point to quiet the minds of all that be troubled with the doubt how they shall be able to get the mastery ouer their greatest corruptions If any should further require to haue particular promises for particular sinnes hee is to know that howsoeuer the Lord doth sometimes descend to particulars Ezek. 36. 25 26. as that the wil cleanse them frō their Idols and that he will take away the stony heart out of them and such like Yet this is not done in euery sin neither is it needfull for when God speaketh so generally that he will clense vs from all vnrighteousnes and that he will heale al our diseases and the like many as we haue seene in the forenamed places who would require more Let vs then learne to apply these generall promises to our particular occasions I nothing doubt but it will as sufficiently comfort vs as if the Lord had saide in particular hee will kill our pride our vnbeleefe our hypocrisie and the rest Onely let vs be familiarly acquainted with these as need shal require and be oft in meditation vpon these whereof wee shall haue daily vse and hereunto ioyne feruent prayer that the Lord would perswade vs by his Spirit thus to rest vpon his promise for his helpe in our greatest need and then shal we more couragiously set our selues against our greatest sinnes and dayly more and more get the victory ouer them all to the honour of God and of our holy profession to the good ensample and incouragement of our brethren and to the present comfort and saluation of our owne soules c. THE THIRD generall head of liuing by faith is concerning holy duties THus hauing seene how we are to gather out of Gods promises daily more certainety of our saluation both by faith and by the principall fruits thereof and in the second place how wee may bee daily more assured of a full victory ouer all our corruptions that they shall neuer ouercome vs but wee them which must needs bring much comfort to all poore distressed soules who groane vnder the burthen of them till they may be eased Wee are to proceede to the third generall point propounded wherein wee are to haue vse of our faith against those many doubts which arise in our hearts how we who be so full of frailty and so weake in grace may yet be able to performe all those duties which God requireth at our hands both towards his maiesty in the first table of the ten commandements and towards man our selues and others in the second table and that in such manner as may bee pleasing to him For howsoeuer many carnall professours in truth little better then hypocrites imagine it is no such hard matter to leade a godly life and so content themselues with such common duties as may vpholde a name in profession of true Religion as frequenting the publike assemblies saying prayers in their houses and liuing honestly among their neighbours all which must bee done and many come not so farre yet they who haue truely tasted of Gods mercy in their redemption by Christ doe know that God hath deserued better seruice at their hands What holinesse God requires and requires more duty of them 1. Pet. 1. 15 namely That as he who hath called them is holy so they must bee holy in all manner of conuersation and that it must be their chiefe Study to adde to their faith vertue and to vertue knowledge and to knowledge temperance 2. Pet. 1. 4. 6. and to temperance patience and to patience godlinesse and to godlinesse 7. brotherly kindnesse and to brotherly kindnes charity And for the manner of their seruice it must bee 1. without feare that is not seruile and constrained but willing and cheerefull 2. vniuersall in holinesse towards God in righteousnes towards mē 3. before him as in his sight sincerely Luk. 1 78. 75. 4. all the dayes of their life constantly in all estates vnto the end and so to please God in all things Col. 1. 10. The faithfull people of God know Gods children vnable thus to liue by themselues that this is the life which God in his word so much requireth at their hands and which they so earnestly desire and endeauour to performe But so are they beset round with sinne Heb. 12. 1. and oft so taken captiue by the power of their corrupt nature That when they would doe good euill is present with them Rom. 7. 21 whereby it comes to passe that all euen the strongest Christians finde it a matter aboue their ability thus to leade their liues and many of the weaker sort bee oft discouraged to see how weakely they performe all Christian duties And no meruaile for seeing the regenerate themselues haue not receiued any such measure of grace whereby they may thus willingly and throughly sincerely and constantly so serue God as to feare him with reuerence and godly feare Heb. 12. 28 witnesse the slips and fals of the most worthy seruants of God but all our sufficiency is of God 2 Cor. 3. 5. 12. 9. and his grace must bee sufficient for vs Ioh. 15. 5. and his power must bee magnified in our weakenesse and without Christ we can doe nothing Out of all this may be gathered what need we haue of faith to enable vs to leade this life wherby we may please God and finde comfort to our soules Which shall further appeare What is necessary to please God if we well consider what is necessarily required of vs sinners that we may please God in any duty we performe which I conceiue be these three 1. First a conscionable indeauour to doe the will of God Mat. 7. 21. in such sort as hee in his word commandeth 2. Secondly Psal 51. 17 a true griefe for our many failings heerein Esa 66. 2. both in the deede Heb. 11. 6. and right manner of doing 3. Thirdly a beliefe that God for Christs sake will assist vs and accept of our weake obedience All which as we see be euident in the scripture and oft required so are they as manifest by reason that seeing Gods will is the rule of all equity therefore whatsoeuer swarueth from it though neuer so little must needes be vnequall and so displeasing to God And on the other side seeing all our righteousnesse is as a stained or defiled cloath such as Gods pure eyes cannot endure of necessity it follows that they who will be acceptable to God must come vnto God in Christ All our sufficiency is in Christ receiued by faith both for strength to do that which God requireth and for fauour that God will bee pleased to accept of the satisfaction made by Christ for the pardon of their defects in their best duties and for the allowing of their obedience to bee well liking in his sight Whereupon it necessarily followes that whosoeuer intends so to leade a godly life that he may be pleasing
A TREATISE OF FAITH Wherein is declared how a man may liue by Faith and finde releefe in all his necessities Applyed especially vnto the vse of the weakest Christians By EZEKEL CVLVERVVELL The Iust shall Liue by Faith EPHES. 6. 16. Aboue all taking the shield of Faith ROM 15. 4. Whatsoeuer things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience coÌ„fort of the Scriptures might haue hope LONDON Printed by I. L. for William Sheffard and are to be sold at his shop at the entring in of Popes head Allie out of Lumbard-streete 1623. TO ALL GODS PEOPLE WHO HAVE ENIOYED any benefit by my Ministerie especially of my Pastorall charge DEARLY Beloued in the Lord although I cannot but be priuie to my selfe of many defects in discharge of my dutie which God required at my hands toward you which I humbly beseech the Lord and you to pardon yet this hath beene is and I hope shall be to the end of my dayes my comfort that I haue not laboured in vaine amongst you What were my labours and successe thereof I must appeale to the consciences of you who are yet liuing for you know that not a few are now at rest with the Lord whose holy liues and happy ends gaue good testimony hereof But to leaue these to the wise consideration of such whom they may concerne and to giue vnto all to whom these presents shall come a iust account of my proceedings herein I doe professe that for many yeares past I haue had my thoughts much exercised about this prime grace of Faith by which alone we receiue all sauing grace and without which none and after that by long experience I found through conference with many of diuers sorts that very few attained to the true knowledge much lesse to the right vse of Faith either in the assurance of their saluation or well ordering of their conuersation For to passe ouer all carnall Protestants who only haue a forme of godlinesse making an outward shew thereof and deny the power of it in walking after their owne lusts I haue obserued very many who haue in truth laboured after saluation yet through want of good direction haue made forsaking of their sinne the ground of their beleeuing and so building such a weightie matter vpon so weake a foundation could neuer come to such certaintie of their saluation or constancie in a holy conuersation as true Faith would haue brought them vnto Some others I haue seene who being deeply affected with the sense of their misery and knowing that there is no meanes of recouery but by Christ haue desired nothing more then to be deliuered and restored by him yet these not knowing the right way how to attaine to Faith by which alone doe receiue Christ and all his benefits haue spent many yeares vnprofitably and vnfruitfuâ—ly Others there be who perswading themselues that they haue Faith and thereby bee quieted from feare of condemnation yet much wanting the life and power of Faith neither so honour God and their profession nor in time of triall finde that sound peace and comfort which a liuely Faith would certainly procure By all which it appeareth how few they be that haue attained to the true knowledge of Faith what it is how it is goâ—ten and increased and how to liue by it The consideration whereof grieuing my soule to see so many mistaken in so weightie a matter and so much labour to be lost hath been the chiefe moouer of me to imploy all my thoughts how this great euill may be redressed Whereupon entering into deeper consideration how this might be attained I well perceiued that seeing Gods truth reuealed vnto vs in his Word is the sole ground of Faith the only way to get and keepe Faith is to bee well acquainted with Gods Word in which I cannot sufficiently admire the wisedome and loue of God in prouiding such store of heauenly comforts to releeue vs in all our necessities so that had wee the knowledge and the right vse of them we should then see what were the Life of Faith and the blessed estate of a beleeuer in this world aboue all other estates though neuer so excellent These thus being I gaue my selfe to the search of the Scriptures to finde out what these heauenly comforts were which God hath so abundantly prouided for our reliefe in all time of neede And to this purpose with no small labour haue gathered out all the promises as well as I could out of both the Testaments which being laide together made a great heape of heauenly treasure such as any of vnderstanding would greatly admire and reioyce in and I may in truth professe I was much affected with the bare reading of them But well considering that the naked laying downe of these promises would not be sufficient to direct euery one to the right vse and fit application of them for the begetting and increasing of Faith I haue laboured to draw these vnto seuerall heads such as in my opinion may containe all our necessities that at leastwise the weakest sort may more fitly apply them to their seuerall vses and so by Faith be comforted when all other helpes faile them If in this my labour I haue not so sufficiently satisfied the desires of the most iudicious I must content my selfe that according to the measure of grace receiued I haue laboured to be helpfull to such as stand in neede hereof and haue carefully auoided whatsoeuer I haue thought might hinder their profiting and specially all controuersies about Faith and haue plainly shewed out of the Scriptures what I haue conceiued to be the truth wherein I may haue this defence of my failing that I haue not had any guide in this labour neither haue I seene any who haue in this way gone before me and therefore I entreate my Reuerend brethren in the Ministerie whose abilities doe farre exceede mine that they would perfect this which is but weakely begun And for my part I will not cease to pray that this may be as profitable to others as painfull to my selfe which the Lord grant for his Christs sake Ezekel Culuerwell TO THE CHRISTIAN READER THE leading of a happy Life the attainement whereof this Treatise directeth vnto is that which all desire but Gods truth only discouereth and Faith only enioyeth In the first Adam our happinesse was in our owne keeping but he by turning from God to the creature made proofe what and whence he was a creature raised out of nothing and without the supporting power of Him in whom all things consist subiect to fall into a state worse then nothing againe Hence God out of his infinite power depth of goodnesse intending the glory of his mercy in restoring man would not trust man with his owne happinesse but would haue it procured and established in the person of a second Adam in whom we recouer a suter estate then we lost in the first for though Adams soule was ioyned to God yet
all other depend And the Devill himselfe who is so well acquainted with our disposition could say All that a man hath will he giue for his life for this cause the Lord the more to hearten vs to all obedience doth make so many promises of long life and many dayes as in the fift Commandement which the Apostle sayth is the first Commandement with promise Exod. 20. 22. Every child is there commanded to honour his father and mother vpon this promise That his daies may be long in the land So Deut. 5. 3. You shall walke in all the wayes which the Lord your God hath commanded you that ye may liue and that it may be well with you and that ye may prolong your dayes in the land which ye shall possesse The like Deut. 25. 15. 30. 20. In the booke of the Proverbs this is very oft repeated chap. 3. 1. 2. Salomon in the name of God as a father exhorting his sonne sayth My sonne forget not my law but let thy heart keepe my commandements addeth this promise vers 2. For length of dayes and long life and peace shall they adde to thee More to like effect in the same Chapter where setting out exceedingly the great gaine of wisedome that is of saving knowledge among the rest he addes this vers 16. Length of dayes is in her right hand and in her left hand riches and honour And vers 18. Shee is a tree of life to them that lay hold vpon her and happy is every one that retaineth her Chap. 4. from vers 5. to vers 14. you shall read both this promise of life and many other blessings belonging to this life repeated which I will spare to set downe finding writing to me now more tedious then formerly read the place with these following 8. 35. 9. 11. 10. 25. 27. 11. 19. 30. 11. 14. 30. 21. 21. 22. 24. This God promised to Salomon 1 Kings 3. 14. and the like is spoken more generally that the Prince that hateth covetousnesse Pro. 28. 16. shall prolong his dayes Thus we see how plentifully the Lord hath promised long life to those that will be ruled by him Vse of long life whereas on the other side Psal 55. 23. the wicked shall not liue out halfe their dayes but shall soone and suddainly be cut off Which as it was intended by God to be a strong reason to perswade vs to obedience so we are to be moved by all these promises to beleeue them and thereby to be stirred to a more carefull walking before God But seeing that which I chiefly intend is to strengthen our faith that we shall not want any of these earthly blessings Vse this must be the vse we are to make of all these promises concerning long life that in all the perills of this life by sicknes war famine theeues witches or any wicked enemy whatsoever we might call to mind some of these promises and so rest our selues quietly therevpon that none of these nor any thing els should shorten the dayes of our life more then should turne to our greater good Yea further seeing the Lord hath made it so great an encouragement to feare and serue him as if he had not a greater reward in matters of this life to bestow vpon his faithfull servants and so the faithfull haue in all ages esteemed it and desired it Esa 39. 19. as Hezekiah and Dauid oftentimes Psal 6. 4. yea and many of them did enjoy it as the holy Story records for a blessing of God vpon them The consideration of these should moue vs so to prise this blessing and desire it as they did which I the rather mention for that I haue heard preached and read in the writings of some both godly and learned Divines many perswasions to be weary of life and to be desirous of death which to say no more quite crosseth this wisedome and goodnes of God in promising life to his best servants as a chiefe reward of their good service let vs then so account of long life as a rich blessing which makes all other blessings of this life the more excellent and vsefull both to God and man to our selues and others and the want hereof the quite contrary as may be easily shewed in all particulars how doth it abate the vse and comfort of health wealth strength and valour of learning and generally of all excellent gifts of the mind or body if these be nipt off in the bud and not suffered to come to full ripenes so to continue to their full terme and end Let vs then I say so accept these promises that in all time of need we may stay our selues vpon them and that we may find comfort in all tentations to the contrary This being the first and chiefe blessing of this life Long life I meane if this should not be accompanied with health wealth peace and other like blessings it would make long life more wearisome then welcome vnto our frayle nature For this cause God is not sparing in making promises of these and all other comforts for this naturall life As namely of bodily health Health and strength whereby we may better enjoy and make vse of these earthly comforts This is that which the Lord promised to his people of Israel immediatly after they came out of the red Sea where it is sayd the Lord proved them and said If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God Exod. 15. 26. and wilt doe that which is right in his sight and wilt giue cure to his commandements Deut. 7. 15. and keepe all his statutes I will put none of these diseases vpon thee which I put vpon the Aegyptians for I am the Lord that healeth thee And Exod. 23. 25. I will take sicknesse from the middest of thee So Iob. 5. 18. its sayd of God For he maketh sore and bindeth vp he woundeth and his hands make whole And so goes forward to the end of that chapter in setting forth Gods goodnes in preserving his in all estates from all manner of troubles and supplying them with all needful blessings for this life as there further may be seene Psal 41. 1. c. David setting out Gods goodnes to those that shew mercy to the poore in their distresse among many other blessings addes this vers 3. The Lord will strengthen him vpon the bed of languishing thou wilt make all his bed in his sicknes Salomon Pro. 3. 7. exhorting vs to feare the Lord and to depart from â—â—vill adds this as a promise ver 〈◊〉 It shall be health to thy navill and â—arrow to thy bones meaning thereby soundnesse of health to the whole body And to like effect chap. 4. 22. he sayth that the true receiuing of instructions is life to those that find them and health to all their flesh So the Prophet Esay in many wordes setting forth the manifold blessings of this life Esa 33. 15.