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	righteousness_n	seal_n	9,017	5	9.6941	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03758	A Christian enchiridion wherein are briefly handled these three points following; 1. That aboue all things in the world, man should bee most carefull of his saluation. 2. That in this life a man bee assured of his saluation. 3. The way how, or meanes whereby a man may come to bee assured of his saluation. By Thomas Hovves, preacher of the word at Kings-Linne in Norfolke.	Howes, Thomas, preacher at King's Lynn.	1615 (1615)	STC 13877; ESTC S116219	94,375	247

to the voice of Christ deliuered by the minister out of the Gospel Seeing then the spirit of God doth witnesse by the word vnto vs our adoption and saluation wee may learne from hence that it is a work of a man out of Christ not to beleeue and assent vnto the word but rather to stand out in reasoning against the euidence of it For so soone as a man is become the sheepe of Christ he cannot but presently heare his voiyce Ioh. 10.27 and hence Christ himselfe prooueth the carping Pharisies not to be of God because they could not abide to here his sayings Ioh. 8.43 and who be they to whom the Gospel is hid euen they that perish 2. Cor. 4.3 If wee would haue a more euident marke to know them by it is added that they bee such as the eies of whose minds the God of the world hath blinded wherein is implied a wilfull ioyning with Sathan to blind themselues further by their malice then they were by corrupted nature And if we would looke to our congregations we shall finde many such of whō we may pronounce that which Steuen did of the Iewes that they were resisters of the holy Ghost Act. 7.51 For whose words be these to the Almightie Iob 21.14 Depart from vs wee will not the knowledge of thy wayes and who is the Almightie that we should serue him For how many of vs that heare the word receiue the Sacraments and goe for Christians resolue yet not to leaue our sinnes till they leaue vs nay the obstinate purpose of our hearts is to practise them stil and what is this els but with the seruants in the parable Luk. 19.14 to send word into a farre countrie after the king that we will not haue him to rule ouer vs but our owne lusts shall still prescribe lawes vnto vs Againe when wee call the people as God did his Ier. 6.16 to walke in the old way that they may finde rest to their soules they answer vs with them we will not walke in that way the sound of the thing if not of the voyce speaketh for we call from swearing lying couetousnes which is idolatrie from Sabboth-breaking intemperance drinkings vncleanenesse but mens hearts speake by their liues we will sweare we will drinke to drunkennesse the waies of God are too straight and vnequall a man had as good be in prison as in these bonds By these instances wee may see as in a glasse that many are tainted amongst vs with this fearefull sinne of rising vp and reasoning against that light which shineth out in the word Secondly the Sacraments The second meanes whereby the spirit giueth vs assurance of our saluation is in the frequent vse of the sacraments which are added to the couenant of grace as seales not to confirme Gods promises in themselues which are so vndoubtedly true that they need no confirmation but to strengthen our faith in this assurance that they belong particularly vnto vs. For whereas in the word the promises of life and saluation are generally propounded to all beleeuers in the vse of the Sacraments they are particularly applied to euery worthy receiuer to the end that doubting being remoued they may be certainely assured that all the promises of the Gospel doe belong particularly to themselues To this end the Sacrament of circumcision is called the seale of the righteousnes of faith Rom. 4.11 because thereby as by a seale Abraham was confirmed in the truth of Gods promises and assured that the righteousnes of faith that is the righteousnes of Christ did belong vnto him And answerable to this Sacrament is Baptisme wherein Christ and all the gratious promises of life and saluation made in him are particularly applied to the party baptized Gal. 3.27 all that are baptised into Christ haue put on Christ The Apostle here compareth Christ to a garment which by the hand of faith is put on by euery particular beleeuer So in the administration of the Lords supper the bread and wine is particularly deliuered vnto all the communicants to signifie vnto them that euery one who stretcheth forth the hand of faith doth receiue Christ and all his benefits whereby his soule is nourished vnto euerlasting life Whosoeuer therefore hath faith he may be assured that he receiueth Christ he may be assured of his election and saluation Ioh. 1.12 for to as many as receiued him he giueth power to be the sonnes of God And who are these euen those that beleeue in his name Ioh. 6.54 and whosoeuer eats his flesh and drinks his blood hath eternall life Now if we would know how we feed vpon him it is by the mouth of faith Ioh. 6.47 The spirit of God properly as the efficient cause doth seale Eph. 4.30 because it doth confirme and stablish in our hearts the assurance of euerlasting life and saluation by his testimony but it doth it by the ministery of the word and sacraments so that in one blessing of God we may consider three things 1. that by his word God teacheth vs 2. by his sacraments be confirmeth vs 3. by the holy Ghost he illuminateth our minds that the word and sacraments may obtaine their proper end and vse When God giues any blessing to man it is to be receiued by man as God giueth it now God giueth Christ or at the least offreth him not generally to mankind but to the seuerall and particular members of the church In the Lords supper as in euery sacrament there is a relation or analogie betweene the outward signes and the thing signified The action of the Minister giuing the bread and wine representing Gods action in giuing Christ with his benefits to the particular communicants Againe the action of receiuing the bread and the wine seuerally representeth another spirituall action of the beleeuing heart which applieth Christ vnto it selfe for the pardon of sin and life euerlasting So then thus speaketh the spirit to the soule as sure as the water doth wash away the filth of thy body so doth the blood of Christ sprinkled vpon thy soule by the hand of faith and by the holy Ghost wash thee from all thy sinnes Ioh. 1.7 And as the bread and wine receiued into into thy body becommeth wholly thine so thy beleeuing soule receiueth withall Iesus Christ with his death and righteousnes to the sealing vp of thy euerlasting saluation For 1. Cor. 1.30 Christ is made of God vnto vs wisedome righteousnes c. 2. Cor. 5.21 aad he was made sinne that knew no sinne that we should be made the righteousnes of God in him And thus we haue heard the testimony of the spirit in the vse of the sacraments Thirdly the fruits of the spirit A third meanes wherby we may be assured that Gods spirit witnesseth vnto vs our election and saluation are the fruits and effects of the spirit for the effects argue the cause as the cause the effects and that not onely in natuaall things but also in those which are supernaturall and

childish things so when we were young in Christ then wee did vnderstand and discerne the testimonie of the spirit as children that is in great weaknesse A weake faith is when a man of an humble heart doth not yet feele the assurance of the forgiuenesse of his owne sinnes and yet he is perswaded they are pardonable desiring that they might be pardoned and therefore praieth to God that hee would pardon them and giue him strength to leaue them Now this faith is weake either when a man failes in the knowledge of the gospel Rom. 14.1 him that is weake in faith receiue vnto you c. here the Apostle calleth him weake in faith who is verie meanely endued with the knowledge of the Gospel who is not sufficiently taught and perswaded of Christian liberty as being ignorant that the ceremonies of the Law are abrogated by the comming of Christ of such weake knowledge speakes the Apostle Heb. 5.12 Or when he is weake in applying vnto himselfe the sweet promises of grace and saluation we may resolue our selues that the true child of God may haue an hungring desire in his heart after reconciliation with God in Christ for all his sinnes with care to keepe a good conscience and yet be weake sometimes in the apprehension of Gods mercie and the assurance of the remission of his owne sinnes Dauid hauing a long time continued in his two great sinnes 2. Sam. 12.7 was admonished thereof by Nathan and beeing admonished he confessed his sinnes and straightway Nathan declared vnto him from the Lord the forgiuenesse of them yet afterward Dauid humbled himselfe Psal 51.1 c. prayeth most earnestly for the forgiuenesse of those and all other his sinnes euen as though it had not beene true that they were forgiuen already as Nathan told him The reason is because he was not so fully perswaded of pardon as his heart desired to be nor so resolued thereof as God requireth those to bee who depend vpon him and his promises by faith SECT III. Markes of saluation AS the corne which is cast into the ground is for a time couered and after springeth vp the blade and then the eare so faith beeing sowne in our hearts which first are broken vp with the threatnings of the lawe and apprehension of Gods anger due vnto our sinnes doth in the time of our humiliation and contrition lie couered so as we cannot discerne it till being more and more watred with the water of the spirit and the heauenly promises of the Gospel offred in the preaching thereof it sendeth forth an holy desire and earnest endeauour to serue God But it is otherwise when we are in Christ as in Abraham Rom. 4.20 and yet euen old men and that are of tall stature in the faith cannot alwaies heare the testimonie of the spirit and sensibly see the same in themselues for if they waxe proud grow secure and fal into sinne the graces and gifts of the spirit will decay in them their cleare vnderstanding their feeling their affection and all may be so darkened that in their owne iudgement and in the iudgement of others it may seeme that they haue quenched the spirit The Galatians were truly called and effectually regenerated by the spirit as may appeare by this that for the words sake they reuerenced the Apostle as the Angel of God Gal. 4.9 and in that the Apostle calleth them the sonnes of God by faith in Christ Cap. 3.26 yet they were snared with false doctrine and sell very dangerously to the choaking and quenching of the graces of Gods spirit in them The spirit was not taken from thē nay Christ did stil continue in their harts but yet for want of godly graces he was as it were without forme and fashion so that the Apostle did as it were trauell againe vntill Christ was fashioned a new in them Gal. 4.19 Dauid also after the committing of his sinne was brought into the like case therfore he praieth Psal 51.10 that God would create in him a cleane heart what was the spirit quite gone no for hee prayeth v. 11. that God would not take away his holy spirit But howe can these two stand together first to pray that God would create in him a cleane spirit ver 10. and then to pray ver 11. that the spirit might not be taken from him Surely the spirit it selfe was still in him amd therefore he prayeth that it may not be taken from him but the cleannesse of his heart was defiled with his vncleane thoughts and therefore hee praieth that they may be cleansed and renewed in him A mother that loueth her child most tenderly sets it downe in the floore lets it stand and fall and breake the face and all this while she hides her selfe not because her purpose is to leaue her child quite but that when she taketh it vp againe it may loue her the better and hold her more fast so dealeth the holy Ghost with men to make the see their own frailties he hides himselfe as it were in some corner of the heart for a season that they may more earnestly hunger after grace the want wherof they felt Sathan endeauoureth to quench the spirit by this if we wil not be worse he wil make vs to be no better nor to goe forward in religion but to stand at a stay so let the spirit of God in vs striue for the contrarie that he that is righteous may be more righteous Apoc 22.11 for we may not be worse then the ground which by the raine is made more fruitfull nor then the herbes which by the sun are made more flourishing To conclude then as it fareth with women with child so it happeneth to Gods children we know that a woman with childe feeleth no life nor motion of the child diuerse monthes together and after the time of her conception and after she hath felt it striue and mooue oftentimes there is an intermission wherein she feeleth not the motion thereof a good space together so the child of god after that by the word faith is begotten and conceiued in his heart feeles no life motion nor vndoubted signe of the spirit a long while that is of the pardon of his sinnes and of reconciliation vnto God and when afterward he hath a feeling of faith and other spirituall graces by their motions and fruits oft-times he is againe depriued of it either because he hath wounded his consciēce by falling into some known sin as Dauid did 2. Sam. 12. or for that the Lord will exercise his faith and manifest his power in his weaknesse Deut. 8.2 2. Cor. 12.9 Thirdly the spirit of God doth not onely giue testimonie and perswade men of their adoption but also confirmeth the same vnto them as Ephes 4.30 Cap. 1.13 2. Cor. 1.22 Cap. 5.5 These testimonies do minister vnto euery faithfull man no small consolation if they bee rightly waighed First the spirit is called a seale Ephes 1.13 Cap. 4.30 As writings which passe to and