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A36184
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The doctrine of faith, justification and assurance humbly endeavoured to be farther cleared towards the satisfaction and comfort of all free unbiassed spirits, with appendix for peace / by Robert Dixon, prebendary of Rochester.
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Dixon, Robert, d. 1688.
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1668
(1668)
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Wing D1747; ESTC R32761
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60,709
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121
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Passions and urge the Patient to Jealousies Railings Fightings which end in Wounds or Death And therefore Pittacus ordained a double punishment to such as were drunk and committed outrages during their drunkenness one for their drunkenness and another for the mischiefs done by them Drunkenness therefore is styled 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Divel that we invite to come unto us A Madness that we bring upon our selves Callicles in the Comedy did well convince Dinarchus when he prayed for Pardon saying Quod animi impos vini vitio fecerim Excuse me It was my Wine not I did this Non placet in mutum quicquid conferri quod loqui non potest Nam vinum si fabulari possit se defenderet Non vinum moderari sed vino solent Qui quidem probi sunt verùm Qui improbus est sive bibit sive idem caret Temeto Tamen ab ingenio est improbus That is I like not your answer That you should lay the fault upon the wine A dumb thing that cannot speak for its self for if it could it would defend its self well enough Blame not the Wine then for Wine does not govern a good man but a good man governs the Wine But he that is wicked is wicked from within whither he drinks or no. If you ask me concerning the Reasons Chap. 16. Extraordinary Visitations why the above mentioned Persons are so extraordinarily visited I answer I cannot tell for Reasons are best known to God himself and those most just though hid from us Certainly they are plagued not for their extraordinary Sins nor yet of their Parents but that God might shew his Glory and make his mighty Works to be seen and to humble us for our Preservation from such grievous miseries for our Deserts that we have To render us thankful for his free Grace and Love and to make us careful and fearful to offend least such or worse things come unto us And that we should not insult over their woe nor tread upon them that are down and add sorrow to their sorrow but rather fear and tremble at the mighty works of God and repent for fear we should all likewise perish Learn therefore to pitythose harmless distressed Creatures Chap. 17. Pity and Charity O pity them all you that are their friends All you that are Christians yea All that are men Shake not your heads and mock not as the Jews mocked Christ upon the Cross Say not in the Pride and Error of your minds doubtless these Persons were sinners more then ordinary or else God would never have so extraordinarily afflicted them Judge not that ye be not judged Be not like unto Jobs friends that because God had deprived him of all worldly comforts therefore they charged him to be an Hypocrite These were miserable Comforters Physitians of no value Remember your Saviours words Think not that those whose bloud Pilate had mingled with their Sacrifices or those on whom the Tower of Siloam fell were sinners above all others that dwelt in Jerusalem because they suffered such things I tell you nay but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish Rejoyce not against me O mine enemy for though I do fall yet I shall rise again They that go forth weeping bearing good seed shall doubtless come again rejoyeing bringing their sheaves with them And greater shall their Reward be in heaven Put on therefore as the Elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercies kindness humbleness of mind and above all things put on Charity which is the band of all perfection Pity the condition of those whose Infancy Youth and Beauty are assaulted with Consumptions Poxes Lameness Madness and Death which is the last Punishment whose Prime and Golden yeers are cut off and all their Wits and Parts turned into folly Alas the budding Tree and the Tree laden with mature fruits suddehty wither and dye The fairest flowers are cropt in their full glories The Sun sets at Noon day And yet they are either altogether innocent as Infants or setting humane infirmities aside more righteous then other men and yet they are plagued more then other men But do not you therefore condemn the generation of the Just because the hand of God is upon them I say therefore that except you have suckt the breasts of Tygers and partake of the nature of the savage Beasts in the wilderness you cannot but stop your uncharitable censures and leave them to that God that made them and will save them and look you to your selves And now before I take off Pen from Paper I think fit to add one word more for the use of this Doctrine delivered which is To take off all Disputes if it were possible and that the minds of proud contentious and interessed men would bear it concerning the great noise that is made of Infallibility Supremacy the Light that is in us maintained either by the Pope Presbyter Independent or Quaker as also those endless wranglings of Schoolmen or Casuists which make up such heaps of confused Volums to the distraction of Churches and States for Jews Turks and Heathens to laugh at For if Faith be the ground of all Justification and Assurance Chap. 18. Fâ—â—â—dation What need all those heart burnings and separations about the Notion of the True Church Seeing all that hold the faith of Jesus Christ are the members of Christ all the World over though they differ about Consequences and Superstructures and forms of Discipline or external Worship If any man shall build upon that precious Foundation Gold or Silver or precious Stons Wood Hay Stubble every mans work shall be made manifest 1 Cor. 3.1.12 c. For the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire and the fire shall try every mans work of what sort it is If any mans work abide which he hath built thereupon he shall receive a reward If any mans work shall be burnt he shall suffer loss but he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire And other foundation can no man lay then that is layd which if Jesus Christ We all agree in the main Foundation and therefore we might all hold the unity of the Spirit in the Band of Peace Therefore all other unnecessary Questions that engender nothing but strife do vanish of themselves and it will be found sufficient to hold to those few things that are necessary for saving Faith and Life and to trouble the people of God with no more Controversies Let all subtle Factious and Seditious spirits pack up their bundles of Trash and be gon We give them to understand that we have no such custom nor the Churches of God We have enough to secure us for Heaven hereafter and for Peace while we live here Here is a safe and a short way propounded for happiness if they will take it From henceforth let these Dividers look to themselves and Teach nothing but the Scriptures for Doctrine and the Laws of
all Sin is in my Flesh 2. How all misery is in my Flesh And that this is but my outward Man the old Man That decayes and dies which I am daily putting off 3. How all Grace is in my Spirit 4. How all Glory is in my Spirit And that this is the Inward Man The new Man That quickens and lives which I am daily putting on And that therefore by my Faith I live above sin and above Misery and beyond them both while in my flesh I am perplexed with them both What then is all this Mourning by reason of Sin and for Afflictions here below Is not this the way to Heaven though it be thus Rugged and Thorny Is not this the Sea and are not these the Waves and Storms and Rocks and Quicksands that are therein But is not Christ my Pilot and am I not safe under him Have I not a sure Guide that will bring me into a safe Harbour Can I not then have a little Patience T is but to have a little Patience Dabit Deus his quoque finem 'T is but standing still a while and I shall see the Salvation of God Wherefore then all this a do Wherefore do ye trouble my Spirit I am ready not only to suffer but to dye There is no strang thing happened unto me but such as is common to all the faithfull and such as happened to Christ himself What though I am Tempted Afflicted Oppressed I live still The just shall live by his Faith My Vessel is covered with Waves yet she bears up against them My House is beaten and shaken with winds and waves yet it stands still because it is founded upon a Rock I am fearful naturally I do confess yet by the Grace of God I can look Sin Misery and Death in the face and trust in God still If I look only upon Sin and Misery and Death and Hell alas I dye for fear But if I look upon God and Christ I live for evermore If I consult with flesh and bloud I mourn and die but if I consult with the Spirit I rejoyce and live They that live after the Flesh shall die but they that by the spirit do mortify the deeds of the flesh shall live Qu. Do we then live by Faith or by Sense Spiritually or Carnally Ans If we say we live by Faith and by the Spirit I say then what means this lowing and bleating of the Beasts that I hear Vnde Luctus Planctus Where is all this howling and Lamentation Why all this Despairing and Doubting O we of little Faith A voice in Ramah is heard bitter Lamentation Rachel mourning for her children and refuseth to be comforted because they are not But is Christs Church a Widdow hath she not a Husband is she an Orphan and hath she not a Father Is she a stranger and hath she not a Protector Surely she is the Spouse and Daughter of Christ and no stranger therefore God will take care and charge of her and do for her abundantly above all that she is able to aske or think Doth God take care for Oxen and for the Birds of the Air and for the Lillies of the Field and shall he not much more take care for us O we of little Faith Let me alone therefore and trouble me no more from henceforth with idle Questions or direful Curses I have a God to trust to I have nothing to do with you O ye subtil O ye uncharitable ones O my Soul strengthen thou thy self in thy God alone it is good for me to wait upon my God and to keep my self close to the Rock of my Salvation Why Have I not found his Goodness all along and should I doubt now Have I served so good a Master and now should I leave him Why how and by whom have I lived all this while under all sorrows And how do I live still And how do I hope to live hereafter And how do I hope to live for evermore but by my Faith in Gods Promises I am not exactly Righteous therefore I cannot live by my works but I am willing to work Righteousness and by the Grace of God I shall be accepted and live by Faith CONCLUSION The Doctrine of Faith is sufficiently known that thereby we are Justified Regenerated Adopted Incorporated into Christs Church Elected Sanctified Assured and shall be raised up from the dead and live in glory everlastingly But who are the true Believers is not so sufficiently known and it is hard to know All will profess their Faith but how do they prove it All will reckon upon Salvation but how do they prove their Reckoning Here lies the main Point that men should not deceive themselves Professors enough Teachers many but how true God knows 2 Cor. 13.5 and they themselves do not know for want of Trial of themselves Well therefore said the Apostle Examine your selves whither ye be in the Faith prove your own selves know ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be Reprobates I take great care upon This. I find high Pretenders to Faith and to the Spirit Chap. 17 Pretenders and mighty zealots in all duties of Devotion but I find also that they are not honest but Lyars Cheaters Malicious Proud Boasters Rebellious Sacrilegious Extortioners Lovers of themselves Luxurious Covetous and the greatest Troublers of the World I do not say Swearers nor open Drunkards c. I wish these men to examine themselves better and know themselves to be Hypocrites For God and the World know them so to be for they daily rob God in Tithes and offerings and his Priests of honor and respect They rob the King of Tributes and Customes and of Honour and Obedience They do cheat and forswear to the ruin of their neighbours none more Now shall such a Faith save them It must be no other then a dead Faith Because they are Hypocrites and do no good works therefore they have made shipwrack of a true Faith and of a good Conscience 2. I find ordinary Professors of Faith formal enough Customary hearers and Worshippers and just men But they are not zealous but they are not sober and temperate but they are cursers and swearers I do not say they are Lyars I wish heartily these men would examine themselves better They are in a good way and are almost but not all together good Christians They are too luke-warm and formal They must stir up themselves more or else they will come short of true Faith 3. I find some that are close and private and make little open shew of any Religion to the World Being no comers to Church no Readers nor Prayers at home regard no Laws nor Magistrates nor Ministers But keep to their shops and employments greedily groveling upon the World and minding no divine Deity I wish these men would examine themselves better and awaken out of their sottish condition For they can have no grounds to build any solid