Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	act_n	faith_n	grace_n	1,049	5	5.6323	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A51697	The axe at the root of professors miscarriages in a plain detection of, and a wholesome caveat against the miscarriages opposite to faith in God / by Thomas Mall ...	Mall, Thomas, b. 1629 or 30.	1668 (1668)	Wing M328; ESTC R12069	51,837	51

getting Assurance Against want of Assurance which is called by some Divines Sensus Fidei the feeling or perceiving of Faith by others Flos Fidei the very lustre and eminency of Faith When God requires all the Act of Faith he doth not only require that we know him and believe him and consent to have him and relye upon him but he requires that we know that we do so It is true Assurance is not such a duty as concerns all men at all times and immediately it concerns only some and those in an order and mediately Though therefore it is not the sin of Vnbelievers not to know that God is their God for that cannot be known by them such are not bound immediately to be perswaded of an interest in God unless we will say that they are bound to be perswaded of a lye God being the God of Believers only yet it is the 〈◊〉 of Believers ●ickman's discourse concerning the spirits ●ealing up believers page 76 77. to let their interest in God to hang hovering and in dispute It must be confess'd that Gods not evidencing the direct Acts of Faith unto Believers is not their sin for God may refuse to evidence them out of Soveraignty or for the meer try●l and exercise of grace and nor for the Believers sins but yet for a Believer to be regardless of getting Assurance is his sin yea if God refuse for any long time to evidence the direct Acts of Faith he may thank some sin or other He that bids us Work out your salvation and make your calling and election sure would not so let us be at uncertainties concerning our selves did not we sleight some Ordinance or omit some Duty or give way to some Lust And is not this your sin still Do not you still want that feeling or perceiving of Faith which is not meerly humane and subject to falshood and delusions but from Gods Spirit perswading the Soul that it doth know believe consent to and crust in God and therefore infallible for the Spirit can no more inwardly p●rswade a soul of then he can externally bear witness to any thing that is false It is a good rule laid down by a late worthy in our Israel Burges's Res●nings c. Part 1. fol. 20 21. 〈◊〉 in all the Acts of Faith whether they be direct or reflect the firmness and certainty doth more depend upon Gods spirit confirming us then upon the clearness of the Arguments But which of us can say that we know infallibly we are believers from Gods spirit perswading us of the truth of our faith It is true no Man hath such perfection of degrees of assurance in an ordinary way Do●little in Morning Exercise at Criple gate ●●●m 12. p. 3 ● 307. as that one degree more cannot be added to the former and yet as one well reasoneth there is not any repugnancy in asserting an infallible assurance and denying a perfect assurance for I infallibly know that there is a God and that this God is good and just and yet I have not a perfect knowledge of a Deity or of his goodnes and justice for in this life we know but in part Is not your want of assurance that God is your God evidenced still in your Not being ●et above the tormenting fear of death not yet despising the perishing vi●ities of this World not yet slighting the censures of the ungodly Hickman in supra p. 135 to page 155. remaining still without an holy boldness in prayer not yet taking comfort in Word and Sacraments not yet abounding in praise and thanks giving not yet kindly mourning for your sins nor watching against them and not yet disregarding cavils against the Truth Is not God contending with you upon thi● account God hath often called upon you in the Ministry of the Word to give all diligence to make s●●e th●● you are believers and that God is your God upon your saith in him but though God hath spoken in your prosperity you have not heard Jer. 〈…〉 And is not he ●●ing his Rod to make way for his Word to enter into your hearts Is not he dep●iving you of all your outward delights Causing all your desirable things to perish at his rebuke that they may not hinder you any longer from making su●e what cannot be taken away from you that your hearts may not be taken up any longer with other enjoyments and thereupon want either time or will to pursue the one thing necessary Are not the Childs Babies taken away to make it learn its Lesson Hath not God made a Thorn to grow up with every Flower the Star Wormwood to fall into every estate you are in that you may yet at length say it is not good to be so busie to secure these bitter-sweets and careless of securing an interest in the unmixed chief good Is not God bringing you into life-threatning dangers that you might not only hear with the hearing of the ear but see with your eyes the necessity of having your interest in God cleared up unto your souls 2 Carelesness of preserving assurance Against carelesness to keep Assurance Non minor est virtus quam quaerere pa●ta ●ueri when gotten It was your duty to be as carefull to keep as to gain assurance When you had gained assurance you should have remembred that you took God to be your God to rule you and make you happy in the enjoyment of himself not to make you rich and great in this World and that therefore Gods people being in the hands of the Midiamites will not evidence that the Lord is not with them Judg. 6.13 H●●●bman c. p. 183. to 193. D●ut 26 10 11. though Gideon say If the Lord be with us why then is all this befallen us You should have remembred that sincere not perfect faith in God interests souls in him and that therefore frailties and infirmities do not dissolve the union you should have been very thankfull for the first fruits of the Heavenly Canaan Psal 85. 8. Eccl. 5. 4 5 6. you should have been very careful not to return unto folly you should not have deferd to pay your vows unto God yea you should have brought forth such fruit after assurance as you either did not or could not before assurance But have not you been careless of discharging your duty herein Have not you forgotten the termes of the Covenant you have entred into with God Have not you been unthankful even for an Heaven upon Earth Have not you been guilty of wilful Relapses Have not you refused or delayed to pay your vows Have not you done as little for God as you might have done had the light of his countenance been never lifted up upon your souls And is not God therefore angry with you Is not he greatly displeased with you That is his meaning when he saith he hath no pleasure in such fools Mat. 13.12 Hath not he taken away what you

upon others now dequaint your selves with him now or never now or else he will not be at peace with you and good will not come unto you Let it not alwayes be said They know not Psa ●2 3 neither will they understand they walk on in darkness O! unto reading and hearing add praying that you may not only be Book-taught but God-taught You need not ascend up into Heaven to bring Christ down from above nor to descend into the deep Rom. 10.6 to bring up Christ from the dead that you may be acquainted with him John 17.3 the Word is nigh you which being read heard and prayed over will give you that knowledge of God and Christ which is life eternal 5. Against resting in a Form of Knowledge Rom. 2.20 Map●●●● E●●er H●sye ●●cidas Jam. 3 17. Re●ing in a Form of Knowledge The word signifieth the shew the appearance the Image of Knowledge Hath not this been your sin Have not you affected the reputation of knowledg more than the reality of knowledg Hath not the Name been better esteem'd by you than the Thing Have not you satisfied your selves with a dark and confused knowledge Hath not your light been darkness The wisdome from above is pure and therefore clear and distinct Have not you satisfied your selves with a supless knowledge 2 〈…〉 without the favour that is in saving knowledge Knowledge in Scripture doth connote affection It is tea●me● by the 〈◊〉 men ●ap●●● 〈◊〉 or 〈…〉 and that which carrieth not the heart and affections with it deserveth not the name of Knowledge and therefore those that did not like and love God are said not to know God Have not you satisfied your selves without an experimental knowledge of God of the exercise of his Power Wisdome Goodness Mercy c. for your eternal welfare in working effectually upon your hearts by his Word and Spirit Have not you satisfied your selves with an unactive knowledge To have notions according to Knowledge Jer 10 14 and actions according to Ignorance is to be bruitish in knowledge Have not you set up your rest in such acknowledge as is short of making men live peaceably humbly obediently and believingly as saying knowledge doth This Kind of knowledge i. b.t a form of knowledge without the truth substance and reality of knowledge as a form of godliness 2 Tim 3 5 Verban ti●● connotant affectum effectam Job 28 28 Psa 111 10 is the appearance o● godliness without the payer of godliness The knowledge of God doth note 〈…〉 barren nations concerning God which do not render 〈◊〉 better in ou● lives or liker unto God He knee no sin in Paul is in Peter He did no sin To depart from evil is understanding They ha●e a good understanding that do his Commandements Josiah 〈◊〉 street in performing his known duty And was not this to know me Jer 22 16 saith the Lord ●●ch as do not dwake to righteousness the Greek is awake righteously i. e. that do not give their minds and endeavours to righteousness they have not the knowledge of God 1 Cor 15 31 Have not you ●●tisfied your selver without knowing God in and through Christ Here let it be minded T G●win's Christier forth p 1 ● that the Object of that Faith that is required in the first Commandement in all its acts both direct and reflect inward and outward is God in Christ or interest in God in and through Christ The Deity Father Son and Spirit is the ultimate Object but Jesus Christ God dwelling in flesh Eph 2 18 1 Pet 1 21 is the more immediate Object thereof Christ leads ●s by the hand and we are said by Christ to believe on God that our Faith might be in God But have you ever had a real and intuitive sight of Jesus Christ in his glory Sheph●a●d on the pa●able of the V●●gins p 74 75 202 203 204 not only from report nor only from his works nor only from the bare letter of the Word but from the Spirit Have you ever beheld such a glory in Christs person as hath caused you to esteem him in all his glory as your present greatest and enly good 2 〈◊〉 4 6 Hath God ever given you the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ If not you must repent of your Knowledge under the notion of Ignorance and be sure that for the future you be restless after a clear distinct savory experimental active Knowledge of God in Christ 6. Not growing in Knowledge Against not growing in Knowledge 〈…〉 3 4 5. Is not saving knowledge a growing thing Were not the risings and increasings of the waters of the Sanctuary a type thereof But ala●● have not the best set up their rest in low attainments of saving knowledge Have not some conceited themselves taught by God immediately by the Spirit and needed not any of Gods medi●●e teachings by the ministry of man or by the Scriptures As for such whatever knowledge they pretend to the truth is they are altogether without the saving knowledge of God As he saith one who thinks himself so good that he cannot be better was never so good as he should be So he that thinks he knows so much as he can learn no more 1 Cor 8 2 from the Scriptures and Mini●ry know● nothing as he ought As for those that have the beginnings of life eternal John 17 3 in the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ certainly it hath been their great fault that they have not made conscience of growing in knowledge daily both of getting the knowledge of more duties and of more sins and more of the goodness of those duties and of the evil of those sins which they knew already as they ought How seldome have Sermons been attended for this very end How seldome have Ministers been consulted with for this very end Doth not your not growing in grace evidence that you have not grown in knowledge The Ap●stle puts both together 2 Pet 3 18 Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to hint to us that in proportion to our spiritual growth in knowledge is our growth in grace Is not your neglect of growing in knowledge evident in your decayes in knowledge not seeing so much evil in sin especially such and such particular sins nor so much good in duty especially such and such particular duties nor so much beauty in truth especially such and such particular truths no● so much deformity in errour especially such and such particular errours as formerly No wonder that God deals with us as he hath threatned to deal with them that know him not No wonder if God seem to resolve that this generation of English Professors shall not enter into the promised Canaan They were those that had not known Gods wayes to whom the Lord swore that they should not enter into his rest To