Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
faith_n	abraham_n	believe_v	impute_v	7,639	5	9.9008	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A25404	The pattern of catechistical doctrine at large, or, A learned and pious exposition of the Ten Commandments with an introduction, containing the use and benefit of catechizing, the generall grounds of religion, and the truth of Christian religion in particular, proved against atheists, pagans, Jews, and Turks / by the Right Reverend Father in God Lancelot Andrews ... ; perfected according to the authors own copy and thereby purged from many thousands of errours, defects, and corruptions, which were in a rude imperfect draught formerly published, as appears in the preface to the reader.	Andrewes, Lancelot, 1555-1626.	1650 (1650)	Wing A3147; ESTC R7236	963,573	576

all the nations of the world be blessed with diverse other of the like nature He also fulfilled the ceremonialls of the Law while he being Priest offered himself as a sacrifice Besides he spiritually circumciseth beleevers by substituting Baptisme instead of Circumcision He is our Passeover and appointed the Eucharist instead of the Paschal Lambe and indeed he is the full complement and perfection of the Law and the Prophets 2. Christ fulfilled the Law by satisfying in most absolute manner the will of God being the holy of holies without spot or sin at all for in him is the love of God most perfect and righteousnesse most absolute And this in regard of the merit and satisfaction thereof he communicates gratis freely to us most imperfect to us I say if we beleeve God was in Christ saith Saint Paul reconciling the world to him not imputing their trespasses to them for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousnesse of God in him So Abraham beleeved and it was imputed to him for righteousnesse For by faith we rely upon Christ whom we beleeve to have made satisfaction most fully to God for us and that God is so pleased with us in Christ that he accepts us as now become the Sons of God 3. But this faith by which we beleeve in Christ is not by our nature or merits but is wrought in us by Gods grace through the Spirit given into our hearts And this abiding there enflames them with love of Gods Law and desire to expresse the same by good works which though we do not perform as we ought by reason of the infirmity of our flesh yet God allowes our endeavours in Christ. Nor did ever any of the Saints though he strove and resolved to keep the Law as far as he could trust or rely upon his own merits but upon Christ. Saint Paul did not for he complained Who shall deliver me out of this body of death and presently addeth I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord that is I thank him that he hath redeemed me from death by Jesus Christ. And it follows There 's now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus c. So that a faithful man moved by Gods Spirit to do that which is good as far as he is able and as the second covenant requires and that out of love of God and not onely for fear of the Curies threatned in the Law may be said to fulfill the Law in such manner that God in Christ accepts of him So much in answer to the first question To the second why God would promise life to them that should keep the Law seeing no man can keep it in a legal and exact manner we answer 1. First besides that it may be doubted whether God doth offer or promise life now otherwise then upon the conditions of the Gospel which may be kept some do further answer that God sheweth hereby that he abides the same and the Law still the same though we be changed from what he made us 2. Secondly Hereby man seeth his own weaknesse and is driven out of himself to seek Christ. For as the Apostle saith if there had been a Law given which could have given life verily righteousnesse should have been by the Law But the Scripture hath concluded all men under sin that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that beleeve 3. Because Christ took on him our nature and dying for us hath purchased the promised inheritance to be communicated to us by faith and new obedience or sanctification 4. Lastly Though man cannot keep the Law exactly yet upon his faith in Christ and his resolution and indeavour to keep the Law and actual keeping of it by the assistance of Gods grace so as is above declared God accepteth of him in Christ and takes the will for the deed in some things and accounts him righteous and makes good the promise unto him CHAP. XVIII Of the preparation before the giving of the Law 1. To make them willing by consideration of 1. his benefits 2. Gods right as Lord 3. Their relation as Creatures 〈◊〉 4. that they are his people His benefits past and promised Three 〈◊〉 to love 1. Beauty 2. Neernesse 3. Benefits all in God 2 To make them able by sanctifying and cleansing themselves That ceremonial washing signifyed our spiritual cleansing How we came to be polluted How we must be cleansed Why they were not to come at their wives Of the danger and abuse of things lawful 3. That they might not run too far bounds were set Of curiosity about things unnecessary Now concerning the Preparation to the hearing of the Law THough in the Preface something hath been said concerning the preparation of the Catechumeni upon the words venite auscultate yet before we come to the particular explication of the Law we shall further adde some thing in this place about our preparation to the hearing of it For we can receive no benefit at Gods hands if we be not prepared for it God himself commanded the people to prepare themselves before the hearing of the Law and so of the Gospel also Prepare ye the way of the Lord saith the Baptist And to these adde that the primitive Church appointed Vesperas diei Dominici Vespers of the Lords day and so they had for other holy dayes and solemn feasts and to the solemnest Sunday Easter day they prepared fourty dayes before And forasmuch as the Sacrament is an appendix of the word and the seal of it surely we cannot be excused if we prepare our selves for the one and not for the other The Preacher gives this advise Keep thy foot look to thy self when thou goest into the house of the Lord. And again we ought to know that preparation is as necessarily required of the Hearer as of the Speaker Now this preparation consists of three things or means The first means to preparation is to make the people willing to hear the Law and that is grounded upon the speech of God to the Israelites in Exodus Ye have seen saith he what I have done unto the Egyptians and how I bare you on Eagles wings And a little after Go to the people and sanctifie them to day and to morrow and let them wash their cloathes And let them be ready against the third day And Thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about the Mount saying Take heed unto your selves c. In which words there are three things prescribed and the fourth is implyed by circumstance 1. The will in every action is to precede the people were to be made willing to hear and receive the message that was to be delivered And therefore to make them willing God in the first place gives them a catalogue of his Benefits and goodnesse So that one way to stir us and our will

because he sought to the Physicians before he sought to God for help his physick was accursed and he pined away Achitophel the Oracle of wisdome and policy gave wise counsel but because he looked not up to God God did not determine to blesse it but as the text saith defeated it and made the Counsel of Hushai to be taken and his rejected and we see what became of him afterward he seeing his counsel was not followed sadled his asse went and set his house in order and hanged himself And so the wisdome of the Egyptian Counsellors became foolish infatuavit cos God besotted them the Lord made them give foolish counsel Some put their trust in chariots and some in horses but we will remember the Name of the Lord our God they have stumbled and fallen but we are risen and stand upright Now as these ordinary means of clothing food Physick and wisdom are many times accursed so God to shew how little he dependeth on secondary means doth effect his purpose somtimes without means and somtimes contrary to means As in the fall of the walls of Jericho upon the blast of Rammes horns So Gideon encouraged by the exposition of a dreame of a barly loofe with three-hundred men with trumpets and empty pitchers in their hands and lamps within them put all the Midianits to flight and to run upon themselves As also the great host of the Syrians were put to flight none pursuing them but a panick terrour came suddenly uppon them and a certain imagination that they heard the noise of Chariots horses and a great army of the Hittites and Egyptians that came to aid the Isralites 1. Seeing then that God gives the means when he will and blesseth them when he will it is our parts to trust in him whether we have the meanes or no and to be affected as King David was though he were in the midst of ten thousand men armed and compassed round with them on every side yet he would not be afraid but as it is in the end of the next Psalm would lay him down and sleep trusting in Gods protection and as Moses counselled the children of Israel when the Egyptians pursued them with their chariots though their enemies were behinde them and the red sea before them and no way seen whereby to escape yet to stand still and put their trust in the Lord and they should see the power of the Lord which they accordingly found So the Apostle describing a true pattern of faith sets before us that of Abraham who had neither means in himself or his wife whereby to beleeve Gods promise of a Son she being barren by nature and having a dead womb and he a hundred years old past child getting by course of nature yet he staggered not but was strong in faith being fully perswaded that he which had promised was able to performe and therefore received the blessing in the birth of Isaac 2. And as we are thus to trust in God though we see no means so must we be far from the course of the wicked who if God once fail them do not onely despair of his help but cast him off and betake themselves to his enemy and to unlawful means and such are they that despairing of Gods assistance in their health leave him and the lawful means and flee to Sorcerers a thing utterly condemned by the Prophet We see that Saul lost both the favour of God and his kingdom for conversing with a familiar spirit 3. Besides there is a woe denounced against another sort of people that as the prophet speakes seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord that thinke by their policy and deep wisdom they can deceive God as they do men 4. There are others that take advantage of other mens weaknes and think that that which they get by over reaching others in bargains is their own but the Apostle tells such that God is an avenger of them 5. Another unlawful means is when we see other means failus and that a good man stands in our way then we do as those against Ieremy let us have devises against him and percutiamus cum lingua nostra let us smite him with our tongue that is let us raise slanders against him that none may credit his words In this case God will give eare to the prayer that Ieremy in the subsequent verses made against such men 6. There is yet another sort of people that are not in the right way and that is of those which are married In respect of themselves these men are confident but when 〈◊〉 comes to semen nosturm our seed there their confidence falls off and it is to be feared that many that might have been saved in the estate of single life have fallen from God and hazarded their own salvation by mistrusting that God will not provide for their children wheras God saith Ero deus tuns et seminis tui I will be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee In this point Saint Ambrose saith Plausibilis excusatio est liberis sed dic mihi 〈◊〉 homo an unquam a Deo 〈◊〉 ut pater fieres an etiam id petiisti da liberos ut deum amittam da liberos ut peccem propterliberos it is a fair excuse for children but tell me o man didst thou ever pray to God thou mightest be a father or didst thou make thy petition thus give me children that I may lose God give children that I may sinne for them I am sure saith he that you never said so and yet this is the common practise Gehazi said not to Naaman that his 〈◊〉 needed the Talent and two changes of rayment but that there were two children of the Prophets c. and they needed them And Abraham himself hath his blemish in this kinde in that he was so careful for Ismael Oh that Ismael might live in thy sight Therefore as we are to trust in God and his means for our selves so are we to rely upon his providence for our children also 5. The fift rule of our exposition directs to speak of the signes of faith it is not enough that a man can say Credo in deum I beleeve in God we must have more particular signes of it For as the Apostle saith all men have not faith therefore that of Saint Peter must be added the trial of faith is much more precious then gold 1. The first signe therefore of faith is according to Saint Chrysostome when a man is not ingeniosus ad causas ready to pick quarrels and to make excuses for not beleeving How many causes might Abraham have found out not to beleeve and that it was impossible for him to have had a son yet we see that true faith overcame all difficulties so that he neither excepted against the promise in respect of Saras barrennesse or his own weaknesse but

Credidit he beleeved But among all the rest there was one exception which might have tried one that had been very faithful and that was the long time he had been without a childe before and in his younger dayes and therefore there was little hope for him in his old age And therefore he might have concluded with them in the Prophet It is in vain to serve God what profit is it to trust in him I will beleeve no longer But this is against that rule of Esay Qui crediderit ne festinet hast and impatiency are no fit companions of faith he that will see the event in hast his faith is in vain Therefore our faith must not waver if we see not the fruit of it speedily but we must wrestle as Jacob did with the Angel and not let God go till we get a blessing from him as was said before We see that the woman af Canaan weake by sex and an alien from the promise though she received three repulses from our Saviour yet by not making hast she confirmed her faith to be true and received the reward of a true faith by obtaining what she desired 2. The second signe is our freedom from worldly cares and thoughts the ground of this is taken out of the great Scripture of faith when we run not a madding after worldly preferment the scraping together of wealth and seeking to have a portion in this life is an argument that we are born citizens of this world not as the Saints and Godly men that shewed themselves pilgrims in this world and that they sought another country a heavenly country and so God was not ashamed to be called their God But a more particular and special example is that there of Moses who being in great possibility to be a Prince for he should have been the onely son to Pharaohs daughter yet we see his coldnes to the world and to the preferment thereof was such that he waved it and chose rather to suffer affliction with his brethren the people of God then to enjoy the pleasures of sinne for a time for so he accounted the preferment of the world 3. The third signe is taken out of the 11. to the Hebrews from the definition of faith which is there called Hypostasis or a substance and thereupon the faithfull are called Hypostatici now we know that a thing which hath substance is able to receive a great waight without shrinking or crushing And such are the Saints of God David was hypostaticus he would not fear though the earth be moved and the hills caried into the midst of the sea though the waters thereof rage and swell and though the mountains shake at the tempest of the same yet the Lord of hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge as he concludeth that psalm And in another psalm he sheweth the true 〈◊〉 of a true beleever he shall never be moved he will not be afraid and his heart is stablished But the condition of him that wanteth faith is otherwise If there come but a gale of wind Saint Peter sinks when holy Job on the other side in the fullnesse of this substance of faith can say Etiamsi occiderit tamen sperabo in illum Though he kill me yet I will put my trust in him Though God should punish him in his wrath yet he would not leave his hold 4. The fourth signe of a true faith is to establish the Law as the Apostle speaks and it is a plain signe and demonstration of an ill faith to make void the Law it must be a working faith if not it is but like putridum 〈◊〉 a body without the spirit dead for as Saint Paul saith with the heart a man beleeveth unto righteousnesse The heart must kindle it from the heart saith the wiseman come the issues and springs of life and all the actions and operations of a man and if no action there can be no true faith If the heart be once possessed with this belief then as the Apostle speaketh I beleeved therefore have I spoken then it will come into the tongue and not onely so but as the Psalmist All our bones will speak every member will make profession of it for as it is said before according to the Physicians rule Judicium a corde fit per brachium the heart makes the pulse beat and that not by little and little or in a long time but presently and so is faith when it is in the heart it hath its effects presently eadem hora sanatus he that beleeved was healed the same hour The prophet saith who hath heard such a thing who hath seen such things shall the earth be made to bring forth in a day or shall a nation be born at once for assoon as Zion travelled she brought forth her children The Prophet wonders at it yet it is a signe of true faith Therefore what is their faith that is not seen till they die 〈◊〉 then they must trust in God whether they will or no all their life they will not at their death ther 's no remedy But it is not said that the just shall die but live by his faith And I shall not pray with Balaam let my soul die the death of the righteous but let my soule live the life of the righteous 6. The sixth rule for exposition teaches us that we 〈◊〉 seek to strengthen the faith of others Saint Paul though strong in faith yet desires to be strengthened and 〈◊〉 by the faith of the Romans And the contrary which is seducing others is not onely forbidden but a punishment is also laid upon seducers As we may see in Deut. where we are commanded not to consent to such and not onely so but to be the first actors in his punishment And thus if we labour to grow in faith our selves and to confirm others then as Saint Peter saith we shall receive the end of our faith even the salvation of our souls and have this answer Vade secundum fidem tibi erit as thou hast beleeved so be it done unto thee This will be Gods answer to us and merces fidei est visio dei the reward of faith is the vision of God for in in rebus supra naturam idem est habere videre in supernatural things its all one to have and to see We shall enjoy it Credendo quod non vidimus videbimus quod credimus by beleeving that we have not seen we shall see that we have beleeved And thus much for the duties of the minde Now for the duties of the heart CHAP. VIII The third inward vertue is fear of God Addition 11. of the seat of faith Reasons why God should be feared Of 〈◊〉 and seruile feare how fear and love may stand ' together The sinns 〈◊〉 1. want of fear 2. worldly fear