Selected quad for the lemma: faith_n
Text snippets containing the quad
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A30272
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Characters of a godly man both as more and less grown in grace / by Daniel Burgess.
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Burgess, Daniel, 1645-1713.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing B5697; ESTC R23829
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60,242
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145
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fourth Season is when a Soul is called to undertake some extraordinary Service for God Before Abraham was called to the extremity of Self-denial in offering up his Isaac he was certified that God wou'd be his exceeding great reward Before Steven was stoned he saw the Heavens opened and his Advocate standing at God's right hand Before our Saviour himself was Crucified he was Transfigured He did shine in glory before he was clothed with shame The fifth Season is when a Soul hath done some eminent service and extraordinarily held its integrity After that Abraham had in his admirably prompt intention offered up his Son he received that transcendent testimony Now I know that thou fearest God And after that Job had made his Patience to be heard of though not without sore fits of Impatience immixed the Lord accepted the face of Job gave him twice as much as before and proclaimed it that none of his Friends had spoken the thing that was right like unto Job Job 42. The sixth Season is when the Soul is taking leave of the Body Then when Flesh and Heart faileth the God of all consolations oft pleaseth to be most sensibly the Strength and the Portion and the Joy of his Children Making them then most sure that they have a building of God an house made without hands Eternal in the Heavens when the earthly House of their Tabernacle is dissolving Thus doth he who is Master of his own Consolations and may and doth dispose of his own as he pleaseth both for the Measure and the Season thus doth he oftentimes dispose of them And hereof the gracious Man is no negligent observer Let it still be remembred that God will use a liberty and arbitrarily dispense the sweet Assurance we speak of And it is not for us to prescribe to him either Times or Means in which he shall necessarily give it to us But as it hath been said of special Seasons so it must be affirmed of these following Duties ordinarily God doth in them give the sense of his Love and the moderate Assurance of his Eternal Good-will unto Believers I would make no such Comparisons between Duties as should be lessening of the worth and weight of any But I may be allow'd to say thus much I suppose Look as some Sins do above ordinary so grieve the holy Spirit that he refuseth to comfort such as do commit them so do some Duties above ordinary please and delight Him insomuch that he useth not to let it be very long before he doth pacifie and comfort the Believers who do duly perform them And of this sort are the Duties which I shall propose First The religious use of our Gospel Sacraments Unto the scarcity whereof I do very much impute the notorious scarcity of Assurance in these our days In which we have many that never in their lives spake to this purpose unto themselves Come I perceive that without some Assurance my Religion cannot be my Delight And it horribly reproacheth God to be served without greatest Delight And men will unavoidably be prejudiced against all inward and spiritual service of him by the sight of my sad and drooping life My Children and Servants and Neighbours will be hardned in Irreligion while they see my Religion to be for the present not at all Joyous but Grievous I have learned that Baptism and the Lord's Supper were ordained for the very purpose to BEGET and PROMOTE assurance of God's grace Wherefore by the help of his grace this day and hour I will BEGIN and I will PERSEVERE in the use of them for this blessed benefit Beloved Readers stop here and before you read on take to task your selves The discreet and gracious Man knows the Holy Ghost is the Sealer and Comforter of God's Children But he himself in his Scriptures hath named Sacraments by the name of Seals Rom. 4.11 And testified that Abraham received his Old Testament Baptism for a greater ground of Assurance of the righteousness he had by Faith As also that the Old Testament Lord's Supper was for the Church's further Assurance that the destroying Angel should not smite them And accordingly we see that the New Testament Circumcision when duly considered and improved is blessed to ensure believing Souls of the divine Promises The Baptized Eunuch found it so and went his way rejoycing Act. 8.39 And the New Testament Passover is sweetly blessed to remove fear of the destroying Angel It appears so Act. 2.46 For continuing in breaking of holy Bread the Primitive Christians eat their common meat with gladness of heart praising God Not to repeat all that is foresaid this remember In the WORD God woes us but by his Minister in the SACRAMENTS he woes us also by his Son 's very Picture In the WORD he speaks in General He that believes shall be saved in the SACRAMENTS he is more particular Son or Daughter be of good chear thy sins are forgiven thee And in the use of these Sacraments it is that he useth so to speak not in the carnal spiritless use of them but in that use which is declared in our foregoing Mark. An use in the neglect whereof I think it not safe to Pray for Assurance but full as wicked as it wou'd be to Pray that Faith may come in the resolved neglect of Hearing the Word In short who knoweth not many Christians that have come to the study and practical improvement of the Sacraments with a Hell of Fears in their Souls and have e're long received a Heaven of Joys in the room of those banished Fears For the most part gracious Souls be wiser but some Babes will object and do so that it is a sin for them to come to the Lord's Table until they have Assurance And a great deal of pains it costeth to teach some of them these plain Truths 1. The Faith that qualifies for the Lord's Supper is not higher than that of Acceptation of Christ on the Gospel-terms and Reliance upon God's truth for making it good When a Soul hath this he is spiritually Alive and as soon as he is so he may and he ought to feed on this spiritual food for strength and growth 2. It is not indispensably necessary to ones right unto the Lord's Table that he should have a certain or assured Knowledge that this Faith it self in him be true and that he is in Christ It is enough if God's Word may be believed if his heart condemn him not though it cannot fully absolve him and rid him of his scruples 1 Joh. 3.20 True he ought to Examine himself for how else should a man Condemn or Justifie himself But if upon Examination an enlightned heart finds it self weary of sin Desirous to be rid of it in Christ's own Method Pleased that Christ promiseth rest and relief unto such burthened Souls as his and Resolved to wait in the use of all means to have that promise made good unto him what then Truly these things being so he ought to
Ames in Sciagraph Cateches It is his perpetual Soliloquy How shall I that am dead to sin that am Baptized and have solemnly Vowed Death unto all Sin how shall I live any longer therein I that am in the import and signification of my Baptism Risen with Christ what shall become of me if I do not seek the things that are above If unbaptized Infidels be damned without mercy of how much sorer punishment shall I be thought worthy if I Forget though I do not verbally Renounce my Baptism If I become blind see not far off and FORGET that I was washed from my old sins If I bear my holy Baptism but as an empty Formality If I use it not as daily Food for the strength of my Faith and as my ordinary Physick for its Health If under Temptations I do not advance the Considerations of it for gaining Victory over them and if at other times I do not advance the same for keeping my Conquest Better may a Servant forget that he was Hired a Souldier that he was Listed a Wife that she was Married than I forget that I was Baptized Their Folly would be less their Sin would be less their Loss and Shame incomparably less And the rather because I consider my Baptism was Infant-Baptism it self Other Baptism is like the Tower of David builded for an Armory wherein there hang a thousand Bucklers and Shields against our spiritual Adversaries But of Infant-Baptism it must be said There is none like that None like it for numerous and powerful enforcements unto Faith and Obedience Being Baptized in my Infancy upon the account of God's Covenant with my Ancestors I am thereby given to see that Sin is a Herod that sought my life from the very womb That it was In me before ever it proceeded actually From me That it is an earlier Enemy of mine than they dream of who disown Original Sin For what need of the holy Washing if I was not then it self Unclean And being that I was surely so methinks I am the more engaged to contrive and endeavour the death of so early as well as deadly Foe as my Sin is Being in Infancy Baptized so early entred into league with God against it and encouraged extremely unto holiness and righteousness the date of my Obligation addeth weight unto it I cannot but think that of all Men living the so early bound had need exquisitely and entirely to obey Being in Infancy Baptized I am thereby certified God is not only my God but he was the God of my Fathers before me And I cannot but much the more promptly trust in him as it 's Usual with all the World to trust the most readily of any Men their own Friends and their Father 's before them For this also have I the Example of God's Saints on Scripture-Record who often strengthened their Faith on their Father's Covenant Exod. 32.13 c. Yea good warrant from God I have being he tells me he shews mercy to thousands of them that love him and Children are beloved for their Father's sake Rom. 11.28 Being baptized in Infancy I can and shall often plead the Covenant therein sealed with special Advantage The Object of my Faith is not only God in Covenant but God in Covenant with the Seal of Baptism administred to strengthen that my Faith And this whenever administred is a strong Plea But as all the World will acknowledge Experience and long Acquaintance do make a mighty inducement to Trust and Confidence in any one that we Plead with Now this Inducement I have by the means aforesaid And thus do I humbly Plead with my God both for Spirituals and for Temporals Lord when I could only Want and could not Know Desire or Ask for the good things that I wanted whether Initial Graces or After-supplies of Grace whether Necessaries or Convenient Comforts of this Life then most freely of Grace visibly and without question free thou didst Seal a Promise of all of them unto me Forbid the unbelief in my heart I meekly beseech thee And let me not doubt but thou wilt faithfully bestow them all on me now that I am daily in thy dear Son's Name an earnest Supplicant for them Now that of thy own Grace whereof thou art as constantly the Rewarder as the Author I ask seek knock and pray without ceasing O what will the People say the People of the Congregation that saw thee solemnly seal Promise of all unto me when I was carried in Arms if they should see that sealed Promise fail me now What will the Minister be tempted to say he who in Christ's Name and Place did then solemnize the Covenant betwixt thee and my soul What will he say should he see me now at these years coming to thee and yet cast out and cast off by thee O be it far from me to distrust thee and especially then to distrust thee when I consider 1 that thou art my God in sealed Covenant and 2 that thou art my God in sealed Covenant from my Mother's belly By thy Grace assisting I will never forget or less than Practically remember my Infant-Baptism for therewith thou hast quickned me And therewith I trust thou wilt always quicken me When of old thou didst promise Life to Hezekiah his query was What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me But I am past that doubt Thou hast promised me Life and all good things in Christ Jesus and holy Baptism is the Sign and Witness between Thee and Me. The sign and seal of the Righteousness which is by Faith even of all the Grace promised to me in Christ Amen and Amen! It must be added the gracious Man is one that doth not use to forget that he is a creature Weak and but Imperfectly fanctified and during his abode in this World always miserably Tempted And therefore one that had need to make use of all the means of grace by God provided To have a due respect unto ALL the Covenant Word of God and unto BOTH of the Sacraments or Seals thereof He forgets not that the Word of God is a Covenant word and that the Covenant of God is a signed sealed Covenant and that the signed sealed Covenant of God for our more abundant Instruction and Consolation hath two distinct Seals ordained for it Baptism the first for our Initiation the Lord's Supper the other for our Confirmation Baptism once to be administred for our one Entrance into Covenant the Lord's Supper often to be administred I think always on Lords-Days for our Continuance in Covenant for our Perseverance and Progress in grace Baptism in which God constructively saith Come thou and obey the Gospel as thus Encouraged and Engaged by the Sign and Seal on my part and by the Bond and Badge on thy own part And the Lord's Supper in which God saith Forasmuch as thou hast Vnderstood and Consented unto and Professed thy consent unto the Covenant sealed between me and thee in Baptism Come thou and