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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A65313	Seven sermons on several select subjects preached by Mr. Tho. Watson ...	Watson, Thomas, d. 1686.	1689 (1689)	Wing W1144; ESTC R38959	64,277	202

Christ by Faith it is hard it is not an easie matter It is easie to profess this Son of God but it is not easie to kiss this Son. That which makes this work of believing lies in these two things First Because man sets up the Idol of Self-righteousness he is apt to think he hath something of his own growth in him righteousness of his own his prayers his tears his alms he would make a Christ of them Instead of kissing the Son he doth idolize himself Man 's a proud piece of flesh he would see some worthiness in himself he would give part to himself and part to Christ he is loth to be beholden to grace only he would grow upon his own Root and not be grafted upon the Stock of Christs righteousness Rom. 10.3 Going about to establish a righteousness of their own they have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. O! it 's wonderful to see a proud sinner humble to go out of himself to Christ for righteousness That 's one thing Secondly That which makes this work of believing so hard is this because believing it 's a work above the power of nature to produce it 's a work of supernatural infusing Iohn 6. v. 29. Faith is call'd the work of God It 's the work of God to believe Faith is a new Creation The creation of the world it is called the work of Gods finger but the creation of faith it is called the work of Gods arm The Lord doth as it were set all his strength awork It is called the exceeding greatness of his power Eph. 1.20 Surely to raise Christ from the dead required a great power he had a heavy Grave-stone laid upon him the sins of the whole world Why the same power God doth put forth in the producing of faith in the Soul so that this kissing of Christ by faith is not so easie as most do imagine Thirdly Where ever this blessed work of faith is it hath some virtue goes along with it it hath a refining consecrating virtue The kiss of faith it 's a holy kiss it purifies the heart and makes it holy Acts 15. Faith is in the heart as fire amongst metal it purifies it and takes away the dross A kiss of faith it has the same virtue as the touching of Christ by faith The Woman touched the hem of Christs garment by faith and immediately she receives healing virtue from that touch Mark 5.34 Thus faith touches Christ and heals True faith draws a sanctifying and a mortifying virtue from the Lord Jesus Justifying faith may be called a faith of spiritual miracles for it removes mountains of sins and throws them into Christs blood Whoever doth kiss the Son by faith he is presently made holy The truth is faith doth argue a man to holiness it falls to reasoning with him O my Soul hath Christ done so much for me hath he forgiven me so many debts hath he purchased such rich mercy in his blood and wilt thou abuse the Love of so dear a friend Wilt thou make the wounds of thy dear Saviour to bleed afresh is this to kiss the Son O my Soul how shouldst thou give up thy self to Christ in holiness And then faith reasons If that my tears will wash Christs feet wilt thou not pour them out If thy Estate be a precious Ointment wilt not thou pour out this Ointment upon part of Christs body and relieve his Members Now the Soul cannot withstand these melting reasons but presently yields to all Faith it is a holy gift it doth consecrate the heart where-ever it comes Fourthly To kiss the Son by faith it is the most excellent way of worshiping of him there 's nothing like believing Let me a little set forth to you the excellency of faith First This is the main thing the Scripture doth hold forth and press you to If one should be asked this Question Why the Scriptures were written The Answer is to point us to Christ the true Messiah and that we should embrace him by faith Iohn 20.31 These things are written that you might believe that Iesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing you might have life through his name This is the marrow of the Gospel It 's the soveraign Cordial of a fainting Soul that by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ he may be saved Secondly This blessed believing kissing the Son by faith it is the most excellent of all graces it excels all others even as Gold among Metals Every grace is very lovely but this of faith excels them all Consider these four or five particulars First Faith is the uniting grace therefore this grace excels other graces conform us to Christ but faith unites us to Christ it espouses us to him Other graces make us like Christ but faith makes us one with Christ Other graces make us pictures of Christ but faith makes us branches of Christ. That 's one Secondly Faith it is the heart vital grace By kissing Christ we fetch life from him The just shall live by faith Hab. 2.4 By believing we fetch life from Christ I live by the faith of the Son of God saith the Apostle Gal. 2.20 As the arm lives by drawing life from the heart so faith it lives by drawing life and strength from Christ. Other graces are useful but faith is vital Thirdly Faith it is the justifying grace therefore it is most excellent Rom. 5.1 Being justified by faith It is not repentance that justifies nor self-denial but faith Faith it is the most proper grace of all to justifie a sinner for the hand is more fitter to receive the food than the eye so faith is the most proper to justifie because when we believe we don't give any thing to Christ but we fetch something from him Fourthly It is a world-conquering grace 1 Iohn 5.4 This is the victory over the world even our faith Faith overcomes all the allurements of the world the riches of the world the delights of the world and it doth it thus by shewing the Soul a better world than this is Faith gives it a prospect of prosperity it carries a Believer to the Mount of Transfiguration it makes it to see things that are not seen by the eye of sence Heb. 12.1 Faith leads the Soul to Christ the bright morning Star it gives the Soul a view of him and he is known in the embroidered Robes of his glory Faith shews a man a Kingdom it trades above the Moon and when once a Soul hath a shadow of these things it despises all the pleasures of this world Fifthly and lastly Faith is a suffering grace it inables us to wade thorow the deep waters of affliction Heb. 11.25 By faith Moses he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season Faith is a Furnace grace it gives the Soul a right notion of suffering What is this suffering saith faith it is but light

SEVEN SERMONS ON Several Select Subjects PREACHED BY Mr. Tho. Watson sometimes Minister of the Gospel at St. Stephen Walbrook London With Allowance LONDON Printed in the Year 1689. THE PUBLISHER TO THE READER Christian Reader HAving had these Sermons by me for a considerable time and finding them of singular Advantage to all who mind the work of their Salvation in earnest I thought I could not sufficiently discharge that Duty I owe to my fellow Christians if I did not contribute what I could to the good of others and therefore I have made them of Publick use 'T were a Presumption in me to offer to launch out upon the Praises of the Worthy Preacher of them as if he needed Encomiums from such as I am to recommend his Works to the World since his Name is so savoury among all those that either heard him Preach read his Writings or were acquainted with his Exemplary Life and Conversation he having with that great Apostle taken sufficent care that while he Preached to others he might not be a cast away himself that 't will be sufficient to recommend them to the perusal of all serious Christians that they are his Those that are only for a quaint polite Discourse may sute themselves where they think best but such as are for the plain Truths of the Gospel and desire to drink in the sincere Milk of the Word of God may find great profit by this Book Those Ministers whose only delight it is to make Elegant Discourses busking them up with a vain flourish of Words as if the plain Truths of the Gospel were not palatable but needed some correctives to render them more grateful to mens appetites and those who perplex their Hearers with Intricate Philosophical Notions seem more to hunt after Popular applause than sincerely to endeavour the Conversion and Salvation of Souls But those who design faithfully to discharge that great Trust committed to them by their Lord and Master will be sure to shun both these and to deliver the Truths of the Gospel in as plain and homely a dress as may be that the way of Salvation may be set forth to the meanest Capacities Like the famous Gregory Nazianzen who tho he was Master of as much Learning as any in his day yet was very plain in his Preaching and a Godly laborious Preacher here sometimes since with the Lord who when he had written his Sermon used to read it over to his Servants and if any thing in it transcended their Capacities altered it and made it so plain that he was sure nothing in it could surmount the Understandings of the meanest of his Hearers And all that ever heard the worthy Author or read any of his Sermons can sufficiently testifie how well he acquitted himself in this point And those that have not may fully be convinced of it by reading these Sermons which they will find as plain and obvious as can be desired delivered in as few words as possible so as to leave out nothing neeessary in order to explaining the true meaning of the Text. Were this golden Rule generally observed much more Fruit might be expected by the preaching of the Gospel than now is and those who desire to be most serviceable in their Generation would not be misrepresented as Canters by men that speak evil of things they understand not The Subject matter of these Sermons are Truths of very great use in Christians Practice whatever their case or condition be So that there are few Spiritual Diseases but Remedies are here set down for them viz. those who are groaning under the Cross Comforts are prescribed to them those who are secure are awakened those that are worldly Weaning Considerations are here proposed to them and those who are under comfortable Influences of the Spirit Directions are given them how to continue them It cannot be expected since the Godly Preacher himself had not the perusal of them but that those that are too Nice and Censorious may espy some expressions in them that might have been better worded And therefore I hope that they will be so far from laying it on the Worthy Author that they will even excuse it in me since through a desire I had for the publick good I rather chose to incurr the censures of some men in publishing these Sermons than out of a sullen Modesty suppress that which might tend so much to the Advancement of Holiness Which that it may be the blessed fruit of this and all other Works of this Nature is and shall be the Hearty Prayers of c. ERRATA Page 27. line 4. for Disabling read Disciplining p. 30. l. 18. Disabling for r. Disciplining SERMON I. Job 14.14 All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come THIS Book relates the History of Iob's sufferings he was a tall Cedar in grace yet this Cedar grew in a Valley of Tears Religion gives no Charter of Exemption from trouble Iob's tryals were so sharp that he began to grow weary of life and was willing to have a Writ of Ease to have his pass and be gone Iob 14.13 Oh that thou wouldest hide me in the grave This holy man was much afflicted in his meditations of his latter end He walked among the Tombs and walked into his Grave before it was digged and by frequent thoughts laboured to make death familiar to him All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come The Text is a large Field I shall only as I pass along pluck some few ears of corn In the words are these three general parts observable 1. A description of Life All my days 2. The determination of Life My appointed time 3. A holy Resolution I will wait till my change come I begin with the first First Here is a description of Life All the days Doct. Job doth not measure his life by years but by days Nay he calls life a day in verse 6. of this chapter Mans life is very much resembled to a day in three or four respects 1. Life is like a day for the shortness of it men dream of a long life saith Austin Men they do think of such a thing as an earthly Eternity but it is a short day Infancy that is day break Youth that is Sun rising Full growth that is the Sun in its Meridian Old age is Sun setting Sickness is Evening and then comes the night of Death Life it is a day and is it so short but a day why do we then rather lose time than live it 2. Life is like a day for the vicissitudes that are in it A day hath much alteration and change of weather the Morning that shews clear and bright at Noon black Clouds and Rain one part of the day is calm and serene the other part it is blusterous and windy Such is our life it is like a day what change of weather is there in Man's life What sudden alterations fall out sometimes health