Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
knowledge_n	believe_v	faith_n	ignorance_n	1,362	5	9.1101	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65287	The Christian's charter shewing the priviledges of a believer by Thomas Watson.	Watson, Thomas, d. 1686.	1654 (1654)	Wing W1113; ESTC R27057	106,135	340

yet there can be no faith without knowledge They that know thy Name will put their trust in thee Psal. 9.10 Philo calls it fides oculata quick-sighted faith Knowledge must carry the Torch before faith 2 Tim. 1.12 For I know whom I have believed As faith without works is dead so faith without knowledge is blind Devout ignorance damnes which condemns the Church of Rome that think it a piece of their religion to be kept in ignorance these set up an Altar to an unknown God they say Ignorance is the mother of devotion but sure where the Sun is set in the understanding there must needs be night in the affections So necessary is knowledge to the being of faith that the Scripture doth sometimes baptize faith with the Name of knowledge Isa. 53.11 By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many knowledge is put there for faith Now this knowledge of Christ which goes before faith or rather is the embrio and first matter of which faith is formed consists in four things The soul through this optick glasse of knowledge sees 1. A preciousnesse in Christ he is the chief of ten thousand the pearl of price Christ was never poor but when he had on our rags there is nothing in Christ but what is precious he is precious in his Name in his Nature in his Influences he is called a precious stone he must needs be a precious stone who hath made us living stones 2. A fulnesse in Christ the fulness of the Godhead Col. 2.9 all fulnesse Col. 1.19 a fulnesse of merit his blood able to satisfie his Fathers wrath a fullnesse of Spirit his grace able to supply our wants by the one he doth absolve us by the other he doth adorn us 3. A suitablenesse in Christ that which is good if it be not adaequatum suitable it is not satisfactory If a man be hungry bring him fine flowers this is not suitable he desires food if he be sick bring him musick this is not suitable he desires Physick in this sense there is a suitablenesse in Christ to the soule he is quicquid appetibile as Origen speaks whatever we can desire If we hunger and thirst he is pabulum animae the food of the soul therefore he is called the bread of life If we are sick unto death his blood is a sacred balm he may be compared to the trees of the Sanctuary which were both for meat and for medicine 4. A Propensenesse and readinesse in Christ to give out his fulnesse Isa. 55.1 Ho every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters and he that hath no mony buy and not c. Behold here at what a low price doth God set his heavenly blessings it is but thirsting bring but desires Behold the Propensenesse in Christ to ●●spense and give out his fulnesse buy without money a strange kind of buying there 's bounty in Christ as well as beauty As he is all fulnesse so he is all sweetnesse of a noble and generous disposition he doth not only invite us but charge us upon pain of death to come in and believe he threatens us if we will not lay hold of mercy he waits to be gracious This is the lenocinium and enticer of the affections this draws the eyes and heart of a sinner after him what are the blessed Promises but Christs golden Scepter held forth what are the motions of the Spirit but Jesus Christ coming a wooing and such a knowledge and sight of Christ is necessary to usher in faith now the soul begins to move towards him he sees all this variety of excellency in Christ and withall sees a possibility nay a probability of mercy there is nothing that hinders him God doth not exclude him unlesse he exclude himself Then he thinks thus What is it keeps me off from Christ is it my unworthinesse behold there is merit in Christ is it my wants there is enough in the fountain and Jesus Christ doth not expect that I should carry any thing to him but rather that I should bring something from him he doth not expect that I should carry water to the well only an empty vessel why then should not this fulnesse in Christ be for me as well as others While he is thus parlying with himself the Spirit works a kind of perswasion that Christ is willing that he in particular should taste of this mercy then follows the second act which faith puts forth and that is consent Well I will have Christ whatever it cost me §. II. That Consent is requisite to faith Though Knowledge be a necessary antecedent to Faith yet it is not enough there must be secondly Consent Faith is seated as well in the heart and will as in the understanding as well in the affection as in the apprehension With the heart man believes Scepticks in religion may have a faith in the head but not in the heart they are more Notion then Motion the soul consents to have Christ and to have him upon his own terms 1. As an Head the head hath a double office it is the fountaine of spirits and the seat of government the head is as it were the Pilot of the body it rules and steers it in its motion The believer consents to have Christ not only as an Head to send forth spirits that is comfort but as an head to rule A sinner would take Christs Promises but not his Laws he would be under Christs benediction but not under his jurisdiction A believer consents to have whole Christ non eligit objectum he doth not pick and choose but as he expects to sit down with Christ upon the throne so he makes his heart Christs Throne 2. The believer consents to have Christ for better for worse a naked Christ a persecuted Christ faith sees a beauty and glory in the reproaches of Christ and will have Christ not only in purple but when with Iohn Baptist he is cloathed in Camels haire Faith can embrace the fire if Christ be in it Faith looks upon the Crosse as Iacobs ladder to carry him up to Heaven Faith saith Blessed be that affliction welcome that Crosse which carries Christ upon it 3. The Believer consents to have Christ purely for love if the wife should give her consent only for her husbands riches she should marry his estate rather then his person non est amicitia sed mercatura it were not properly to make a marriage with him but rather to make a merchandise of him the believer consents for love amat Christum propter Christum he loves Christ for Christ Heaven without Christ is not a sufficient dowry for a believer there 's nothing adulterate in his consent it is not sinister there 's nothing forced it is not for feare that were rather constraint then consent a consent forced will not hold in Law it is voluntary The beauty of Christs person and the sweetness of his disposition draws the will

Treason the Majesty against which it is committed doth accent and inhance the sinne Besides little sins suppose them so yet multiplied become great What is lesser then a grain of sand yet when multiplied what is heavier then the sands of the sea a little summe multiplied is great a little sinne unrepented of will damne as one leak in the Ship if it be not lookt to will drown You would think it is no great matter to forget God yet Psal. 50.22 it hath a heavy doom The non-improvement of Talents the world looks upon as a small thing yet we read of him that hid his Talent in the earth Mat. 25.25 he had not spent it only not trading it is sentenced 3. Sinnes that in the eye of the world were looked upon as graces sinnes that were coloured and masqued over with 〈◊〉 for God and good intentions c. men put fine glosses upon their sinnes that they may obtain credit and be the more vendible It is said of Alcibiades that he embroidered a curtaine with Lions and Eagles that he might hide the picture under full of Owls and Satyres So doth Satan embroider the curtain with the image of Vertue that he may hide the foul picture of sinne under The devil is like the Spider first she weaves her web and then hangs the flie in it so he helps men to weave the web of sinne with religious pretences and then he hangs them in the snare all these sinnes shall be read in the sinners charge and set in order before him §. IV. 4. The next thing is The passing of the Sentence Matth. 25.41 Ite maledicti Depart from me ye cursed At the hear●●● of this sentence the heart of a sinner will be rent thorow with horror that heart which before would not break with sorrow for sin shall now break with despair At the pronouncing of this dreadful sentence depart from me the sinner would be glad if he could depart from himself be annihilated O it will be a sad departing We use to say when a man is dead he is departed but this will be a departing without a deceasing As soon as Christ hath pronounced the curse the sinner will begin to curse himselfe Oh what have I been doing I have layn in wait for my own blood I have twisted the cord of my own damnation While he lived he blessed himselfe oh how happy am I how doth providence smile upon me Psal. 49.18 Though whiles he lived he blessed his soul yet when this sentence is passed he is the first that will curse himself §. V. 5. The pouring out of the Vial Psalm 75.8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup and the wine is red it is full of mixture and he poureth out of the same This is the sad execution hell is set out by Tophet Isa. 30.33 which was a place situated neare Hierusalem where they offered their children in the fire to Moloch A Metaphor to figure out the infinite torments of hell the sinner shall lie in the furnace of Gods wrath and the breath of the Lord as a pair of bellows shall blow the fire Hell is said to be prepared as if God had been sitting down to study and devise some exquisite torment Hell is set out in one place by fire and in another place by darknesse to shew that hell is a fire without light the hypocrite while he lived was all light no fire and in hell he shall be all fire no light nothing there to give comfort no musick but the shriekes of the damned no wine but what is burnt with the flame of God's wrath There shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth The weeping hypocrite shall go to the place of weeping while he lived he lifted up his eyes in a false devotion and now being in hell he shall lift up his eyes He that gnashed his teeth at the godly shall now have gnashing enough before he gnashed in envy now in despair and this for ever He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire the word unquenchable scorcheth hotter then the fire The fire of hell is like that stone in Arcadia I have read of which being once kindled could not be extinguished Eternity is the hell of hell the losse of the soul is irreparable if all the Angels in Heaven should go to make a Purse they could not make up this losse Si rursum corruerit anima unde reparabitur num potest alter Christus aut idem iterum crucifigi When a sinner is in hell shall another Christ be found to die for him or will the same Christ be crucified again oh no they are everlasting burnings Thus the sinner hath all his worst things to come but a believer hath all his best things to come the things which eye hath not seen nor eare heard viz the beatificall vision the crystall streams of joy that run at Gods right hand his Heaven is to come CHAP. XX. A serious Scrutiny about the Believers Charter I Hear me thinks a Christian say Great are the Priviledges of a Beleever but I fear I have no title to this glorious Charter All depends upon an interest Were there a dispute about our Estate whether such an Inheritance did belong to us we would desire that there should be a triall in Law to decide it Here is a large Inheritance things present and things to come but the question is whether we are the true Heirs to whom it belongs now for the deciding this we must seriously examine what right we have to Christ for all this Estate is made over to us through Christ so we finde it in the text All things are yours and ye are Christs There comes in the Title Jesus Christ is the great Magazine and store-house of a Christian he hath purchased Heaven in his blood now if we can say we are Christs then we may say All things are ours Quest. But how shall we know that we are Christs Answ. Those that are Christs Christ is in them 2 Cor. 13.5 Know ye not that Christ is in you Quest. But how shall we know that Answ. If we are in the faith It is observable before the Apostle had said Know you not that Christ is in you first he puts this query Examine whether ye are in the faith Christ is in you if you are in the faith Here lies the question Have you faith Now for the deciding this I shall do two things shew you first the essentials of faith then the consequentials 1. The essentials of faith Faith ere it be wrought must have some preparatories there must be some legall bruisings in the soul some sense of unworthinesse Now to this blessed Grace of Faith there are three things especially requisite §. I. Shewing that Knowledge is requisite to faith The first is Knowledge Faith is an intelligent grace though there may be knowledge without faith