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heart_n incline_v keep_v mercy_n 15,837 5 10.1140 5 true
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A49463 The life of faith Wherein is shewed the general use of faith in all the passages of a Christians life. Together with a discourse of right judgment on Joh.7.24. By H. Lukin. Lukin, H. (Henry), 1628-1719. 1660 (1660) Wing L3477; ESTC R213826 80,145 275

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pretending to pray for those things which they hate or fear But more properly we may be said to pray in faith when we pray First With a more general perswasion either of the power of God Mat. 9.28 29. 2 Tim. 1.12 I am perswaded he is able to keep that which I have committed to him or of his faithfulness Heb. 11.11 1 Tim. 2.13 If we believe not he is faithful he cannot deny himself which words we are not to understand as if God notwithstanding the unbelief of men would perform to them his mercy promised or as if unbelief could not deprive us of it but whether we believe or no that shall not make the faith of God of none effect Rom. 3.3 Gods Promise shall be made good according to the true tenour and import of it to those that by faith lay hold thereon though we should by our unbelief exclude our selves from the benefit of it Secondly When we pray with a particular perswasion that we shall receive the mercies which we pray for Now the chief question is about this How far we may pray with such a faith And for answer hereof we must consider that our prayers are either for spiritual mercies or for temporal Again spiritual mercies are either such as are necessary to the being of grace or for the well-being of it that which is necessary to the being of Christianity is assisting and persevering Grace and of the receiving of this our assurance is answerable to the assurance which we have of our own sincerity For that of God to the Apostle My grace is sufficient for thee is equivalent to a Promise and is as applicable to every Believer as those words of God to Joshua which the Apostle applies to all Heb. 13.5 and that the Apostle 2 Cor. 12.9 doth not speak of the sufficiency of grace as distinguished from the efficacy of it see Rhetorforti exercitat 428. and that Heb. 13.5 is true as well of spirituals as of temporals that being the chief end why we should desire of God not to fail us nor forsake us that he may encline our hearts to walk in all his waies and keep his Commandments 1 Kings 8.57 58. but for such grace as is necessary only to keep us from particular infirmities or for our comfort or for the liveliness of our graces this is not promised so absolutely but after the manner of temporal mercies for which we cannot ordinarily pray with a particular assurance of being heard all the Faith we can exercise in such cases is only on the power faithfulness and goodness of God in generall and that he will not despise our Prayers Psal 102.17 but accept them graciously and answer them in such kinde manner time and measure as seems good to his grace and wisdome and accordingly are all such Promises to be understood Indeed somtimes God doth make an extraordinary impression of confidence upon the hearts of his people in their prayers for temporal mercies as in Luther when he prayed for his friend Myconius and Edward the sixt for Sr. John Cheek Fullers H●story Lib. 7. Object We are commanded to believe that we shall receive whatsoever things we desire when we pray Mark 11.24 and whatever we ask in prayer believing we shall receive Matth. 21.22 Ans 1. It is evident in both these places by the context that our Saviour speaks of that Faith of miracles which was in the primitive Church and peculiar to those times 2. If this were universally true many would never die nor ever want any thing for though they should not possibly pray thus for themselves yet others might pray thus for them 3. They had not an absolute power of receiving whatsoever they asked in prayer but this Faith was from an extraordinary impress upon the soul which had not any particular Promise for its foundation but only the power of God an immediate perswasion of his willingness God preparing the heart to seek where he had an intent to lend his ear to hear Psal 10.17 Indeed as one boasted that he could make an engine which would remove the whole earth if he had some place else to fix his engine upon so Faith would remove the world if it had a promise to stand firm upon If it be said we should pray for nothing but what we have a promise for I deny it There are as Mr. Hooker Eccles pol. l. 5. Sect. 48. hath rightly observed two uses of Prayer It serves as a means to procure those things which God hath promised to grant when we ask and as a mean also to express our lawfull desires towards that which whether we shall have or no we know not till we see the event Yea I may add further we may therein represent our desires with a submission to the will of God of those things which we know we shall not have It was plainly our Saviours case Matth. 26.39 though he knew it was not possible that the cup should passe from him and that he was come to that hour for this end that he might drink it John 12.27 CHAP. V. The Gospel the Word of Life Of Hearing and Reading the Word The Word is effectuall by Faith How variously Faith acts upon the several parts of the Word Upon the History and Doctrine thereof Hebr. 11.3 illustrated Upon the Commands The Socinians notion of Faith censured 1 Thes 2.13 explained The Acts of Faith on the Promises Rom. 4.17 c. 2 Pet. 1.4 opened How the Promises to Grace and the Promises of Grace conduce to Sanctification How Faith acts on the Threatnings Heb. 11.7 cleared The Use of Threatnings to Believers Rom. 8.13 interpreted How the Word is a means of Faith though it be made effectuall by Faith THe next means of Spiritual Life is Hearing the Word of God This is called the Word of Life Acts 5.20 Phil. 2.15 and Life is promised to the Hearing of the Word Isa 55.3 John 5.25 it is clear he speaks thereof spiritual Life because he saith the time is already come and in the verse before he had been speaking of Everlasting Life which is begun in Regeneration This Word is both the seed whereby we are begotten again 1 Pet. 1.23 and the food whereby we are nourished when we are borne 1 Pet. 2.2 1 Cor. 3.2 the end of the Ministry being to perfect the number of the Saints by conversion and their graces by Edification Ephes 4.11 12. I will not examine whether this word be the instrument of the Spirit or whether they have their different wayes of working the one morally by perswasion the other physically by real influence but this is sure there is a Spirit of life accompanies the dispensation of the Word which quickens dead soules as a spirit of life entered into the Prophet and set him upon his feet when God spake to him Ezek. 2.2 and as there went a divine power along with the word of Christ when he bade Lazarus come out of his grave which raised him