Selected quad for the lemma: friend_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A40632
|
A treatise of faith and repentance by Francis Fuller ...
|
Fuller, Francis, 1637?-1701.
|
1685
(1685)
|
Wing F2386; ESTC R7233
|
53,021
|
156
|
A TREATISE OF FAITH AND REPENTANCE By Francis Fuller M. A. Heb. 11. 6. Without Faith it is impossible to please God c. Luke 28. 47. And that Repentance and Remission of Sins should be preached in his Name among all Nations c. LONDON Printed by J. D. and are to be sold by Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lion in St. Paul's Church-Yard And by Obed Smith Bookseller in Daventry in Northamptonshire 1685. TO THE Much Honoured Truly Vertuous and Religious Mrs MARY GOSLET At Marsfield in the County of Glocester MADAM FAITH and REPENTANCE are the necessary Conditions required on our part in order unto Salvation Most hope for Salvation but few that expect the benefit of the Covenant will come up to the Terms of it Some look upon Repentance as needless and think to steal out of Sin and spare the charges of it most are remiss in it Many presume they believe but few understand the Nature of Faith and fewer live the Life of it It is your Honour and will be your Happiness for ever that you live as understanding the Nature and believing the Necessity of both Indeed the Ancient and Honourable Family from which you descend by your Father and the Noble Family by your Mother give you a high Place in the Civil Body but that more Ancient and Noble Family in Heaven the General-Assembly and Church of the First-Born written there to which by so living you are allied gives you a higher Place in the Mystical Your sincere Love to Religion and unshaken Stedfastness in it give you an esteem among Wisdom's Children the Friends of Religion will be your Honour while you live and your Comfort when you die It will perfume your Dust make you live when dead and give you a possession of that never-fading Honour that God by his Promise has entail'd on all those that thus honour him I am sensible how little You are pleas'd that I tell You or the World this But since it is so much your due I should be unjust if I did not and no less should I forget those many ways by which You have oblig'd me to your Service As a present and publick tho not as a sufficient Testimony of my Gratitude this is now offered to you And that the Blessings of Heaven and Earth may descend upon the Honoured Esquire and You and that as ye are rich in this World ye may be rich in Faith that will entitle ye to a better shall be the sincere and daily desire of Your most obliged and humble Servant F. FVLLER TO THE Reader SOLOMON sayes There is no new thing under the Sun But there may be a new Discovery of old Truths or away found out to make old Truths new And if that Maxim be true they are then so when they beget new Meditation new Application and new Conversation And that this may prove so by working those things in you is the desire of Your Friend F. F. ERRATA PAge 12. line 12. for Composition read Compositum P. 16. l. 23 24. r. Your Destruction is of your selves The help of Salvation is from God P. 31. l. 1. f. appointed r. promised P. 69. in the Treatise of Self-denial line 8. r. not that we must not do them c. P. 82. l. 14. f. we r. he P. 88. l. 13. f. the r. you P. 131. l. 5. f. when he r. who These the Author hath taken notice of the rest the Reader is entreated to correct or pardon the Author having not seen all the Sheets he being remote from the Press ADVERTISEMENTS LAtely published a Second Volume of Sermons preached by the late Reverend and Learned Thomas Manton D. D. in two Parts The first containing 27 Sermons on the 25th Chapter of St. Matthew 45 on the 17th Chapter of St. John And 24 on the 6th Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans The second part containing 45 Sermons on the 8th Chapter of the Epistle to the Romans And 40 on the 5th Chapter of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians With Alphabetical Tables to each Chapter of the principal Matters contained therein A Practical Exposition of the Lord's Prayer by the same Author Both sold by Jonathan Robinson at the Golden-Lion in St. Paul's Church-yard A TREATISE OF FAITH FAITH is sometimes taken for the Doctrine and sometimes for the Grace of Faith viz. the Things to be believed and the Grace by which we believe 1. The Doctrine of Faith The Faith that we must first try Fides quae creditur quam credimus 1 Tim. 6. 2. 1 John 4. 1. 1 Thess 5. 21. viz. by the Infallible Rule the Word of Faith then cordially embrace sincerely obey zealously contend for Zech. 8. 9. Acts 6. 7. Jude 3. Phil. 1. 27 2 Tim. 4. 7. Heb. 10. 23. 1 Cor. 16. 13. Gal. 6. 10. faithfully keep constantly hold fast the profession of and continue in standing fast in it by standing fast to it They that are of the Houshold of Faith must be Defenders of the Faith 2. The Grace of Faith Considered both as to the habit and Fides quâ creditur quâ credimus Eph. 3. 12 17. Gal. 2. 10. Rom 11. 20. 2 Cor. 1. 24. 5. 7. Heb. 11. 6. Ephes 2. 8. Rom. 3. 28. Acts 26. 18. exercise of it the Faith by which we believe by which Christ dwells in us and we in him by which we have access to God and communion with him by which we live stand and walk and without which we can neither please God in this World nor be sav'd in the World to come This Faith stands fast in all true 1 Pet. 1. 5. Believers God keeps that and that keeps them 1. Faith is necessary in order unto our Justification There was never but two ways to Life viz. That of the Old Covenant and this of the New that by Works and this by Faith and both as the Condition not as the Cause of Life By the first viz. by the Deeds of Rom. 8. 3. the Law by reason of its weakness through the Flesh we cannot have Life for we must keep the Law before we can have Life from it and satisfy it before we can be justified by it neither of which are we able to do for the Obedience must be perfect and the Satisfaction infinite By the second viz. By Faith we may have Life not by Works without Faith nor by Faith without Works not by Works lest any should boast but by Faith that God may be glorified by Faith that it may be by Grace and by Grace that it may be Ephes 1. 4. Gal. 4. 4. of Glory to God who chose Christ before Time and in the fulness of Time sent him into the World with full Authority and Ability to justify the Ungodly viz. both Jew and Gentile that were under Sin and to give Life to them that as dead in Sin needed Life and could not give Life to themselves Christ came not of himself on this Errand but as
which many deny yet that Parable affords no ground of Presumption Theologia parabolica non est argumentativa in that they stood idle for want of Work not for a want of a Will to work they were not call'd at the third or sixth Hour and sTaid till the eleventh but came as soon as they were call'd and went to labour as soon as they were hired They come early that come when they are call'd come when they can they do a thing early that do it when they are bid to do it and they repent early that repent as soon as they have the means of Repentance though it be late before they have them This rather condemns than justifies those that have long enjoy'd the Means of Repentance and reject them that have had many Calls and yet are deaf to them and refuse to labour when they are not only hired but redeem'd and dearly bought for it and shews the folly of all that defer their Repentance to the eleventh Hour who cannot be sure they shall live to the third or sixth or that if they do they shall be call'd to it have Ears open to listen to the Call or a Will and a Power to come if they are It is the highest Wisdom to do God's Work in God's Time Others conclude a Reason for Presumption from the Example of the Thief on the Cross who liv'd a Thief but died a Saint and ascended from a Cross to a Crown but absurdly if The Repentance it self be all duly consider'd The Time when The Person repenting The Repentance was Eminent The Time was Extraordinary The Person but One and Alone 1. The Repentance was Signal and Eminent as appears 1. In the smallness of the means used compar'd with what they have that live under the constant preaching of the Gospel 2. In the speediness of the Work It is very probable he never heard of Christ nor Religion before for he with his fellow Thief at first rail'd at Christ the Thieves also cast the same in Mat. 27. 44. his teeth so that he believ'd in Christ as soon as he knew him and repented as soon as he was call'd to it 3. In the wonderful Effects of Luke 23. 40. it as many and as great as that condition was capable of For He rebuked his Fellow Thief and Companion in Sin and Suffering Dost not thou fear God who art in the same condemnation He own'd his own Guilt became his Luk. â—3 40 〈◊〉 42. own Judg condemn'd himself made good the Evidence justified and approv'd the Sentence past against him we are justly condemn'd I as well as you and receive the Reward of our Deeds he called Christ Lord and this when suffering as a Slave he 〈◊〉 4. Insamâ—â—â—gnum servile supplicium own'd him as God for he pray'd to him Remember me and this when the Scribes and Pharisees mocked at his Prayers Let us see if Elias will come and save him he believ'd in him for Salvation and this when the Scribes and Pharisees said he could not save himself He saved others he cannot save himself he honoured him as the King of Heaven Remember me when thou comest into thy Kingdom he proclaimed his innocency This Man hath done In medio latronum tanquam dux latrenum immanissimus done nothing amiss and this when he was suffering the death of a Malefactor numbred among Transgressors and crucified between them as if he was the chief of them Since then none can imagine that Christ will be so near to them when dying as he was to this Thief on the Cross nor that they shall ever do such a publick Act of Honour for him as he did in owning him so openly when the Jews despised him and his own Disciples forsook him nor can any way be assur'd that their Repentance at last shall be like his which was quick and operative though not long-liv'd nor be so honour'd by Christ as his Repentance was For it was crown'd with assurance of Heaven ratified and confirmed by Oath Verily I say unto you To day thou shalt be with me in Paradise none should think on the lateness of his Repentance to presume or defer theirs but by its great and glorious Effects be stirred up to a speedy and daily exercise of it It is wisdom to do that betimes that must needs be done can never be too soon but may be too late 2. The Time was Extraordinary Not only in that then his Fellow Thief rail'd on him they that passed by revil'd him the Priests Scribes Elders and People that stood beholding deriding him the Souldiers mocked him and almost all his Friends forsook him of his Disciples but Mat. 27. 39 40. Luke 23. 35 36 37. Mâ—â— 23. 39 41. 〈◊〉 19. 2â— 26. one that we read of and but four of the Women stood by his Cross out of Love and religious Observation all or any of which might have prov'd a hindrance to it But in that it was a time when the greatest Act of Mercy that ever was shewn to the world appear'd viz. Christ God-Man dying upon the Cross to save the World it was no ordinary Time nor no ordinary Mercy they therefore that presume upon it may as well expect to see the like occasion and instance of Mercy viz. Christ again or another Christ to be crucified as to think it will succeed well to them because it did so to him To which this also may be added viz. That this Repentance of the Thief is reckon'd among the Wonders and Miracles that were then wrought viz. the rending of the Vail of the Mat 17. 5â— 52 53. Lâ—â— 23. 44 45 Temple the rising of the Dead the rending of the Rocks and darkning of the Sun and well it may for it was a Miracle it self without any visible means to work it a miraculous Mercy wrought to set forth the Glory of Christ's Divinity and the Riches of Free Grace and therefore can be no sure Ground of Hope to any in an ordinary way for none can with any more Reason dispute From a Miracle against Heaven than from a Monster against Nature 3. The Person was but One and Alone It is an Example without a Promise there is a Promise of Mercy to all upon true Repentance though late but no Promise of Repentance to any that delay it and it is an Example without a Precedent too one single Instance without a second Now from an extraordinary to draw an ordinary Direction or from one Particular to conclude a General is as irrational as to think we may make an Ass speak because once Balaam's did that we may throw our selves into the Sea and not be drown'd walk in the Fire and not be burnt because some that did were not that every time 1 King 17. 46. we are hungry we shall be fed immediatly from Heaven because Elijah was that we shall be translated and not die because Enoch was wrapt up into the third Heavens