Selected quad for the lemma: law_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
law_n	gain_v	jew_n	weak_a	10,116	5	11.7630	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A50522	The works of the pious and profoundly-learned Joseph Mede, B.D., sometime fellow of Christ's Colledge in Cambridge; Works. 1672	Mede, Joseph, 1586-1638.; Worthington, John, 1618-1671.	1672 (1672)	Wing M1588; ESTC R19073	1,655,380	1,052

the Creation of the world Why do ye saith he these things we are also men of like passions with you and preach unto you that you should turn from these vanities unto the living God which made heaven and earth and the sea and all things that are therein As it is with diverse Sects in Religion so is it with divers sorts and conditions of men an Argument or Motive sutable to one sort is altogether unfit for another All Vessels are best handled by their ansae or ears on what part soever they stand he that handleth them otherwise handleth them but aukwardly So it is with mens minds there are in every man's opinion or affections certain ansae or ears whereon a wise perswader should lay his hold to draw men unto him For this cause Aristotle in his Rhetoricks describes the several dispositions of several sorts of men of men of women of young of old of rich of poor of noble and ignoble that a Rhetorician might sute his motives accordingly A Dog is toll'd with a bone a worm is a bait to catch a fish a pigeon brings the hawk unto the Falconer's lure So must every wise fisher of men every wise angler of souls make choice of Motives according to the several dispositions and conditions of the hearers according to that of S. Paul 1 Cor. 9. 20 21 c. Vnto the Iews I became as a Iew that I might save the Iews to them which are without the Law as without the Law that I might gain them that are without the Law To the weak I became as weak that I might gain the weak I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some And thus much shall suffice for this first Observation My second Observation from these words is this That the true God may be known by the Principles of Nature or the Creation of the Heaven and Earth For that which is a character or note of false Gods must needs likewise imply an argument for the true Rectum est index sui obliqui If those who made not the Heaven and the Earth are false Gods he then that made them is the true This is that which some call Natural Theologie others the Ascent of the Soul to God by the Scale of the creatures the steps whereof are to be ordered as followeth 1. All men by God do understand some Person or a living and Reasonable Essence 2. All men will grant that which is God to be the most excellent of all Persons or Living Essences 3. The Perfections of a Living and Reasonable Essence are threefold In the Understanding In the Will and In the Faculties of working In the Understanding is Wisdom In the Will Goodness In the Faculties Power Whatsoever therefore hath a Soveraignty in these three is the most excellent of Living and Reasonable Essences All men therefore if they want not the ordinary use of Reason will assent That under the name of God they mean Him to whom belongs a Soveraignty of Wisdom a Soveraignty of Goodness and a Soveraignty of Power and Might Thus far we agree and walk together But the error of the Nations hath been in the Application namely To whom belonged this Soveraignty and whether it belonged to many or to one alone But howsoever the Gentiles in this Application became vain in their Imaginations and transformed the glory of this incorruptible Soveraignty into the image of corruptibility yet as the Apostle saith God left them not without a witness in that those invisible things of him are seen by the creation of the world For a workman is known by his work The greatest work and the goodliest work that ever was is the Creation of the world He then that made the Heaven and the Earth is he alone to whom this threefold Soveraignty belongeth He alone is Almighty He alone is All-good He alone is All-wise What greater Power can there be than to make the Heaven and the Earth of nothing what Might so mighty as that which made whatsoever else is mighty even so many millions of powers as are in the Heavens above so admirable variety of faculties as are found in the Earth below Is there any Wisdom like unto his who in so manifold a work made nothing superfluous or vain but all things for their end who ordered and appointed such means for every end as better could not be devised who settled so goodly an Order and gave to every thing a Law and Rule which it should observe What Goodness so unspeakable as to have bestowed upon every thing some portion of goodness and to have sufficiently furnished them with endowments to attain and preserve the same What Goodness can be like unto that which he hath shewn unto us in making and ordaining all that ever he made for out use and service Thus we see the admirable Power the incomparable Wisdom and unspeakable Goodness of him that made the Heavens and the Earth He therefore is the true and living God and lives for ever Those Gods which made not the heavens and the earth are no Gods and shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens Thus have I let you see one part of The Scale of the creatures by which the Soul ascends unto God But there is another half yet behind to make a compleat Iacob's ladder For the Ascent of the Soul unto God by the comtemplation of the creatures is either the Ascent of the Vnderstanding to know him or the Ascent of our Will through obedience to worship him The first is that which I have hitherto spoken of The second though it be not here used and applied by our Prophet yet it is implied by his example in the former in that he hath therein taught us what use to make of the consideration of the creation of the world and creatures of God The Ascent therefore of the Will consists in its conformity and the conformity of all our Affections and Actions to the Will of God so far as it may be seen in the works of the creatures For God in that he hath given them a Law hath as it were stamped in them the character of his Will which is the Law and Rule they observe in working By this Ladder we may ascend two ways either by express Example or by Analogie By express Example where the Law which the Creatures observe in their workings is the very same which we ought to express in our actions By Analogie when the properties or actions of the Creatures especially if they be otherwise unsutable unto our nature are emblematically and by way of resemblance applied to admonish us of our duties To this kind belong Parable-similies framed according to the will of the applier whereof we shall find examples in the Scripture But because the Ascent by Example is the firmer and surer I will only shew some few Examples of it We see all Natural agents neglect their private good and

whosoever had at any time committed such and such misdemeanours should have his estate confiscated or suffer some grievous and exquisite torments as a Traitor unto his Prince if I should see a man deeply liable unto all this who could hear of such a Proclamation securely without trouble and astonishment that could sleep quietly and be no whit dejected or cast down therewith might I not justly think either he believed himself not guilty of any of the crimes there mentioned or took it for a counterfeit or only some scare-crow never meant to be put in execution I know your selves would think so How then is it possible that a man should firmly and seriously give credence to the Law of God and the Threats contained therein and yet his Heart never smite him his Soul be never touched with remorse No without doubt this Legal faith for so I call the belief I speak of is yet a weak one a superficial and unsetled perswasion perhaps but no grounded or firm impression Wouldst thou amend it wouldst thou drive it deeper Rub thy Heart continually with a fixt and frequent meditation of the severity of God's Law of the number and greatness of thy transgressions of the dreadfulness of wrath and vengeance due for the same Never cease doing this untill thy Heart shall yield and thy bowels melt within thee One drop of water weareth not a stone but continual dropping will do it Gutta cavat lapidem c. If one meditation will not melt thy Heart yet a continuance therein will do it Those who let bloud will rub the Vein often to make it swell so must thou rub thy Heart often to make it bleed A hard skin with often grinding and fretting will at length grow thin and tender I COME now to the Second thing I propounded in this Invitation The thing invited to which is double Coming unto Christ and Taking his yoke upon us I begin with the first This coming unto Christ is the approaching to him by Faith which is manifested by those places of Scripture where coming and believing are interchangeably used as one and the same thing He that cometh to God saith S. Paul Heb. 11. 6. must believe that God is and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him Iohn 6. 35. I am saith our Saviour the bread of life He that cometh to me shall never hunger he that believeth on me shall never thirst Here coming is expounded by believing Ver. 37. All that the Father giveth me shall come unto me and he that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out In Iohn 1. 12. it is called a receiving of Christ But as many as received him to them gave he power or priviledg to become the Sons of God even to them that believed on his Name Here therefore observe That a Saving Faith a Faith which makes Christ our own and hath promise of ease by him in a word that Faith which gives us an interest in Christ Iesus is more than a bare assent or perswasion that the Gospel is true which saies that Christ is the Son of God and the Redeemer and Saviour of mankind It is a coming Belief a coming Faith that is an assent inclining the Soul to Christ to be made partaker of the Benefits through him Not a bare Speculative assent which remains in the Brain and proceeds no farther but such an assent as rests not there but worketh a motion in the Will to seek and embrace that which is believed Such an assent as not only believes the Promises made in Christ but goes unto him relies upon him clings unto him for them Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavie laden and I will ease you To believe the Gospel is true that Christ Iesus is the only means of Salvation ordained by God I grant it to be a Faith though it go no farther But it is an insufficient Faith an imperfect and impotent Faith which is usually called Historical Faith which I make no question but you all have But if you stay here the Devil believes as much as you do But a Saving Faith though it begins with this yet it staies not there It stands not only gazing upon Christ but is effectual and powerful upon the Soul to make it apply and betake it self unto him This height of Faith the Devils have not nor can have They can believe as well as we that Christ is a Saviour but never so far or so much as to have any hope affiance or confidence in him For if a King should proclaim a general pardon to a number of known rebels and vow execution without mercy upon some principal offenders who had cunningly and maliciously seduced the rest both of them might equally believe the Proclamation to be true yet the one would be encouraged to relie upon the King's clemency and to sue out his pardon but the other would be utterly disheartned as being uncapable Such altogether is the case of men and wicked Angels in the Proclamation of the Gospel Men hearing Christ took the woman's Seed are encouraged with hope of pardon the Devils knowing he in no wise took the nature of Angels the better they believe his Incarnation the less are their hopes of their own redemption Come we therefore to application He that cometh unto God saith S. Paul must believe that God is and that he is a Rewarder of them that seek him So say I He that cometh unto Christ must believe that he is and that he is the Easer of them that seek unto him He that believes this sufficiently cannot but go unto Christ. You therefore that labour and are heavy laden with your sins do you believe that Christ is and that he is the Easer of them that being weary of their sins seek unto him How can your Soul then but fly unto him with trust and confidence in him Yea but will some men say I believe that Christ is and that he is the Easer of them that seek him yet for all this I can put no trust and confidence in him Yea but dost thou believe it so well as to find thy Soul on wing toward him to seek and sue for pardon If thou findest this thou hast some trust and confidence in him more or less For didst thou quite despair of Ease from him thy Heart could never seek to him for where a man utterly despairs to obtain he will not so much as stir a foot to make a suit The motion or flight of the Soul is Desire He that out of a true sense and feeling of his sin for no other can do it in good earnest desires Christ he goes unto him And Christ thou ●eest requires no more but that all those who are weary and heavie laden should thus come unto him and he will ease them And this is the first degree of a Faith which is Iustifying and gives interest in Christ Iesus For this Faith is not barely Historical and in