the holy Ghost God grant that these words against adultery may not be spoken in vain God by his holy word indueth his people assembled in his Church Hom. of right use of Church with the effectuous presence of his heavenly grace God doth indue his people assembled in his Church Hom. against perill of idol Part. 1. with the effectuall presence of his grace by his word and promises to the attainment of worldly commodities and all heavenly gifts and life everlasting God vouchsafe to purifie our minds through faith in Christ Hom. of inform of such as take offence at some places of Script Part. 2. to instill the heavenly drops of his grace into our hard-stony hearts to supple the same that we be not contemners and deriders of his word but that with all humblenesse of minde and Christian reverence we may indeavour our selves to heare and to read his sacred Scriptures and inwardly so to digest them as shall be to the comfort of our soules and sanctification of his holy Name Man is first made good by the Spirit and grace of God that effectually worketh in him Hom. of Almsdeeds Part. 2. Hom. of Almsdeeds Part. 2. In the same place In the same place and afterwards bringeth forth good fruits The grace of God worketh all in all Whatsoever can be named good and profitable for body or soule comes only of Gods mercy and meere favour and not of our selves God attributes that unto us and to our doings that he by his Spirit worketh in us and through his grace procureth for us God grant that we may alwayes shew our selves thankfull for Christs death Passion Sermon 2. abhorring all kinde of wickednesse and applying our minds wholly to the service of God and the diligent keeping of his commandments It is Gods Spirit which ingendreth a burning zeale towards Gods word Hom. for Whitsunday Part. 1. In the same place In the same place Nicodemus knew not the power of the holy Ghost in this behalfe that it is he which inwardly worketh the Regeneration and new birth of mankinde It is the holy Ghost and no other thing that doth quicken the minds of men stirring up good and godly motions in their hearts which otherwise of their own crooked and perverse nature they should never have The fruits of faith In the same place charitable and godly motions if man have any at all in him they proceed onely of the holy Ghost who is the only worker of our sanctification and maketh us new men in Christ Jesus The Spirit of Jesus is a good Spirit Part. 2. an holy Spirit a lowly Spirit a mercifull Spirit If any man live uprightly he hath the holy Ghost within him If the Saints in heaven were asked Serm. for Rogat week Part. 1. who should be thanked for their regeneration justification and salvation they would answer with David Not to us Lord but to thy Name give all the thanks If they be asked In the same place whence came all their glorious works they would say with Esay O Lord it is thou of thy goodnesse that hast wrought all our works in us not we our selves They be justitiaries and hypocrites In the same place which rob Almightie God of this honour and ascribe it to themselves Let us confesse Serm. for Rogat week Part. 2. that all spirituall graces behoveable for our soule come from God without whose goodnesse no man is called to faith or stayed therein God grant us all grace so to heare his word that we may fulfill it In the same place God give us grace to know those things Part. 3. and to feele them in our hearts This knowledge and feeling is not in our selfe by our selfe it is not possible to come by it Let us therefore meekly call upon the Holy Ghost that he would assist us and inspire us with his presence that in him we may be able to heare our salvation For without his lively and secret inspiration we cannot so much as name Christ Much lesse should we be able to beleeve In Gods Spirit shall we be meet vessels to receive the grace of Almighty God In the same place for it is he that purgeth and purifieth the minde by his secret working He sitteth in the tongue of man to stirre him to speake his honour He onely ministreth spirituall strength to the powers of our soule and body It is Gods Spirit that maketh us to hold the way which God hath prepared for us and to pray boldly to God If any gift we have whereby we may worke to the glory of God and profit of our neighbour all is wrought by this Spirit The holy Spirit will confirme us in all things In the same place Hom. of Matrim Married persons must crave continually of God the helpe of his holy Spirit so to rule their hearts and to knit their minds together that they be not dissevered by any division of discord It is God that worketh in us both the will Serm. of Repen Part. 1. and the deed Phil. 2. For this cause although Ieremy had said before If thou returne O Israel returne unto me saith the Lord yet afterwards he saith Turne thou me O Lord I shall be turned for thou art the Lord try God Ier. 6. And therefore that holy writer and ancient Father Ambrose doth plainely affirme that the turning of the heart to God is of God Ambros de vocat gent. lib. 8. cap. 9. As the Lord himselfe doth testifie by his Prophet saying And I will give thee an heart to know me that I am the Lord and they shall be my people and I will be their God for they shall returne unto me with their whole heart God vouchsafe by his holy Spirit to worke a true and unfained repentance in us In the same place If we repent Hom. against wilfull rebell Part. 1. Next pray after Coll. Nove. 5. Now. Cat. quest 43. quest 128. God will either take away evill Princes or of evill make them good Make us now and alwayes truly thankfull in heart word and deed for all thy gracious mercies and this our speciall deliverance We must on the Sabbath rest from our own works and yeeld our selves wholly to Gods governance that he may doe his workes in us From Christs resurrection cometh unto us an endeavour vertue and strength to live well and holily Christ indueth us with strength by the vertue and power of his resurrection to rise from the deadly workes of sinne quest 129. and live to righteousnesse The Spirit of God is called holy quest 142. for that by him the elect of God and the members of Christ are made holy for which cause the scriptures have called him the spirit of sanctification It is onely God which strengthneth man and by whose grace the sinner conceiveth this hope quest 164. minde and will Christ with the inspiration and vertue of the Holy
be left altogether to his own will and made his owne onely keeper To dreame of attaining to a perfect keeping of Gods law here on earth without a great power in mans will were to set a man quite beyond the Cape of all good hope It is not then an unnecessary labour to play the midwife and to cut this navell-string of free-will and send these Arminian impes abroad into the wide world to cry for foode Vndermining was ever held a more sure and lesse dangerous way to overthrow cities then the tempest of Canons If the foundation of Arminianisme berased by the plaine doctrine of our Church the walles of it must with Dagon fall downe before the Arke The proofes are all upon record The words are therefore set downe least the Adversary should complaine of forgery or the reader be to negligent to search them out himselfe The Lord guide us all to the knowledge of his truth dispell the mists of errors confirme his servants in love and peace on earth and bring us to glory in heaven Thine in Christ Iesus FRANCIS TAYLER Clapham The faith of the Church of England concerning Gods worke on mans will The Preface IN all disputations the first thing to be done is to set out the right state of the question Which if it be misunderstood men fight with their owne shadowes We agree often in words when we differ in the sence Our conclusion that we must drive at throughout the whole worke must be this that God works alwayes powerfully and effectually upon the will of man in the regeneration of a sinnner Nothing is difficult but the terme of effectuall working whereby we doe not understand onely in a generall sence that some effect or other follows upon Gods work nor yet that regeneration follows after Gods worke oftentimes for so it may though it be not an effect of it Neither do we intend that God so takes advantage of the time place affection and disposition of a man that he offers grace to him in such a point of time as he knowes that mans will is inclined to receive it for this were to commend Gods wisdome in regenerating of us but to deny any worke of his power in it and to make regeneration not Gods worke but the worke of mans will Our meaning plainely is that in the worke or regeneration God works so powerfully upon mans will that regeneration infallably followes as an effect of it and that this kind of working powerfully is onely found in such as are elected before and all in whom God works thus are by that powerfull work of his regenerated So that the cause of their regeneration is not any way their own will but Gods powerfull working in them by his spirit Neither doth God work thus in any other but such as prove converts for if he did work so powerfully in others they would have been regenerated also In a word there is a particular powerfull work of Gods Spirit in his elect only whereby they all and onely they are truly regenerate In others there may be illumination and some weak motions to goodnesse in their wills but alwayes in effectuall because they are left to mans will and God doth not so work in them as he doth in his elect Where God powerfully works there regeneration necessarily follows where he doth not there it cannot follow We will reduce all to fourteen heads all which confirme the former conclusion against the power of mans will and demonstrate Gods powerfull work The proofe of each is the words of the records Sometimes we shall make use of the title in some prayers given to God because we doubt not but the wisdome of the Church in her prayers would give such titles to God as were most answerable to the things in those prayers desired of God The conclusion is let the Reader well weigh the heads themselves and the arguments brought to prove them and conclude in his own soule which is the doctrin of the Church of England CHAP. I. Of our own insufficiency WE will begin with our own insufficiency to any good and shew what matter the books allow us to set it out so farre forth as arguments may be taken from thence to prove an effectuall work of God upon the will of man in the work of regeneration Where in generall I observe that the books put no difference in unregenerate men but make all their wills alike dead in sins and trespasses unable to beleeve untill they be quickened by God Which takes away the new Arminian conceit that where the Gospel is preached there is a power given to all that heare it even before regeneration to beleeve if they please by the use of which power some do beleeve others that have as much power will not use it to beleeve in Christ The books that make all alike dead in sins auke to goodnes till they be actually regenerate acknowledge no such difference This is but a trick to avoyd the odious names of naturall power in the will and Pelagianisme It is a monstrous opinion in nature that a thing should have a naturall inbred motion wrought in it before any life be wrought in it so is it in grace that their should be a power wrought in mans will whereby of it own free inclination it should be able to live spiritually or not to live as it list yea which is more absurd be able to move it self in the highest spirituall action that can be before it be actually regenerate or have in it any true spirituall life Now let the words of the book declare mans insufficiency and let every one collect from thence Gods-powerfull operation in mans conversion FAith giveth life to the soule Sermon of good works Part. 1. and they be as much dead to God that lack faith as they be to the world whose bodies lack souls Sinne is come into the world Sermon two of the Passion and so come that it cannot be avoided It cannot be chosen but we must needs fall often That which is born of the Spirit Hom. for Whitsunday Part. 3. is spirit as who should say Man of his own nature is fleshly and carnall corrupt and naught sinfull and disobedient to God without any spark of goodnesse in him without any vertuous or godly motion onely given to wicked thoughts Sermon for Rogat week Part. 1. 2 Cor. 3.5 Sermon of Repentance Part. 1. and evill deeds Paul brings in his beliefe we be not saith he sufficient of our selves as of our selves once to think any thing but all our ablenesse is of Gods goodnesse We must beware and take heed that we do in no wise think in our hearts imagine or beleeve that we are able to repent aright or to turn effectually unto the Lord by our own might and strength Ioh. 15.5 For this must be verified in all men without me ye can do nothing 2 Cor. 3.5 Again of our selves we are not able as much
Ghost doth regenerate and newly forme us to the endeavour of innocency and holinesse quest 173. which we call newnesse of life Faith is the gift of God quest 180. and a singular and excellent gift The Holy Ghost hath wrought faith in my heart by the preaching of the Gospel quest 249. CHAP. VIII Of the purification of the heart MOrall perswasion goes before any intent in man to purifie his owne heart If then this latter act of purifying the heart which must necessarily follow the intention of purging be attributed to God then must he needs doc more in the cenversion of a sinner then morally to perswade him to purge his owne heart Now that this act is ascribed to God the bookes can witnesse O God make cleane our hearts within us Short prayers after the Creed Letany From all blindnesse of heart from pride vaine-glory and hypocrisy from envy hatred and malice Good Lord deliver us Grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit Coll. on circumcision of Christ that our hearts being mortified from all worldly and carnall lusts c. Create and make in us new and contrite hearts Coll. 1. day of Lent Coll. 3. on good Friday Coll. on Tuesday in Easter Have mercy upon all Jews Turkes Infidels and Hereticks and take from them all ignorance hardnesse of heart and contempt of thy word Grant us so to put away the leaven of malice and wickednesse that we may c. Grant that we may be presented to thee with pure and cleane mindes Collect. on the Purif of the virgin S. Mary Coll. on S. Matthews day Coll. on S. Lukes day Hom. of Inform of them which take offence c. Part. 2. end Serm. for Rogat week Part. 3. Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires and inordinate love of riches May it please thee by the wholesome medicines of Lukes doctrine to heale all the diseases of our soules God therefore for his mercies sake vouchsafe to purifie our mindes through faith in his Sonne Jesus Christ and to instill the heavenly drops of his grace into our hard stony hearts to supple the same that we be not contemners and deriders of his infallible word In Gods Spirit shall we be meet vessels to receive the grace of Almighty God For it is he that purgeth and purifieth the minde by his secret working CHAP. IX Of the externall effect of grace IF the externall effects of grace come not altogether from the spirituall power put into us at the first nor from the perswasions of the Ministers but God is said to worke in us the deed as well as the will to doe well and we taught to pray to God for such effectuall grace as may produce good effects outwardly then it follows that the grace it self cannot be wrought in us onely by morall perswasion but must be wrought in us by divine operation Now whither the outward effects of grace be wrought by Gods assisting spirit or no let the authentick records of our Church speak O Lord open thou our lips Short prayers after the Lords Pr. Letany and our mouth shall shew forth thy praise That all Bishops Pastours and Ministers of the Church may both by their preaching and living set forth and shew true knowledge and understanding That it may please thee to give the Magistrates grace to execute Justice and to maintain truth Letany That it may please thee to give us an heart diligently to live after thy commandements Letany That it may please thee to give to all thy people increase of grace to heare meekly thy word Letany and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit That it may please thee to endue us with the grace of thy holy Spirit Letany to amend our lives according to thy holy word Grant that we evermore serve thee in holinesse and purenesse of living Prayer in the Letany before the prayer for the King Prayer for the King Prayer for the Bishops Coll. on 1. Sund. after Epiph. Coll. on 5. Sund. after Epiph. Coll. on 1. Sunday in Lent Coll. on Sun before East So replenish the King with the grace of thy holy Spirit that he may alway walk in thy way That Bishops and Curats and all Congregations committed to their charge may truly please thee poure upon them the continuall dew of thy blessing Grant that thy people which call upon thee may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill what they know they ought to do Lord we beseech thee to keep thy Church continually in the true Religion Give us grace to use such abstinence that our flesh being subdued to the spirit we may ever obey thy godly motions Mercifully grant that we both follow the example of Christs patience Receive our prayers 2. Coll. on good Friday that every member of thy holy Congregation in his vocation and ministry may truly and godly serve thee As by thy speciall grace preventing us Collect. on Easter day thou didst put in our minde good desires So we beseech that by thy continuall help we may bring the same to good effect Grant that we may daily endeavour our selves Coll. on 2. Sund. after Easter Coll. on 3. Sund. after Easter Coll. on 1. Sunday after Trinity to follow the blessed steps of Christs most holy life Grant unto all them that be admitted into the fellowship of Christs religion that they may follow all such things as be agreeable to their profession Because the weaknes of our mortall nature can do no good thing without thee grant us the help of thy grace that in keeping of thy commandments we may please thee both in will and deed Grant us Lord we beseech thee Coll. on 9. Sund. after Trinity the Spirit to think and do alwayes such things as be rightfull that we which cannot be without thee may by thee be able to live according to thy will Almightie and mercifull God of whose onely gift it cometh Coll. on 13. Sund. after Trinitie that thy faithfull people do unto thee true and laudable service Because the frailtie of man without thee cannot but fall Coll. on 15. Sund. after Trinity Coll. on 17. Sund. after Trinity lead us to all things profitable to our salvation Lord we pray thee that thy grace may alwayes prevent and follow us and make us continually to be given to all goods works Lord we beseech thee to keep the Church in continuall godlinesse Coll. on 22. Sund. after Trinity that it may be devoutly given to serve thee in good works Grant unto us all Coll. on S. Andr. day that we being called by thy holy word may forthwith give over our selves obediently to fulfill thy holy commandements Grant that we may follow thy holy doctrin that Saint Paul taught Coll. on Convers of S. Paul Coll. on S. Barn Let us not be destitute of thy manifold gifts nor yet of grace to use them alway to