of god which otherwise we might enioy If ye beleeue not ye shall not be established saith the Prophet In Capernaum Christ could doe no great wonders by reason of their vnbeleefe Lastly vnbeleefe plucks downe vpon men the plagues iudgements of God Moses and Aaron were barred the land of Canaan for their vnbeleefe A certaine prince was troden to death in the gates of Samaria because he would not beleeue the word of the Lord by the mouth of Elisha Zacharie was dumbe for a time because he would not beleeue the message of the angel Many at this day when the iudgements of God lie heauie on them say presently they are fore spoken and they crie out on this or that suspected witch But such persons are often deceiued For the great witch that doth them all the hurt is the vnbeleefe of their hearts whereby they distrust God in his word and this sinne alone if there were no witches in the world is sufficient alone to prouoke God to plague and punish vs sundrie waies and that grieuously Therfore let vs with bitternes of heart bewaile our vnbeleefe and the rather because it is a steppe to faith to acknowledge the want of faith The second thing to be done is to make examination whether we be in conscience conuicted of the certentie of the word or no. If we be not we must labour to be cōuinced Because that naturall atheisme whereby we doubt whether the bookes of the Prophets and Apostles be the word of God or no hinders the certentie of faith For the setling of the conscience in this point these arguments may be vsed The first it is a principle in nature that there is a God if there be a God nature can say he is to be worshipped if he be to be worshipped he hath reuealed himselfe and his will to man for otherwise he cannot be worshipped And this reuelation is to be found in the writings of the Prophets and Apostles and in no other writings of men because we finde the doctrine of Scriptures to be agreeable to the very nature and maiestie of God and so is no other doctrine or learning whatsoeuer For it is the most auncient and all other religions come far short of it It is one and the same euermore consenting with it selfe without chaunge or alteration The Apostles agree with the prophets the Prophets with Moses and all with the first reuelation made at the creation Againe it discouers and reueales the secret thoughts of men that no art or learning can discouer and this argues that it was penned by him who is the searcher of all hearts The second argument is a wonderfull Euidence of the truth not to be found in any other writings in the world This euidence stands specially in eight things The first is that the writers of Scriptures fully and plainely set downe their owne faults yea their chiefest faults not sparing to shame themselues in mans reason and this argues that in writing they were guided by the spirit of trueth The second is that the books of Scriptures containe many mysteries aboue the reach of mans reason yet not against reason because we may discerne a truth in them and that by grounds principles of reason The third that the speeches of Scripture aime not at by-respects but simply and absolutely giue and ascribe all glorie to God alone The fourth is that the Scriptures containe full and perfect doctrine for the pacifying setling and directing of the conscience in all things The fifth is the holinesse and puritie of the law of Moses in that it accuseth and condemneth all men of sinne and prescribeth perfect righteousnes Herein it surpasseth the laws of all countries common-wealths kingdomes whatsoeuer The sixth is the wisdome that appeares in the pollicie or gouernment of the common-wealth of the Iewes set downe by Moses The seuenth is a reconciliation of iustice and mercie propounded in the Gospel For in Christ iustice and mercie meete and iustice after a sort giues place to mercie The eight thing wherein this euidence of trueth appeares is the consent of Scripture with it selfe for doctrine agrees with historie and euery part with euery part This manifold euidence of truth shewes that scripture is from the god of truth If any say that they finde no such euidence in Scripture I answer it is their owne fault for if they would seriously read the Scriptures with praier to God it would appeare The third argument is the Efficacie of the word which appeares on this manner Gods word is flat contrarie to the nature and corrupt disposition of man and yet for all this when being preached it conuinceth and condemneth men of sinne it turneth and conuerteth them to it selfe and causeth them to liue and die in the loue and obedience therof This could it neuer doe vnlesse it were of diuine operation The fourth argument is that the Prophets and Apostles wrought miracles for the ratifying and confirming of their doctrine Now these miracles surpasse the strēgth of nature and were immediately from God and therefore the doctrine thereby confirmed was also of God The fifth and last is that the writings of the prophets and Apostles containe many prophecies or predictions of things to come that none could foresee or foretell but God The name of Iosias his doings are foretold 330. yeares before he was borne Cyrus his doings are mentioned more then an 100. yeares before his birth now these and the like prophecies argue that the whole doctrine is of God By these and like arguments are all that inwardly doubt of the word of God to settle and stablish their consciences This done then followes the third point and that is that we must search and inquire what is the substance and scope of the worde of god The scope of the whole Bible is Christ with his benefits and he is reuealed propounded and offered vnto vs in the maine promise of the word the tenour whereof is That God will giue remission of sinnes and life euerlasting to such as will beleeue in Christ. To this main promise God hath added a maine commaundement which biddes vs to beleeue the said promise or to applie Christ with his benefits vnto our selues Now then our third dutie is to subiect our hearts and wills to this commaundement that biddes vs beleeue in Christ. This is the subiection of faith of which two things must be obserued One is that this is the first subiection that we can giue to God to trust him vpon his promise for the pardon of our sinnes and for life eternall And from this subiection of faith ariseth our subiection to the whole word In Christ are all the promises of God yea and amen the law and the obedience of all the commaundements thereof is established by faith without Christ no good thing can be done The second point is that this subiection is easie in respect of that subiection
How to liue and that well Jn all estates and times specially when helps and comforts faile Printed by Iohn Legat printer to the Vniuersitie of Cambridge 1601. And are to be sold at the Crowne in Pauls Churchyard by Simon Waterson To the Reader GOod Reader if thou wouldest be saued by thy faith in Christ after death thou must here liue by it before death And faith for the time of this life hath two great vses The first is to cut off worldly sorrowes and cares It is the common fashion of men to multiplie their cares out of measure and thereby to make their liues most miserable For first of all beside necessarie labours they take vpon them many needelesse and superfluous businesses Secondly their manner is to care not onely for the labours to be done but also for the euent and successe of their labours that they may alwaies prosper and neuer be crossed but this care belongs to God alone Thirdly they content not themselve with their lot and condition but seeke by all meanes to increase their estate and to make themselues rich Lastly they exercise themselues not onely in disposing of things present but they forecast many matters in their heades and plotte the successe of things to come Now faith when we haue done the works of our callings according to the prescript of the word of God saith I say makes vs commend to God the blessing successe euent therof by prayer and affiance in his promises not doubting but he will giue vs all things necessary And if we want the blessing and successe we looke for yet faith makes vs to renounce our owne desires and in silence to quiet our hearts in the good pleasure of God And thus many worldly cares are cut off Secondly when a man at his wits ende knowes not what in the world to doe being as it were plunged into a sea of miseries faith giues direction and staies the minde For when all temporall things faile vs euen to the very skinne and life faith preserues within vs an affiance of the grace and mercie of God and the hope of life euerlasting Faith shewes vs hidden things not to be discerned by sense and reason Life euerlasting is promised vs but we die for al that we heare of the resurrection but in the meane season we rot in our graues we are pronounced blessed but yet we are ouerwhelmed with infinite miseries bundance of all things is promised but for all this we often hūger and thirst God promiseth to heare vs and to be present with vs but he seemes oft times to be deafe as it were at our cries Now then comes faith which is the substance of things hoped for and makes vs lift our minds aboue the whole world to apprehend the inuisible and vnspeakable things of God which he hath reuealed and promised vnto vs. These things I shewe more at large in this small treatise following read it at thy leisure vse it for thy good and see thou be a doer of them W. Perkins Hab. 2.4 The iust man shall liue by his faith IN the former chapter the Prophet complaines and expostulates the matter with God why the Iewes the people of God should be oppressed by the Chaldeans the enemies of God In the beginning of the 2. chapter the Lord makes answer to the Prophet and the effect of the answer is this They shall certenly be deliuered in the time appointed but they shal not yet be deliuered Vpon this answer the Prophet might happily obiect on this manner How then shall the afflicted Iewes be able to liue in the mean season the Lord answers by a distinctiō thus The vniust man puffs vp himselfe with vaine confidence but the iust man shall liue by his faith For the better vnderstanding of the words fiue things are in order to be explaned The first what is meant by the iust man Iustice mentioned in the word is twofold the iustice of the law and the iustice of the Gospel The iustice of the law hath in it all the points and parts of iustice and all the perfection of all parts and it was neuer found in any vpon earth except Adam and Christ. The iustice of the Gospel hath all the parts of true iustice but it wants the full perfection of parts as a childe hath all the parts of a man in the infancie though it want perfection of stature and talnesse And this kind of iustice is nothing else but the conuersion of a sinner with a purpose will endeauour to please God according to all the commādements of the Law Thus was Noe iust Iob Zacharie and Elizabeth and thus must the iust man be taken in this place for one that turnes to God by grace indeauours to please God according to the whole law of God in his place and calling The second point to be considered is what life is here meant As death is here twofold the first and the second so is life The first is the coniunction of the bodie and the soule the second is the coniunction of the whole man with God The first is called naturall the second spirituall or eternall life and both are meant in this place For Paul brings this very text to proue the iustification of a sinner by faith and iustification is a part of spirituall life because it is the acceptation of a sinner to eternall life And for this cause the prophet saith The iust man shall liue hauing relation not onely to the time of affliction then to come but also to eternall life The third point to be considered is what is the faith here meant And that is iustifying or sauing faith because we must liue by the same faith whereby we are saued And faith hath his effect not onely after this life but also in this life We must liue first by it before we can be saued by it Paul therefore in his own example expounding this text saith And in that I liue in the flesh I liue by the faith of the sonne of God who hath loued me and giuen himselfe for me The fourth point is the construction of the wordes and that is two waies The first is thus The iust by faith shall liue the words by faith being ioyned vpon the word lust And then the sense is this He that is iust by his faith shall liue or haue eternall life The second is thus The iust shall liue by his faith the words by faith being ioyned to the words shall liue then the sense is this The iust while he liues in this world he shall liue by his faith This latter construction and sense I rather choose and imbrace because Paul cuē in this sense brings this text to prooue that life eternall and consequently iustification comes not by working according to the law but by beleeuing and he makes an exposition betweene liuing by faith and liuing by workes The fifth and last point to be considered is How a man
should liue by faith Because this last point is of great moment I will spend some time in the explaning of it That a man then may liue by his faith two things are required the first that faith be rightly conceiued grounded in the heart the second that after it is once conceiued it Raigne and rule in the heart That faith may rightly be conceiued two things are required The first is the knowledge of the word of God for faith stands in relation to the word the word alone is the foūdation of our faith Hereupon the word is called the foundation of the Prophets Apostles By light of naturall reason we vnderstand that the world had a beginning and was made of God Yet cānot reason breed in vs a certen perswasion of this point but onely the testimonie of the word of God and therefore it is saide By faith we vnderstand that the world was ordained by God And this made Dauid say In God I wil praise his word Furthermore in the Word three things are to be knowne precepts or commaundements because they teach obediēce threatnings because they restraine disobedience promises because they serue to confirme vs in our obedience Againe promises are either principall or lesse-principall The maine or principal promise is that in which God offereth and reuealeth righteousnesse and life euerlasting by Christ. Within this promise is contained the graunt of remission of our sinnes of necessarie patience of the assistāce of the spirit of God and of all gifts that are inseparably ioyned with faith Promises lesse-principall are concerning deliuerances in temptations safetie in daungers health wealth libertie peace c. And these must all be vnderstoode with an exception of the crosse and correction and they shal so farre forth be accomplished as they serue for Gods glorie and the good of them that beleeue Now all these heads points of the word of God must be knowne and that in some particular sort that a man may liue by his faith The second thing required for the right conceiuing of faith is after the word of God is once known To trust God vpon his word yea to depend vpon it to build vpon it This is the first principall worke of true faith it is called by Paul the obedience of faith and it is made the end and scope of the preaching of the Gospell and not without cause For this is the first and principal honour of god to beleeue him vpon his bare worde and thereby to make a cōfession of the truth of God This the deuill knew right well and therefore the first thing that he sought to ouerthrow in Adam was his faith in the word of God and the scope of the first temptation wherby he assaulted our Sauiour Christ was to ouerthrow that faith confidēce he had in his father saying if thou be the sonne of God commaund that these stones be made bread but this thou canst not doe therefore thou art not the sonne of God That this obedience which we giue to God by trusting his very word may be right obedience it must haue sixe conditions First of al it must be absolute for we must as it were shut vp our owne eyes and simply without any more ado trust god vpō his bare naked word and suffer our selues to be ledde by it In naturall things experience is first and then faith comes afterward And Thomas following nature desired first to feele before he would beleeue But God must be trusted though that which he saith be against reason and experience Thus Abraham beleeued God against all humane hope The secōd cōdition is that this obediēce must be sincere For we must trust Gods word for it selfe because it is Gods word all by-respects set apart They which are as the stony groūd receiue Gods word and reioyce in it and yet afterward in time of temptation goe awrie The reason is because they receiue the word reioyce in it not properly for it self but in respect of honour profite or pleasure which they looke to reape thereby Iohn the Baptist was a burning candle and the Iewes reioyced in his light onely in respect of the noualtie of it and therefore the holy ghost saith they reioyced in it but for a season The third condition is that we must trust God not in a part but in his whole word and therefore many faile in their faith that are cōtent to trust him in his promises of mercie saluation but list not to beleeue him in his commaundements and threats The fourth condition is that we must trust God in his word with al our hearts that it may take deepe roote and be an ingrafted word It is not sufficient for vs to haue a taste of the good word of God and to receiue it with ioy vnles we thoroughly and soundly build and relie our selues vpon it The fifth condition is that this trusting of God must be with an honest heart that is with an heart in which there is a distinct and setled purpose not to sinne but in all things to doe the will of God The good hearers are they which receiue the word with an honest and good heart Without this can no man possibly liue by faith He that puts away his good conscience makes shipwrack of his faith It is godlinesse alone that hath the promises of this life and the life to come And none can liue the life of faith but he that is a iust man After that men haue made some good proceedings and doe know the word receiue it reioyce in it bring forth some fruit if the heart for all this be euill it will cause them at length to depart frō God by distrusting or by denying credence to his word The sixth condition is that the obedience of faith must be stable and constant The Lord saith my soule hath no pleasure in them that withdraw themselues that is which for a time beleeue God and afterward pull backe their foot and goe backe from their faith Seeing this is the right way to cōceiue faith to know the word of god and to trust him vpon the same word all such as would liue by faith must haue their harts kindled with a desire to doe the things before named specially to giue credence to euery word of God We may not forsake God for any creature now we forsake him when we distrust him in his word Againe not to beleeue God is very Atheisme For by this meanes God is made a lyar and his glorie and maiestie is abolished It is the greatest part of our glorie to beleeue God as Christ saith He that receiues his testimonie puts to his seale that God is true that is giues vnto God as it were a testimonial of his truth and thereto puts his hand and seale And what greater honour can there be then this that the creature should giue testimonie to