out and roaring How can they do other whose wounds stink and are corrupt whose sores run all the night long But they must not spend all their time in roaring but get the broken bones set and make use of them so shall they recover strength and rejoyce Fifthly Take heed of neglecting any longer any one means of Gods appointment either for the getting or keeping Hickman c. page 167. to page 173. or recovering of Assurance The neglect of any one as one well observes may provoke God to reject your attendances on him in the other 't is also uncertain in which God will manifest himself and evidence to you the truth of your Faith in him Sometimes he doth it in prayer sometime in the reading or hearing of the Word of God sometimes in religious holy conference sometimes in receiving the Sacrament of the Lords Supper sometimes in singing of Psalms Sixthly Take heed of remaining any longer lazie and slothfulâ—n the use of the means O! 2 Pet. 1.10 yet at length give diligence to make your calling sure Culverwell's VVhite Stone page 150 c. 157 c. i. e. your effectual calling that your faith in God is a full answer thereunto Assurance both requires and deserves all diligence Such is the darkness deceitfulness and inconstancy of the heart such is the malice policy and diligence of Satan to improve it of so much consequence is this business and so dangerous is it to be deceived herein that all diligence is little enough So satisfactory also is this assurance that no labour will be grudg'd by those that do believe it Antipharmacum c. page 41. See many more pathetical considerations to humble for laziness and to stir up to diligence herein in Morn Exer. at Criple-gate page 141.315 316. Iisdem alitur quibus dignitur O! the rather now give all diligence to put your faith in God out of doubt because a Day of great trouble is approaching yea already begun What have you beside this to oppose to all your troubles here When it comes to resisting to blood and giving up all can you fadge with such work while your spirits are dubious cloudy in this point O my friends Believe it 't is nothing but this that can make a Saint tryumph glory in abasures tribulations And little do you imagine how insupportable troubles are when the spirit is low and dubious in point of interest In particular Take heed of being lazie or any other ways miscarrying in self examination Assurance consists in a ressex Act and by such workings it is gotten maintained and recovered The main reason why some never had Assurance why others do not keep assurance and why others do not recover assurance is because they are not often enough nor diligent enough in reflecting upon the deift course of their hearts lives they do not often enough rightly throughly compare themselves with the sure marks of true faith in God laid down in the Word of God Many will take some little pains to â—inde out the marks of true faith in God and some little time they will spend in comparing their hearts with those marks but they will not continue diligent in this great duty of self-examination till the matter be brought to some issue they will not behold their faces in the Glass long enough to beget in themselves a true notion or Idea of themselves but go away and presently forget what manner of persons they were But let it not be so with you any more Do you make it your business to go through with this work and therefore take heed of being mistaken as to what faith in God and what assurance of faith is Neither make more Hickman c. page 120 121 122. nor fewer essentials of faith in God neither more nor less necessary to interest in God than God hath made Expect not ordinarily to have assurance of faith wrought preserved or recovered by some vocal or as it were vocal testimony of the spirit or as soon as you be assured to be void of all fears and filled with all joy in believing Set not about this work unseasonably but when you finde your hearts in the most serious and quiet frame He that will see his Face in a Glass must be fixed and not in motion Be still Psal 4.4 and so commune with your own hearts When you are full of dark and black temptations you are in a mist and not able to see things aright The muddied Water is not fit to give the true shape of the Face Hearken not to what carnal reason and Satan say for or against your interest in God Before faith in God T. Goodwin's child of light c. page 26.27 28. caâ—â—al reason and Satan use their utmost strength to perswade Souls of the goodness of their condition without Faith thereby to prevent the entrance of Faith and their seeking after it at all as not needfull to interest them in God After saith in God is wrought Hickman c. page 127 128 129. and erected upon the ruines of all Satans strong holds and the Souls carnal reasonings Satan and carnal reason in revenge of such an overthrow muster up new Forces to perswade the Believer by all the Objections they can raise that it doth not believe aright that its faith is not saving Take heed therefore of self-love and sinful jealousie and prejudice upon either account when you set about this work As self-love and self-flattery bribreth and setteth carnal reason to plead for the interest of Unbelievers in God so when once faith is wrought sinfull jealousie doth edge and sharpen the wit of carnal reason to argue and rangle against the work of Faith and all such Objections as carnal reason doth finde out against it are pleasing to this corrupt principle when you try your selves Burges's Refinings part 1 page 57 58. you will but deceive your selves if you do not cast out these two cursed corrupt Principles out of your souls if your hearts be prepossest with either your judgments will be blinded and become partial in passing sentence upon your estate Take heed of trying your selves by false marks of faith in God of weighing with false weights Hereby you may miscarry both on the right hand and on the left on the right hand if you try your selves by marks of perfect faith in God on the left hand if you try your selves by such things as are not indeed Scripture-marks of true faith in God for as God is the Principium essendi the beginning or cause of the being of any grace so Gods Word is the Principium cognoscendi the Principle by which we know what is true grace I cannot but mind you of three Rules of Direction Ob. Sedgw. of Faith chap. 13. sect 1. which a worthy now with God hath left you in this case 1 There are some things without which faith cannot be in the heart and yet
THE Axe at the Root OF PROFESSORS MISCARRIAGES IN A Plain Detection of and a Wholsome Caveat against the Miscarriages opposite to Faith in God By Thomas Mall Minister of the Gospel Mat. 3.10 Now also is the Axe laid unto the Root of the Trees therefore every Tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire John 5.14 Sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee Isa 7.9 If you will not believe surely you shall not be established LONDON Printed for Tho. Parkhurst upon London-Bridge 1668. Sold for 6 d. by the Author 's Appointmâ—â—â— ERRATA Candid Reader IN the two first sheets of this Treatise the Author hath not found any faults but in the Marginal Quotations and he trusts thou wilt find none in the rest but what thine ingenuity will correct or pardon In those sheets thou maist p. 3. for sinatis r. sinaris And f. Inarus r. Gnarus p. 6. for swidas r. suidas And for justus r. gustus Vale. To the Cordial Mourners in England especially in Exon Crediton Tiverton Taunton Barnstable Bitheferd Torrington Dartmouth and Forey for the dreadful Tokens of God's displeasure against the Land of their Nativity and the sad Causes thereof The Author wisheth Grace and Peace Dear Hearts I Doubt not of your kind acceptance and Christian improvement of this honest Essay to lay the Axe of God's Word at the Root of the Provocations of God's Sons and Daughters Are not you sensible of the woful though but partial departures of your God from your own Souls and from the Land of your Nativity Are not you lamenting after the Aâ—k 1 Sam. 7.2 Zach. 11.10 14. Hos 13.1 Are not you afraid that God is breaking England's staff of Bands by breaking its staff of Beauty that even death will follow offending in Baal Yea do not your hearts tremble at the very thoughts of what will farther ensue God's taking away the Chariots and Horsemen of your Israel 2 King 2.12 And would not you take the direct course to re-injoy the smiles of your dearest Husband and to prevent England's cutting down Yea Deut. 32.19 are not you convinced that the Provocations of God's Sons and Daughters go nearest to his heaâ—t and that there is no hope even of their Salvation so long as vain thoughts of escaping utter ruine Jer. 4.14 without true repentance do lodg within them And are not you therefore resolved Mat. 3.10 that seeing God hath laid the Axe to the root of the Trees you will now in good earnest lay the Axe to the root of your own Sins that you will make it your main business to promote in your own Souls yea and in others too not only more humiliation for but more reformation of what hath been amiss as knowing that humiliation without reformation is like the Word of God in the Letter which kills and not quickens it accents sin and not lesseneth it it continues judgment and not removes it For your help therefore herein I have endeavoured to detect and caution you against the miscarriages opposite to Faith in God which I dare say Ephes 6.17 2 Chr. 18.30 are the Root of all your other Miscarriages By the sword of the Spirit and that as welded by the skilful hands of several of England's Worthies to whom you are refer'd in the Margin I have fought neither with small nor great but with your King-sins It is said of Christ In the day of thy wrath thou shalt smite through Kings Psal 110.5 And is not this the day of Christs yea of your wrath against your sins Is not Christ yea are not you angry with them and troubled for them O then shew that you have the Spirit of Christ in you smite through Kings I mean only your Kingly-sins and then I am sure none will be able to stand before you Scuh you will find your sins opposite to Faith to be each of them hath many followers and therefore may be called Gad Behold a Troop comes I have indeed purposely waved speaking of the Miscarriages opposite to Faith with reference to its immediate object Jesus Christ not only because those are more taken notice of by convinced Souls in these days than these with reference to its ultimate object the Deity through Christ But because those are most excellently handled by the Reverend Author of the late choice Gospel-Glass Ch. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 to which I shall once more refer you and shall detain you no longer from making use of this Axe But whilst I am whispering a word or two in the ears of such as from the Miscarriages of some and not all Professors in which they are not countenanced but for which they are condemned by Religion and Profession are so unreasouable as to fall foul upon Religion and Profession * O that such would seriously read judicious Mr. A. Furgess's 71 Serm. in his most excellent Commentary on Joh. 17. I shall only transcribe for them one passage fol. 377. Would it not have been saith he horrible impiety to have broken out against all the Apostles and Christ himself saying Look what they are It 's as the Pharisees said a company of Impostors and Deceivers they are all for their own ends they are all covetous and though they pretend Religon yet they are Hypocrites and though they condemn the gross sins of the World yet in secret they can be a bad as any would not such a tongue shew that it was set on fire of Hell that should belch out such things It is truâ— hereby offences do come and wo be to him by whom offences coâ—e Whosoever shall offend Mat. 18.7 Mat. 18.7 1 Pet. 2.7 Joh. 16.1 i. e. lay a stumbling-block before one of Christs little ones it had been better a milstone were hung about his neck and he thrown into the Sea Wo be to such Professors that by their being spots open the mouth of Blasphemy But wo be also unto all those that take offence against Religion and Profession thereby Wo unto the World because of offences Such will be found at last to be Blasphemers against God and runners in the broad way to Atheism and Damnation Christ is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence only to those that perish to them that believe he is precious This is hinted that none may be offended By your Faith's helper T. M. Dec. 23. 1667. Of Vain Curiosity Chap. I. The Miscarriages opposite to the saving Knowledge of God the apprehending Act of Faith 1. VAin Curiosity Beware not only of prying into the affairs of your Neighbour Against vain Curiosity which no way concern you but of enquiring into Gods Secrets God hath made known enough for our Salvation but some things he hath concealed from us and they do not belong unto us The secret things belong unto the Lord our God Deut. 29.29 but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our
true as the light or visnal-faculty is planted in the eye or else he cannot comprehend that light that shines unto him The evidence then which a true believer hath of any truth of God which he embraceth is the manifesting of that truth unto the Spirit not only by a form of words to the natural understanding but beyond that by a kind of demonstration unto the spiritual mind as the evidence of any object to the eye is by the shining of the light upon it which makes it to appear to be such as it is This kind of testifying or evidencing things Rom 8 16 in a spiritual way the Apostle calls The witnessing of Gods Spirit with our Spirit mentioning expresly two Spirits whereof if either be wanting there can be no Divine testimony But is not our belief grounded upon the testimony of Reason upon the consonancy of Scripture-revelations to right Reason And is not the testimony of reason an humane testimony Yea Do not we believe upon an humane testimony when we believe any thing written in the Scriptures for the testimony of the Scriptures If that we believe the Scriptures themselves upon the general consent of the Church or upon the probability and reasonableness of the things therein delivered or upon the observation of the truth of those writings in most things which all make up but an humane testimony This the same learned and judicious Divine proves thus White c p 98 99 The assent unto one thing for another is built upon that to which we first give our assent as a stone in a wall though it lyes immediately upon that stone that is next under it yet it is indeed supported by the foundation which bears up all the building We say we do believe but is not our Assent without sutable impressions upon our hearts and without a sutable carriage in our lives Doth the reality of Gods being believed Baxter's Divine Lise on John 17 3 make us look upon our selves and all things as nothing without God as nothing in comparison of God and to let the beeing and reality of our love desire and endeavours be let out upon the most real and transcendent Beeing Doth the belief of Gods Vnity contract and unite our stragling affections and call them home from multifarious Vanity Doth the belief of Gods Immensity and Incomprehensibility fill our Souls with admiration Doth the belief of Gods Eternity draw our Souls from transitory to eternal things Doth the belief of Gods Simplicity make us in love with holy simplicity Doth the belief of Gods Invisibility make us mostly esteem and value things invisible Doth the belief of Gods Immutability beget in us unchangeable resolutions for God Doth the belief of Gods Almightiness sill us continually with holy fear and promote trusting in him Doth the belief of Gods Wisdome make us delight in the wisdome which is from above and to choose God for our Teacher and Counsellour Doth the belief of Gods Goodness fill our Souls with a superlative love unto God and industrious desires to be conformâ—d to his goodness in our measure Doth the belief of Gods Holiness cause us to have most high and honourable esteems of holiness in the creature and to fall in love with it and wholly conform our selves to Gods holiness in Christ Doth the belief of Gods Truth and Faithfulness make us resolved for duty and an holy life seeing the commands of God are serious and the promises and threats true The true and sound assent to any Divine Revelation as an holy truth includeth a correspondency in the believer to the thing believed Such an assent descends from the understanding to the affections and so to the conversation True Faith and right Obedience cannot be separated for he that believes the truth of Gods promises fill'd with such things as he doth most want must needs desire the good contained in them and seeing God hath declared the effect of his promises attainable only in wayes of obedience if he neglect that means it is manifest he doth not desire the end Certainly if our assent doth not cannot act no more than a dead body can rise and walk it is but a dead faith The Apostle doth not say as one well observes Faith is dead without works Manton on Jam 2 20. but Faith without works is dead I here is a difference between these predications as there is between those A man without motion is dead and a man is dead without motion Works are not the cause that give life to Faith but yet they are the effects that argue life in Faith Faith is not alwayes alike lively but yet it is alwayes living and operation is the necessary effect of life O! What cause have we to repent of our dead Faith And what Shall it alwayes remain dead Take heed I beseech you not only of setting no your rest in a Knowledge but in a Faith falsely so called Take heed of pleasing your selves any longer with the name of Faith and remaining destitute of the vertue of Faith for the crucifying your lusts and corruptions and conforming your hearts and lives to the Commandements of God To assent to truth with the neglect of goodness or with lazy desires after goodness is but a vain Faith That assent that doth not now subdue sin Gen. 23.4 will not suppress fear when you come to dye What! will ye not yet bury your dead out of your sight Chap. III. The Miscarriages opposite to Consenting to have God to be your God the third Act of Faith 1. Against resusing God REfusing God Beware of still refusing to have the true God to be a God unto you and a God over you to have him to be your Portion and Soveraign To be God Gen. 17.1 7. Rom. 9.5 implies to be enough unto all to be an all-sufficient and self-sufficient good and to be over all and above all to be an all-commanding good Ephes 4.6 To refuse God is to refuse to place our happiness in him and to come under his government Hath not this been your sin God hath offered himself to be your chief good and absolute Soveraign but have not you refused such offers Yea do not you still refuse them There are many degrees of refusing as one well observes Although we may be free of some of them Ob. Sedgwick's Fountain opened c. chap. 6. yet are not we comprized in some one or other of them Are not some guilty of refusing by way of presumptuous persecution Are not others by way of malicious opposition Are not others by way of scornful derision Are not others by way of open though not malicious resistance And if we be not guilty of any of these refusings yet are not we guilty of refusing by way of dissent or unperswasion Are not we yet unperswaded to accept of God upon his own tearms Certainly there is no medium 'twixt Faith and Infidelity 'twixt receiving of God and refusing of God