Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
scripture_n	believe_v	faith_n	justification_n	3,844	5	9.3520	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A10152	The righteous mans way Wherein are given certaine directions, how men may profitably meditate upon the Commandements of God: that so through such manner of meditation, the Lordes Commandements may finde place in mens hearts, to serve in them as guides unto all their actions and thoughts. Directions most needfull for these times, seeing most men laying the commandements of God aside, doe leade their lives in disobedience to Gods commandements; and this, not onely to the scandall of Christian religion, but also to the extreame hazard of their own salvation.	Proctor, Thomas, fl. 1621.	1621 (1621)	STC 20411; ESTC S110512	50,262	77

also be disobedient to my God shall I also be wicked What were this but to double my miserie therfore I will rather set my selfe now to the Word of the Lord that yet my estate to Godwards may mend even under this declining of my estate to the worldwards And indeed who will not condemne him who addeth wickednesse to his poverty or him who when the Law hath punished for some wickednesse he will yet then increase his wickednesse Are not mens hearts even set against such a man Doe they not commonly account the utter perishing of a man of such a disposition just Therfore learne from this holy Prophet that if ever Afflictions come upon you you make this use of them that now yet you will turn you to the Law of your God to keep it For the third Meanes which was Meditation we haue also great need thereof for such are the incessant withdrawings from minding the things of God as that unlesse we purposely set our selues to minde the Commandements either the continuall care of getting Gaine or the continuall laying hold of all meanes of aspiring or the continuall delight of advantage unto lustfull pleasures is such that we shall hardly ever so much as once minde the Commandements of God Wherfore it is surely necessary that you sometime say thus or to like effect with your selfe Shall I never think of Gods commandements Shall I be alwaies carried away of my Cares of my Imployments of my Pleasures Shall these wholly ●●uffe my minde Shall I never once Meditate on any Commandement of the Lord What will become of me if I thus goe on For if thus you say some time with your selfe this will touch your heart this will startle you this will moue you to break off sometimes your cares imployments or pleasures taking some fit time wherein purposely to reade or heare read the commandements of the Lord at which time you suffering your selfe to discourse upon each one unvayling its Rightenesse Goodnes and utility to mans Societie this wil greatly further your keeping the commandements of God The discourse of the soule upon a Commandement fastens a Commandement in our Memory wherby ever after it shall not come after but goe before every Action Speech or Thought of ours And truely we fall into much evill even for want of having a ready and impressed knowledge of that Commandement which concernes the Action Speech or Thought we are at present about Therfore I commend in a man a dividing of the Gospell into parts taking the commandements apart and then taking him to studie either in bed or in solitarinesse now of one part then of another For this same generall Notion onely of the Gospell whilst we know all but study not advisedly any speciall particular part of the same comes farre short of that use which we ought to make of the Gospell And indeed all is best comprehended by dividing all into parts and then studying well the parts one at one time another at another time 10. CHAP. THus having shown you as for an excellent example how David received the Cōmandements of God next having shown you some special Motiues tending to make a man the more willing delightfully to keep the Cōmandements and lastly having shown you three very speciall Meanes by which may be furthered your keeping the commandements of the Lord I think it fit in the next place to shew you two things wherof I would warne you The first is that you in an eager disposition to keep the commandements begin not to fall into that old ●rrour of trusting unto justification by works rather then by faith onely the second is that you be not discouraged from observation of the Commandements neither by the impossibility perfectly to fulfill them nor by the manifest evidence that other Men minde them not to obserue them towards you in that wherin you haue to doe with them Men desire much to be justified for their obedience and therfore to doe works commanded that they make themselues righteous by their obedience now unto obedience indeed righteousnes is imputed but men consider not that the obedience in beleeving is that whereunto truely righteousnesse is imputed They would faine be righteous by their works but God that knoweth how imperfectly men fulfill the righteousnesse of workes hath imputed Righteousnesse to Beleefe not to Workes As it is said in the Scriptures of the old Testament Gen. 15. 6. And Abraham beleeved the Lord and He counted that to him for Righteousnesse which thing is made use of in the new Testament by S. Paul to draw us to seek Iustification not in our workes but in our faith in Christ Rom. 9. 4. Therefore let no man be discouraged for that he cannot perfectly fulfill the Lords Commandements concerning workes but rather let him be sure that he fulfill that great Commandement concerning Beliefe that so he with Abram beleeving God may haue by God Righteousnesse imputed unto him for that Few men in our times consider as they ought what an excellencie it is to Beleeue in God and in Christ manifesting themselues so vailed as they haue done but God knowing how rich a thing it is for man to beleeue that which he saith as abram not onely heard but also indeed beleeved the Lord vouchsafed to account Beleefe unto man for Righteousnesse Verily men heed not this in these times as they ought therfore also they accounting of Beleefe but as of a light inclination of the mind onely trust rather to works then to beleefe for Iustification but they ought to informe themselues that though the faithfull must indeavour to fulfill also the righteousnesse of workes yet God hath chosen to justifie Beleevers for their beleeving not for their works because they beleeue in him who onely fulfild the Righteousness of works commanded To beleeue the Lord is a worke of workes as we may perceiue by that which our Lord answered the Iewes Iohn 6. 29. saying This is the worke of God that ye beleeue in him whom He hath sent And truely all the Scripture shewes that the Lord hath ever more freely accepted of mens beleeving in him then of any the best workes that they haue done therfore though Abraham performed that great worke of offering up to God his sonn Isaak yet there we reade not that God counted that to him for Righteousnesse but when he beleeved God God counted that indeed unto him for Righteousnesse Blessed therefore ●e the memory of those first Angels of the Reformation who perceiving how Poperie lead people to trust to works for their Iustification before God drew them back againe to consider Beleefe more advisedly Which thing though at that time they had more reason to doe then wee now of the Reformed Churches haue because at that time workes were taught people as for workes meritorious which indeed merited rather punishment yea damnation such as was the doing worship not before onely but even to the very Image directly contrary to the commandement

bonds because so long as your passions affections are not moved in you the kingdome of heaven is not in you with power to your salvation An other fallacy there is when some would move mens feare by their own zeale or earnestness in preaching of damnation damnatiō so putting more trust to prevaile more by their owne manner of preaching then all the power of God in his great works can prevaile But the faithfullest course is to open well unto people the fearefulness of any judgments already inflicted upon some and the fearfulness of that last judgement of eternall damnation trusting that by an apt opening unto the people the particulars of those judgements the judgements of the Lord will then worke the feare of God in their hearts And surely it is more honour to God when his owne work prevaile over men to beget a feare of him in their hearts then when mens feare is begotten in them by the earnestness or zeale onely of a preacher A third fallacy there is when some put trust in preaching the Lawe as if the word Lawe Lawe onely sounded out in their earnest manner should make men feare to breake the Lawe whereas it were better aptly to open unto them the manner of Gods Apparition when he gave the Lawe that as then so for ever upon the apt description the fearfull manner of Gods giving the Lawe may beget a feare of God in mens hearts and consequently a feare to breake his Lawe so given to men And truely it is a very great darkness yea also damnable which wil be found in men at the last day by their not being possessed with the Acts and Iudgements of God for them and through them fearing God but resting onely with a seeming feare brought on them by hearing some over-zealous preacher Zeale is good yea it must be when the people are dull and slowe of hearing and therefore I would not haue men thinke that I reprove all zealous preachers but I would haue men rather to know that I would not haue any to make a false ayme or end of their zeale They must not thinke to beare Men more downe with their zeale then all the power of God in his workes declared can doe for this is to the great dishonour of the Lord. To conclude Let no man hurt his owne soule by saying what should I fear God for any thing done by him to others heretofore for to feare God for the judgments inflicted upon others is the ready way to remove Gods judgments from your selfe And surely he that thus honoureth God by fearing him for that done by him to others shall never feele judgements but gentle corrections rather Therefore at any hand take heede of so evill a disposition as when you heare what God hath inflicted upon others you say What is that to me I am well enough I will goe on in my pleasure though it be sinfull Nay rather learne by this manner practise which I haue taught you to be able truely to say with the Prophet David Thy Iudgements have I laid before me My flesh trembleth for feare of thee and I am afraid of thy Iudgements For surely the Iudgements laid before us will beget feare in us and feare in us will incline us to the keeping of the Commandements Yea as I haue said before our heart will even delight in the escaping such Iudgements by the keeping of Gods Commandements Therefore apply your selfe hereunto as you tender your owne profit Yea when you heare the Comm●ndements receive them then as if you heard them out of the fietry flame Deut 3. 11. for so they were at first given and you● eye must by faith ascend to the first giving those thing which now you often reade or heare 5. Chap. A Fourth Motive or inducement which I would remēber unto you is The love of God To this end Deut. 11. 1 we read t●us Thou shalt love the Lord thy God an● shalt keepe that which he commanded to be kept that is his Ordinances and his Lawes and Commandements alway And ou● Lord saith Iohn 14 vers 15. and 23 If ye love me keepe my Commandements If any man love me he will keepe my worde he that loueth me not keepeth not my worde Love is the most assured bond of any other binding men faster to a keeping of Commandements then any other thing whatsoever can doe Love knowes no rewardes for disobedience but abideth faithfull unto that which is beloved therefore the Apostle Paul 1. Cor. 13 7 saith Love doth never fall away If any man therefore would be a constant observer of Gods Commandements let him then indeavour to attayne to Love God But how should a man Love God whom he never sawe I answer this may be though it is indeede difficult because this cannot be done without faith and every man attayneth not unto faith And indeed to love God Christ whom we haue not seene is reckoned for a speciall part of that wherein the Saincts excell others as the Apostle Peter 1. Pet. 1. 8. saith whom ye haue not seene and yet Love him in whom now though ye see him not yet doe ye beleeve and reioyce with ioy unspeakeable and glorious And yet though wee see not God nor Christ with our bodily eye yet we must haue a sight both of God and of Christ or els we can not love eyther of them but this sight in deede is the sight of the soule through faith Wee cannot possibly loue any thing whereof wee haue no knowledge neyther doe men now knowe God but thorowe faith therfore as our knowledge of God is now thorowe faith so also is our Loue of God through Faith Would you therefore attaine to Love God you must then first beleeve the report of these things whereby the Lord hath reveiled himselfe to his Church If you beleeve those things then is the eye of your soule opened and thenceforth you haue a soule-fight of God and of Christ because thorowe faith of the report you now haue knowledge of those Apparitions or Reveilings of God and of Christ which they haue made of themselves to the Church Wherefore present your selfe with those Declarations set them before your selfe in Meditation and then unlesse your heart be in you wholy unbeleeving you cannot but haue thenceforth a knowledge of God Accustome your selfe therfore to heare the Ministers of Gods Word accustome your selfe to beleeue them also in that they say out of the word of God accustome your selfe to heare the word of God in Scripture read unto you or if your selfe can reade then accustome your selfe to reade the Scriptures Accustome your selfe ever likewise to beleeue what you reade in the Scriptures If thus you do then by this means you shall present your selfe with these things in the Scriptures by which God and Christ haue made themselues both known and beloved of Men. And verily the next way to attaine to a loue of God is the presenting our soule and heart with these