sanctifieth the whole Man throughout I come to God by Jesus Christ and as I believe in God so I believe also in Jesus Christ and rejoyce and glory in Him acknowledging my own unworthiness and sinfulness I rest entirely on Him as the ground of my Justification to Life and of all favour and acceptance with God. I most heartily take Christ according to the offers of the Gospel not only to be Justified from my Sins and delivered from the Wrath to come by his Merits but also to be Sanctified by his Word and Spirit and to be Governed by his Law and to be brought by him unto Fellowship with GOD. Corbet 's Self-Imployment Tho' there be not a co-operation of Faith and other Graces to Justifie yet there is a co-existence of Faith and other Graces in the Persons Justified Faith cannot be the Hand to take Christ but Love will be the Warmth to heat our Affections to Christ they always go together like Mother and Daughter Gal. 5.6 Phil. 5. Faith is required as an Hand which we should put forth to receive Pardon for our Sins First At God's Hands as a Free-Gift for he blotteth out our Transgressions for his own sake Isa 43.25 Secondly At Christ's Hands as a purchased Commodity bought for us with his own precious Blood and given to you There is First an Heart mollifying Faith. Secondly An Heart purifying Faith. Thirdly A fruitful Faith. Fourthly An Heart Praying Faith. Fifthly A Victorious Faith. Tho' we are Justified by Faith yet it is by Faith working by Love Gal. 5.6 And he that Loves God keeps his Commandments John 14. Bishop of Hereford 's Legacy 66 67. As to Faith Justifying and the Merit of Good-Works Bishop Cranmer concluded with this That our Justification was to be ascribed only to the Merit of Christ Jesus and that those that are Justified must have Charity as well as Faith but that neither of these is the Meritorious Cause of our Justification When ever we read of our Justification by Faith it is meant of our Justification in a Gospel way and that is by Christ alone Meritoriously and by what he hath done and Suffered Faith being but the conditional means Christ's Satisfaction contrived provided accepted and the Conditions performed then every Saved Person will appear Righteous before God and it will be very apparently a Righteous thing with God to bring such to Glory who have Christ's Righteousness by way of Satisfaction to answer for them in respect of the Law and their own Faith and sincere tho' imperpect Obedience to answer the terms of the Gospel Faith to Live by it IT is an Heavenly and Dutiful committing our whole Persons and of our whole Estates upon God with a Pious dependance on Christ for suitable and seasonable Supplies in all our Exigencies Occurrences and Changes whatsoever When the Soul is in any Exigence and comes to Christ and puts it self upon him and trusts to him for help This is to Live by Faith and this Faith extends it self both to our Spiritual and Temporal Estate The Just shall Live by his Faith Gal. 3.11 speaking of the Temporal State And Live by Faith of the Son of God says St. Paul Gal. 2.2 speaking of the Spiritual State. By reason of the Dignity of Christ's Person his Obedience and Sufferings being performed in our Nature and wholly upon our account God by an Infinite Gracious Statute in Heaven accepts them for us tho' not as done by us and reckons all the Effects and Advantages of them by way of Imputation to us Justification Evangelical We should not try Mens Faith by their Persons but their Persons by their Faith. Tertullian Chrysostom saith As a Rock tho' the Winds blow and the Waves beat against it is Immovable so Faith grounded on the Rock Christ holds out in all Temptations and Spiritual Combats Chrysologus saith Neither in the Steel alone nor in the Flint alone any Fire can be seen nor Extracted but by Conjunction and Collision so nor by Faith alone nor by Works alone is Salvation to be attained but by joyning both together Alexander of Hales saith What the Eye is to the Body Faith is to the Soul it 's good for direction if it be kept well And as Flies hurt the Eyes so little Sins and Ill-Thoughts do the Soul. Says Luther to Melancthon Who feared to Profess the Truth If the Cause be bad le ts revoke it and fly back but if it be good why do we make God a Lyar who hath made us such great Promises viz. Cast thy Care on the Lord and be of good Comfort I have Overcome the World. If Christ be the Conqueror of the World why should we fear it as tho' it would Overcome us therefore be not afraid but Couragious and Chearful solicitous for nothing the Lord is at hand to help us Calvin saith With all my Heart I embrace the Mercy which God hath used towards me for Jesus Christ 's sake recompencing my Faults with the Merits of his Death and Passion that Satisfaction may be made by this means for all my Sins and Crimes and the remembrance of them may be blotted out I have not lived so that I am ashamed to live longer neither do I fear to Die because I have a Merciful Lord in that a Crown of Righteousness is laid up for me Christ is my Righteousness Father let thy Will be done thy Will I say and not my own which is imperfect and depraved This Day let me see the Lord Jesus c. Jewel Fall of Man. Anselm saith O hard hap What did Man lose What did he find He lost the Blessedness to which he was made and found Death to which he was not made Fortune SIR William Saint James was wont to say That none Fought well but those that did it for a Fortune Fortune saith Sir Ralph Winwood may begin a Man's Greatness but Vertue must continue it Friendship Friendship saith my Lord Bacon easeth the Heart and cheareth the Vnderstanding making clear Day in both partly by giving the purest Council or partly from our Interest and Prepossessions and partly by allowing opportunity to Discourse and by that Discourse to clear the Mind to recollect the Thoughts to see how they look in Words whereby Men attain to the highest Wisdom which Dionisius Aeriopagitus saith is the Daughter of Reflection Forgiveness IF a Man saith Sir David Brooke wrongeth me once God forgive him If he wrong me the second time God forgive me O God Forgive me my Ten Thousand Talents I come to Jesus Christ who
we say less than the least of God's Mercies Prayer THat Prayer that is pure and holy entereth into the Heavens and returneth not empty It is a shelter to the Soul a Sacrifice to God and a Scourge to the Devil Austin's Prayer was Lord first give me what thou requirest and then require what thou wilt And he that Prayeth well cannot choose but Live well Mr. Perkins upon his Death-Bed said to his Friends praying for the ease of his Pain Pray not for the ease of Torments but for the encrease of my Patience He that Prays for the good Things that he hath not doth not seek for that which is good but that which seems to be good Oh! what do I inwardly suffer when in my Mind I consider Heavenly Things and presently in my Prayers a multitude of Carnal Imaginations present themselves before me My God be not far from me depart not in thy Wrath from thy Servant cast forth thy Light and scatter them send forth thy Darts and break all the Imaginations which the Enemy casts in Gather in call home my Senses unto thee make me forget all the things of this World grant me to cast away speedily the imaginations of Wickedness Succour thou me thou everlasting Truth that no Vanity may move me come Heavenly Sweetness and let Impurity fly from before thee Pardon me also and mercifully forgive me as often as I think of any thing else besides thee in Prayer I do humbly confess I am wont to be subject to many Distractions for I confess I am not there where I do corporally stand or sit but there am I whither my Thoughts do carry me where my Thoughts are there am I. There are oftentimes my Thoughts where my Affections are that offer themselves quickly unto me which is naturally delightful and by custom pleasing Tho. de Kempis 268. If thou be in God Christ is thy Father and therefore in Prayer thy Applications are to thy Father Mat. 7.7 If we being evil know how to give good things whatsoever thou canst expect from thy Earthly Father so much and much more may'st thou expect from thy Heavenly Father patience to bear with thy Infirmities and Failings Psal 78.18 compassion to pity thy Sufferings Psal 103. Goodness to supply thy Wants Justice to revenge thy Injuries Psal 105.14 Those Prayers that are from the workings and sighings of God's Spirit in us from sincere Hearts lifted up to God through the sense of our own Emptiness and from God's infinite Fulness that are suited to God's Will and the great Rule of Prayer that are for Spiritual things more than Temporal that are accompanied with Faith and dependance these Prayers speak a Man altogether a Christian Mead. A Prayer for Purging the Heart and for obtaining Heavenly Wisdom STrengthen me O God by the Grace of thy holy Spirit give me to be strengthened in the inward Man and to empty my self of all unprofitable Care and Anguish not to be drawn away by sundry desires either mean or precious but looking upon all things as passing away together with them for nothing is permanent under the Sun where all things are vanity and vexation of Spirit Oh how wise is he that considereth of them Tho. de Kempis 112. A Powerful Letter IN a Letter to King Henry the VIII it is concluded thus Wherefore Gracious King have pity on your Soul and consider that the Day is even at hand when you shall give an Account of your Office and the Blood that hath been shed with your Sword. In which day that you Grace may stand stedfast and may have your Quietus est sealed with the Blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ which will only serve at that day is my daily Prayer c. Our Persecutors FRet Fume and Gnash the Teeth to hear that we under these grievous Afflictions can be so Merry let us Pray instantly that this Joy may never be taken from us for it passeth the Delights of this World This is the Peace which passeth all Vnderstanding This Peace the more it is chosen and possessed with the more they feel it and therefore cannot faint neither by Fire nor Water Prosperity HEre lies the danger of a pleasing Condition in regard of Pleasures Credit Delights Riches Friends Habitation Health or any inferiour thing the more of Good that seemeth to be in them as distinct from God the more Dangerous for they are more like to stand up in Competition with him and carry it with our partial and blinded Souls in the Competition Remember this if you love your selves when you would have all things about you more Pleasant and Lovely here lies the danger of a prosperous Condition and State. On the contrary here lies the blessed benefit of Adversity which if Men were not Brutish and Unbelieving they would heartily welcome it as the surest Condition Mr. Baxters Rest 3d Part 216. Papist MY Lord of Worcester being a Papist had this Maxim That he would not be Disordered within himself only because things were out of Order without him Queen Elizabeth was wont to say That my Lord of Worcester had Reconciled what she thought Inconsistent A stiff Papist to be a good Subject Punishment WHensoever God Punisheth he doth it for just Cause and the Godly never accuse him of Rigour as the Wicked do but acknowledge that in themselves is just cause why they should thus intreat them Dan. 9.7 Why should a Living Man complain for the Punishment of his Sins Hale 130. Reason IT 's Human to use Reason rather than Force and a Christian to seek Peace and ensue it Reformation IT would be an easie matter says Malvezzi for Favourites to Reform Kings Palaces if it were not an hard thing to Reform their own Houses Regiment of Health TO be chearfully disposed at Hours of Meat Sleep and Exercise is one of the best Exercises of long lasting As for the passions and studdies of the Mind avoid Envies Anxious Fears Anger fretting Inward subtile and knotty Inquisitions Joys and Exhilerations in Excess Sadness not Communicated entertain Hopes and Mirth rather than Joy variety of Delights rather than Surfeit on them Lord Bacon 's Essays 188. Rejoycing at Death MR. Edward Deering said As for my Death I bless God I feel and find so much inward Joy and Comfort in my Soul that if I were to make my Choice whether to Live or Die I would a Thousand times rather choose Death than Life if it may stand with the good Will of God And shortly after he Died in the Year of our Lord Christ 1576. Religion REligion and the Practice of its Vertues is the Natural state of the Soul the condition to which God designed it As God made Man a reasonable Creature so all the Acts of Religion are equal and suitable to our Natures and our Souls are then in Health when we are what the Laws of Religion require to be and to do what they Command us to do Dr. Tillotson The great Principals of Religion