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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sense_n	wrath_n	write_v	year_n	25	3	7.0609	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A88594	A treatise of effectual calling and election. In XVI. sermons, on 2 Pet. 1.10 Wherein a Christian may discern, whether yet he be effectually called and elected. And what course he ought to take that he may attain the assurance thereof. Preached by that faithful servant of Christ, Mr. Christopher Love, late minister of Lawrence Jury, London.	Love, Christopher, 1618-1651.; Calamy, Edward, 1600-1666.; Cross, Thomas, fl. 1632-1682,	1653 (1653)	Wing L3178; Thomason E696_1; ESTC R202781	182,095	256

continued act yes Vers 16. From my youth up I suffer thy terrours I am distracted and thy fierce wrath goes over me Heman lay under the state of desertion from his childhood for here he tels you his estate that he was not troubled for a day or two or three and then his troubles were over but from his youth up he lay under this perplexity that he thought God had cast off his soule and the terrours of God lay upon him And yet this man none questions his goodnesse For he was the man as Ainsworth thinks that made this Psalm and sure God would never honour a wicked man to be a pen-man of the Scripture The Psalm is called a golden Psalm and it is so called because hereby he would teach afflicted consciences that they may from their youth up lie under great horror and lie under sad suspence concerning their everlasting estate and yet they may have grace at the root for all this And Heman doth not onely expresse it as if he had an ordinary trouble of mind but he expresseth it that he lay under an extraordinary weight of Gods wrath Vers 7. thou h●st laid me in the lowest pit of darkness● and in the deep and thy wrath it lies heavy upon me He did even lie and sinke in his own thoughts under the sense of Gods wrath upon him This therefore is another comfortable conclusion That godly men may not onely by fits and starts but for a long time for many yeeres together lie under a state of spirituall desertion For some men think of Heman that he was above threescore yeeres of age when he wrote this Psalm yet from his youth up till that age he lay under this horrour and perplexity Thirdly that many of Gods deare children may be so long plunged under desertion and under the want of Assurance that they may refuse and withstand comforts when God offers it to them in the Gospel and yet may have grace still As a man in a fever or distracted by some violent disease though you bring him a Cordiall that may abate his disease the man in a fit will throw the glasse against the wall though it be the onely means of his remedy It is so with godly men many times they are so accustomed to sadnesse in the want of assurance that they may refuse comforts when God offers them Psal 77.2 It is the speech of Asaph my soule refuseth to be comforted a strange speech Though he was offered comfort yet his soule refused it Here then Beloved this may be a very great prop to thee that thou mayst so long be accustomed to a course of doubting that thou mayst refuse comfort when God tenders it and yet be a gracious heart still Fourthly and this is more comfortable yet That rather then God will let his people live and die without assurance he wil work assurance in you by a miracle or by some unusual or extraordinary way A famous instance you have for this of a Gentlewoman that once lived in this City its Mr. Bolton that relates the story one Mris. Honywood who was a famous professour of Religion and a woman that for many yeeres was much troubled in mind for the want of her assurance At length there came a Minister to her who endeavored to settle her hopes and comforts in Jesus Christ and he urging promises to her she took it with a kind of indignation anger that he should offer to present any promise to her to whom she thought it did not belong and having a Venice glasse in her hand she holds up the glasse and said Speak no more to me of salvation for I shall as surely be damned as this poore Venice Glasse shall be broken against the wall throwing it with all her force to break it But it pleased God by a miraculous providence to preserve the glasse whole The Minister seeing this took up the glasse and said Behold God must by a miracle work faith in you before you will believe And from that day the story saith she was a woman very strong in the assurance of Gods love Here you see how God did indulge the infirmity of his poore servant Rather then thou shalt live and die without assurance God will bring it about even by a miracle this woman it may be had died unassured if God had not confirmed her by some unusuall way I have read likewise in the book of Martyrs of Mr. Glover that all the while he was in prison he was under a state of desertion and very much clouded in his comforts and could not have any apprehension of Gods love to his soule Yet when he came to Smithfield and saw the stake and the fire in which he was to be burnt he cried out I have found him I have found him and profest of himselfe he was as full of joy as his heart could hold The Lord made the very sight of the Stake to be an inlet to present joy One would have thought that the sight of the stake should have daunted him whereas he then grew most confident Fifthly That though grace in thy heart be unchangeable yet the sense and feeling of thy own graces is subject to great variation and change Grace in it selfe is unchangeable All the divels in hell cannot pluck the meanest believer out of Christs hand Those whom thou hast given me I will keep saith Christ and none shall take them from me The foundation of God stands sure though thy knowledge that thou buildest upon that foundation may not be sure to thee The Lord knows who are his though thou mayst not Grace it selfe is not changeable though thy feeling of grace is subject to many alterations and changes Though grace it selfe be an unshaken foundation yet our feeling of grace is not so In our feeling of grace we are like the aire sometimes cleare sometimes cloudy we are like the sea sometimes ebbing sometimes flowing ebbing in your comforts as well as flowing in your graces Believers in their feeling of grace are like the Trees of the field sometimes flourishing green and growing another time at the fall of the leafe like a withered stump So are Christians touching their own feeling their apprehension of their graces is subject to much change though their graces be not so Sixthly That the want of Assurance is not simply prejudiciall to the salvation of a Christian though it be prejudiciall to the Consolation of a Christian It is no way prejudiciall to your salvation but you may be saved though you are not assured For first this want of assurance is no prejudice to your free accesse to the Throne of grace you may come freely to present your requests to God though you are not assured of acceptance As it is the saying of an Authour Though God shewes thee not his face yet he may lend thee his eare when thou comest to him in prayer God lends many a Christian an eare in prayer though they see not his face

the father of the faithful did when he was to believe a thing that sense and reason would tell him should never come to passe It is said of Abraham Rom. 4.18 19. That in hope he believed against hope He would exalt faith against sense And how was it God promised Abraham a childe reason and sense would have told Abraham Abraham thou art a hundred yeers old thy wife ninety nine her womb is barren and it is not likely you should have children but Abraham would not argue thus but would exalt arguments of faith and apply Gods Promises and Gods Word exalting these Abraham did believe in hope against hope Beloved so must you though you say you have barren wombs Grace is not likely to grow in you and though you are old and decrepit feeble Christians yet advance arguments of faith from Gods love and from Gods power and from Gods Providence and Gods Promises and that 's the way to get your comforts clear and full I may apply what Fox in his Acts and Monuments reports of a poor woman that was called before Bonner and the rest in Queen Maries Reign that sate in Judgement about her Religion they see her though a poor and silly woman yet keep firm to her principles and would not deny her Religion At length Bonner sent some learned Doctors to dispute with her and argue the case about some points she held they coming to see her she puts them off with this saying Well you are Scholars and you come to dispute I must needs tell you I cannot dispute but I can burn for my Religion Beloved I would have you answer the devil thus If he comes to outwit and cavill with you about your comforts say you cannot dispute but you can believe you can lay your help on Jesus Christ upon one that is mighty and exalt arguments of faith and this will much strengthen your comforts Luke 8.42 There came a Ruler to Jesus Christ and besought him for his daughter that lay a dying and while he was telling Christ this there came another messenger after and told him Thy daughter is dead trouble the man no farther what saith Christ hearing this Fear not onely believe As if he should say sense and reason would have told him it were a needlesse thing to beg of Christ for his daughter when she was dead but saith Christ Do not stoop to sense and reason Fear not onely believe and the work shall be done So I say to you Consult not with flesh and blood but exalt arguments of faith against present feelings and this is the way to get assurance of your comforts Secondly Keep conscience clear that no sin be harboured there and you are in the way to get your comforts full God saith David Psal 85.8 will speak peace to his people but they must not return unto folly As if he should say though God doth speak peace and assure you of your pardon and salvation yet if you return to sin God can tell how to break your peace and turn his smiles into frowns and angry looks Take heed of sin and keep your conscience clear and that 's the way to have peace setled in your hearts Job 11.14 15. If iniquity be in thy hand put it far away and let not wickednesse dwell in thy Tabernacle What followes and then shalt thou lift up thy face before God without spot thou shalt be stedfast and shalt not fear A strange expression That if you will keep sin far away then you shall be stedfast before God and not fear that is you shall not be exposed to those fears and doubts and anxieties which other men are exposed to Heb. 10.22 Let us draw near to God with an upright heart in fall assurance of faith Now what shall a man do to come to God in full assurance Mark the next words Draw nigh to God in full assurance of faith having your hearts sprinkled from an evill conscience Here is the way if you are sprinkled from an evill conscience you may be bold to come to God in full assurance Whereas alas if thy conscience tell thee thou art a whoremaster and thou art a deceiver and a liar and loose liver thou canst not come with full assurance thou mayest come in presumption indeed but not with the assurance of faith and therefore keep a conscience clear from harbouring guilt upon it and that 's the way to have the heart sull of joy Thirdly be diligent in keeping company with the most godly experienced Christians where you live this is a very special way to increase your comforts Ye read an excellent passage 2 Corinth 1.4 We are comforted of God saith the Apostle that we might comfort others with the comfort wherewith we are comforted of God Godly Christians they will comfort you with the same comforts wherewith they themselves are comforted If we are comforted it is for your consolation Godly men if they have any inward comfort from God they will impart their experiences to you and tell you as David did Psal 66.16 What God hath done for their soul There is no way better then this to keep in communion with godly and knowing Christians Master Bradford that famous Martyr who was in prison about his profession of Christ the story saith he lay a long time under trouble of minde and horrour of conscience that he could not finde a real and clear evidence of his effectual calling there came many men to him and could not settle him Yet a poore Weaver an ancient and experienced Christian that did usually accompany Master Bradford in prison by his frequent communion with this poore man he got more inward comfort then ever he got all his life before Beloved this I speak to you to make you the more to study the worth of godly society and the more you are conversant with Christians that live in the enjoyment of the light of Gods countenance and in the assurance of his favour all the day long the more you are in the ready way to increase your comforts and assurance Fourthly Submit thy self to the approbation of others and be willing to have them pass a verdict upon thee When thou art a sleep or in a swoun then thou canst not tel thyself what thou dost but others must tell thee So it may fall out with the godly they may be in such a spiritual swoun that the yare not fit judges of their own condition in this case submit to the judgement of others they may see grace in thee when thou thy self canst not see it so Master Throgmorton was comforted by the Testimony of a company of godly Ministers Fifthly Live in the daily improvement of grace and that 's the way to get assurance And this meanes the holy Ghost layes down in the Chapter out of which my text is taken Adde grace to grace And I remember that Beza upon this text doth write that in the Greek Translations these words are put in Give diligence