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A01331 A sermon preached on Sundaye, being the .17. of March Anno. 1577. at S. Alpheges Church within Creplegate in London, by William Fulke doctor in diuinitie. Seene and allowed, accordyng to the order appoynted in the Queenes Maiesties Iniunctions Fulke, William, 1538-1589. 1577 (1577) STC 11454; ESTC S112799 25,975 72

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only by mercy only by fayth So the cause now followeth why Ismael could not be Abrahams heir and only Isaac was because Ismael was borne after the flesh and Isaac was borne by promyse The inheritance depended wholly vpon the promise and the promise altogether vpon the grace of god Therefore he that was borne after the promise was the heire not he that was borne after the flesh But this at the first view seemeth to be straunge why S. Paule shoulde say that Ismael was borne after the fleshe Isaac by promise Wheras there seemeth to be no difference but that Isaac was born after the fleshe as Ismael was for he was conceiued after the maner of al the worlde as Ismael was It is the only priuiledge of our sauiour Christ to be cōceiued by the holy ghost Wherfore Isaac might be thought to be borne after the flesh on the other side it seemeth that Ismael was borne by promise For Abrahā was not moued by fleshly lust to take Agar to his wyfe but by the suggestion of Sara that he might haue an heyre of the promise Why should not Ismael then whose byrth was sought by so good an intent bee saide to be borne after the promyse And wherefore should Isaac bee denyed to be borne after the flesh whē he was conceyued and borne as Ismael and all other men are But let vs heare what the Apostle sayth He that was borne of the bond woman was borne after the fleshe and hee that was borne of the free woman by promise Nowe let vs see howe Ismael was borne after the fleshe Isaac by promise If we looke to the conception of Ismael we shall see nothing in it but carnall and fleshly not only because it was altogether according to the course of nature but also chiefly because this deuise of Sara wherunto Abraham consented to beget children of Agar though it seemed to come of a good intent yet was it altogether carnall and fleshly But God woulde haue mans deuise to haue no place in the Natiuitie of Isaac because he should be a ryght figure and patterne of them that are heires of the promise For thus the case stood God had promised to Abraham to giue him the lande of Canaan and to his seede which shoulde be as the starres of heauen and as the sande of the sea innumerable that hee should be the father of many nations and that in his seede all the nations of the world should be blessed Now Abraham beleeued this promise of God and it was imputed to hym for righteousnes bu● whyle he contynued stedfaste in this Fayth GOD seemed too suspend of long tyme the performance of hys promyse for Abrahā waxed old Sara was both olde and barreyne so that all hope of Children betweene them seemed too be cut of at laste thys deuyse came intoo Saraes head that Abraham shoulde take Agar the Aegiptian her bondemayde too wyfe and so of her should begette Childrē that should bee heyres of the promise No doubte her ende and purpose was to obteyne that which God had promysed and in suche respect and none other dyd Abraham agree too her deuise And here we see what good intents are if they be not directed by Gods woorde For surely the intent of Abraham Sara in this matter was exceeding good but theyr mean which they had deuised was starke nought For it was altogether beside the word of God it proceded not frō the spirit of God but frō the spirit of man frō flesh and blood and therefore it was a mere carnall and fleshely deuise although it hath a shewe of great godlynes yet is there no spark of godlines in it for it proceeded not of faith but of infidelity for although Sara beleeued the promise of God to bee true yet she thought it could not otherwise be performed but by this carnall deuise of hers she would helpe god to perfourme his promise whē she thought he was flack in perfourmāce saw more more difficulty to grow dayly by the age of Abrahā encreasing in weaknes old yeares vnapt for generatiō such are al the deuises of mē by which they sek to obtein the promised inheritāce of the kingdom of heauē they be altogether carnal fleshly procede ōly of infidelity For why do they sek to adde any thing of their own to the most free gracious promise of god but that they doubt eyther of his strength or goodwil to perfourme that which he hath promised therfore they wil help the one with laying to the shoulders of their own strēgth the other they wil procure by cōmending the dignity and worthines of their owne persons as though God were not throughly wel pleased in his only begottē son our Lord sauiour christ By this that hath been said I trust you do now vnderstād how Ismael was born after the flesh namely that in his conceptiō generation there can nothing be cōsidered that is heauēly spiritual but altogether natural carnal For notwithstāding ther was an intēt purpose to beget an heir of the promis yet euē this intēt purpose being gouerned by a carnal fleshly deuise proued nothing els but an earthly carnall fleshly matter Wherfore he that was borne of the bond woman was borne altogether after the flesh Now let vs see how Isaac was borne by promise Isaac was born of Sara the free womā not by her carnal deuise as his brother Ismael was but by faith in gods promise For Abraham was now old past the strength of begetting childrē Sara was both old barren here nature had denied thē children flesh blood had denied thē childrē humayn reason had denied thē childrē Therfore the childe that was now conceyued and borne came altogether by promis of God not by strength of man Abrahā waxed nowe strōg in fayth though weake in body considered neither his own body as good as dead nor the dead wōbe of Sara his wife but only beleeued that he which had promised was also able to perfourme it And Sara by faith receiued strēgth to cōceiue seed brought forth a son when she was past childbearing barrein bicause she compted him faithful which had promysed so that the whole woorke in the conception and birth of Isaac was proper to God and not to man and so dyd the whole prayse red●unde to God and not to man For Abrahams body beyng now as good as dead for age receyued new strēgth for generation as if he had been restored from death to lyfe Sara beside her natural impediment of barrainnesse being taken away whiche kept her from bearyng of chyldren when shee was young beyng nowe nyentie yeares of age was endued with newe strength to conceyue Isaac and therefore here is nothing of mans strength or wisedome in Isaackes natiuitie to bee considered but onely the perfourmance of Gods promise And therefore God onely deserued to haue al the