Selected quad for the lemma: law_n
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A50858
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A beame of light darted thorough [sic] the clouds, or, Truth breaking forth from under a veil by Joshua Miller.
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Miller, Joshua, 17th cent.
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1650
(1650)
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Wing M2062; ESTC R35047
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30,283
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of a better state in Christ for him Peter who was a Disciple of Christ could never have repented of his sin in denying his Master if he had not looked upon him much less is a sinner able to repent of his sins but from a saving sight of God in Christ Now this being undeniably true then faith in Christ must be first preached And herein I know many godly men in their preaching go against their own principles who all say that repentance without faith is dead yet they preach repentance first and qualifications a man must be so and so humbled before he must lay hold upon Christ and by this means many poor souls are kept under the hatches dare not lay hold upon Christ untill so far humbled I my self having repentance being kept four years under this law and thought it presumption in me to believe my sins pardoned untill qualified Truly I must judg this to be a branch of Purgatory and meerly legall where men put knots upon a truth that it cannot be nakedly discovered to sinners on earth Object But an Objection may arise Did not Christ in his first Sermon on the mount preach repentance when he said Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand Mat. 4.17 Did not John also preach the same doctrine Mar. 1.4 so did not Peter preach the same Acts 3.19 Repent that your sins may be blotted out Answ I answer that it is true Christ did so but note it was before the Gospell was come Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand presently to follow upon it and the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 repent here signifies a change of the mind onely Christ he was a fulfiller of the Law and spoke many things as in that relation and this doctrine was suited to the Pharises who thought all was well Christ tells them they must be of another mind or els no salvation they must have another kind of faith then what they already had Now here men mistake who take repentance in the latitude of it and so suppose humiliation and sorrow must first be before faith I would ask any soul that had true repentance this question When they were in a state of sorrow for sins What made them thus sorrow Was it not first because they had offended a loving Father Or secondly had they no secret hope in them that Christ would be merciful though at present they durst not lay hold upon him why did they sorrow els if they had no dram of faith they should be saved their tears were then spent in vain I am confident never any man was yet converted but he had the sparks of faith though not flaming Therefore I may safely conclude that for any man to preach repentance before faith is not to preach the Gospell but the Law And further if they own the title of Ministers of the Gospel why then they should obey his generall command Mark 16 l5 16. Go ye and preach the Gospell he that believes shall be saved he that believes not shall be damned Surely if Repentance must first be preached then why should Christ exclude it in this great command I know not who can teach his Master and if the word Gospell signifies glad tidings as all men judge I wonder in the order of the Gospell wherein should the Gospell excell the Law if it bids men first repent and then believe this is no good newes to tell me I must first repent be humbled for ray sinnes the Law speaks this of it self such a kind of preaching is as if I should first put out a mans eyes and then bid him look upon me I. Object But some may object What is the meaning of that place in Acts 20.21 where Paul testified to the Jews and Greeks repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus 1. Answ I answer That true it is in the conversion of a sinner to God Faith and Repentance ever go together yet Faith is first in order of nature in the soule and for that place of repentance towards God I understand not that it must be preached or wrought but Paul here onely distinguisheth the objects of Faith and Repentance God considered absolutely in himselfe is the person whom we have offended or disobeyed repentance must be in respect of him God came in Christ reconciling the world to himself and so under this notion there must be faith upon Christ so that this Scripture makes nothing as to the order of faith repentance 2. Object But doth not Paul say before faith came we was kept under a Schoolmaster and the Law was our Schoolmaster to bring us to Christ Gal. 3.24 Doth not that humble us for Christ and if so then we are to be qualified in some sense before we believe 2. Answ I answer That Paul saith the Law was he speaks of it as in the time past that is to say before Christ came the Law was a Schoolemaster and we were ever learning but never able to be proficients by it but it was but untill faith came there faith is taken objectivè for the object of faith we were under the dominion and killing power of the Law not that it can prepare us for Christ for then Christ could not be a perfect Saviour And although most men interpret it by alluding to a Schoolemaster who fits Schollers for the University so say they the Law is a Schoolmaster to prepare men For my pare I rather with submission to the unbiassed judgment suppose the word Schoolemaster rather notes this that the Law had the mastership and rule over us and we was subject to what it threatned but when Christ came this Schoolmaster had us not under his bonds and punishments as if by it we could be taught everlasting life and as Christ saith Call no man your Master but one even Christ so that the Law cannot be understood in this sense that it prepares us for Christ unlesse this preparation be meant that it leaves us under condemnation Rom. 3.20 For by the Law is the knowledge of sin yet not an efficacious knowledge of sinne so as to shew us a Saviour but it will cause us to run from him And indeed take a man simply considered as obeying the Law he never cares for a Saviour thinks he is well enough as the practises of the Pharisees testifie fully to us 3. Object But how are those promises true where God calls Mat. 11.28 such as are weary and heavy laden and I dwell with him that is of a humble and contrite spirit and the whole have no need of the Physitian but they which are sick Must not men first be qualified before God call them 3. Ans I answer First these places do not demonstrate that every man must be so before faith but only declares that it is possible men are and may be by the Law so terrified for sin yet this also is by the spirit altough they may have terror yet this cannot be true humiliation
act and speak divinely 14. No grief goes so neare his heart as his grievous strayings from the life of God he holds it as necessary in some respect to sorrow for sin as to joy in God they that sowe in tears shall reap in joy there must be a seed-time before a harvest as David speaks so doth he Psal 51.4 Against thee thee onely have I sinned that which aggravates an evill is that it 's committed against love Peter thus went out and wept bitterly Semper Lachrymis suffusos habuisse oculos some observe that ever after Peter had his checks furrowed with continuall tears relapse into sin makes relenting 15. He receives strikings as well as strokings with patience and thankfulnesse a true son of Job the Lord gives and the Lord takes away blessed be his Name not curse God and die as the woman counselled him This effeminate woman the world is mans Tempter to miscall his Maker look on God saith she he afflicts thee to destroy thee he will damne thee at last a gracious heart answers thou speakest like a foolish woman Rom. 8.28 I know all things worke for my good frownes as well as smiles whatever is called good or whatever is called evill God brings light out of darknesse unity out of disparity as God speaks so doth he Esa 54.17 No weapon formed against me shall prosper the true prosperity of a thing is in its continuance but all things against me shall have a change therefore not prosper he ecchoes to David it 's good for me that I was afflicted affliction in Gods Schoole makes us proficients The more you beat the wallnut-tree the more it bears so the Saints gaine by losses after such an afflicton such a mercy I had contraries frustrate one another life doth death joy doth sorrow affliction first comes and ploughs up the fallow ground of my heart then is the seed sowne he speaks not as that wicked King 2 King 6.33 This evill is of the Lord why should I wait any longer but rather what evill in me brought this true and just are all thy Judgements O Lord God 16. He sees nothing of the flesh dwelling in another but asks at home Is not this evill in me As Plato when he saw any one dumb in the street would speak to himself Num ego talis Am not I such a one the more inward any thing is the more strong whether it be good or evill sin is most aggravated by a supposing secresie he makes inquiry as the Disciples Mat. 26.22 Master is it I He loves to ask though he be not guilty 17. He is as holy in his Closet as in the Church when from the Saints as well as with them in all his walkings he is as light in the world Mat. 5.16 no society of men can extinguish his fellowship with God 18. He so pursues holinesse as if he held free-will yet he prayes for it as if he had power to do nothing 2 Cor. 3.5 We are not sufficient of our selves to thinke one good thought man cannot work in Gods Mystery 't is an Art which all the Masters of Art are yet but punies in this School divine lessons are weightier harder and higher then their divinity Lectures 19. He counts no sin small but believes every sin hath weight enough to weigh him to death if he discern a mote in his brothers eye he thinks there is a beame in his owne he had rather make sin more then it is by aggravation then seek to make it lesse for he that hideth his sin shall not prosper 20. He is more zealous for power then forme he had rather leave undone smaller matters then neglect the weighty things of the Law righteousnesse justice truth these have Gods proper stamp upon them therefore to be most looked after These are some cleare demonstrations of a practicall Christian for there are many false Christians now gone out in the world CHAP. II. Whether Repentance precede Faith and which is first to be preached GOD in this last age is making out his truth in plainnesse whereas in former ages it hath been much clouded therefore marvell not if thou readest that which will be gain-sayed It hath been a great dispute amongst men whether Repentance go before Faith or Faith Repentance I shall not erre against truth nor yet disagree from some men to say that Faith is alway before Repentance in the conversion of a Sinner to God and if this be true then it will necessarily follow that Faith ought to be preached before Repentance For I judge Faith to be the instrumentall cause of Repentance and not Repentance the cause of Faith It is true that in the conversion of a sinner to God Faith and Repentance ever go together yet Faith is the first-borne and may challenge the right hand of fellowship Now the difficulty seems to be opened in this particular It is very true that Repentance is for the most part discovered before Faith to men therefore men judge that Repentance is and must be before Faith I answer First that it will not follow alwayes true that the first in appearance is first in the soul Faith I compare to the seed cast in the ground Repentance I call the blade sprung up from that seed Now no man will judge so weakly that because he seeth the blade first spring up therefore the seed is not there Againe you may understand it by this allusion when a candle is lighted in a room and I come into that room true it is I have the light first in my eye and see that first yet the candle was there before the light was so it is often true that repentance is first apprehended but not first wrought Consider secondly that if Repentance be before Faith then I ask what doth that Repentance avail man If that place be true Heb. 11.6 Without Faith it is impossible to please God I may then safely conclude if Repentance is first why was not Ahab and Judas their repentance accepted was it not for want of true Faith I never found in Scripture that any did truly repent before faith Job in his last Chapter when he had seen the Lord he abhorres himselfe Isai 6.5 so Isaiah when he had seen the Lord he cries Woe is me I am undone so that generall promise runs Zach. 12.10 They shall look upon him whom they have pierced and mourn for him all implies a seeing before sorrow I put the case thus Suppose a man should meet with his friend but disguised and so should take him for his enemie and kill him now when his vizard is taken off and he finds that it was his dear friend what think you will not sorrow follow so untill a soule come to apprehend that against his Saviour his Father and Friend he hath wounded him that loves him when he seeth this he will sorrow kindly indeed For a man will never be willing to account his own state bad untill he is brought into a beliefe