Selected quad for the lemma: sin_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
sin_n	believe_v	faith_n	unbelief_n	3,235	5	10.7449	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A96328	The Christians hope triumphing in these glorious truths; [brace] 1. That Christ the ground of hope, is God, and not meer man, against the Arians, and other unbelieving Christians. 2. That Christ is the true Messiah, against the unbelieving Jews. 3. That there is another life besides this, against the grosse atheist. 4. That the soul of man is immortall, and doth not sleep till the day of resurrection, against the errour of some seeming semi-atheists. 5. How the hope of heaven should be attained, whilst we are on earth, against the carnall worldlings. 6. How this hope may be discerned where it is, and attained where it is not, for the comfort of every poor Christian. All which truths are briefly pointed out and cleared, in a sermon preached before the Right Honourable House of Lords in the Abby-Church at Westminster on Wednesday, May 28. being the day appointed for solemn and publike humiliation. / By Jeremiah Whitaker. Published by order of the House of Peers.	Whittaker, Jeremiah, 1599-1654.	1645 (1645)	Wing W1710; Thomason E286_4; ESTC R200074	52,593	59

of devils and not from the rage of men Psal 97.2 roll your soules upon him and he will carry you in his bosome and though clouds and darknes be round about him yet you shall see that righteousnes and judgement are the habitation of his throne Isa 33.17 your eyes shall see the king in his beauty that he is a defender above all destroyers you shall be upon a Rock higher then waves we meet here with great difficulties and those cause great feares and great feares had need of great hope and these are never great enough but in the great God Augastin Ho●● 44. De ipsis amar●●udinibus mur●●urans dich Ecce pereunt omnia Christianis temporthus quid streqis non boc promisit Deus qu ed ista non peribunt Aeterna pro●●sit aelernus c. Christ alone can make us above our selves above men above changes above the inconstancy of this present evil world why doth the soule which hopeth in Christ complain that the world changeth did ever God promise that it should not change hath not God tould us expressely that the Heavens wax old as a garment and as a vesture shall he change them and they shall be changed he that is eternall hath promised things eternall and if thou beleeve of mortall thou shalt be made immortall and in the hopes of immortality mayest triumph over whatsoever is mortall saying as he did World why dost thou fume what wouldst thou do if thou shouldst continue if so proud when thou hast no abiding whom wouldst thou not deceive if thou wert sweet if thou hast deceived so many whilst thou art bitter Quid. strepis numde quid immu●de strepia quid faceres si maneres Quem non deciperes dalcis si amarus c. I come to the third part the extent of this hope viz. that the hope of a Christian is not confined to this life if we had only hope in this life c. Hence ariseth the third Doctrine viz. That they that would set their hopes on Christ must be perswaded there is another life after this life and in this life it is their duty to assure the hopes of a better You reade in the Scripture not only of this world but of the world to come Christ telleth us of sins that shall not be forgiven neither in this life nor in the life to come Matth. 12.32 And Christ is said to be farre exalted above all principalities and powers Ephes 1 2● not only in this world but in that which is to come and that world is so farre above this world that the thoughts of eternity are called the powers of the world to come Heb. 6.5 and to over-power all the things of this world We reade of Judgement to come Pauls Sermon before the great Governout was of this subject and it made him to tremble Act. 24.25.1 Cor. 4.3 Rin. 2.5 and that judgement is sarre above the judgement of mans day We reade of wrath to come and all the wrath that is present is nothing to the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgement of God the Sadduces who were none of the best of men but a generation of vipers Mat. 3.7.1 Thes 1.10 yet were forewarned to flee from the wrath to come and the great triumph of the Apostle was that God had delivered them from wrath to come We reade of another life to come and that is the great priviledge of godlinesse that it hath not only the promises of this life 1 Tim. 4.8 but of that which is to come and the great work of grace upon the heart is to take us off from looking after things temporall and to make us look after things eternall 2 Cor. 4.16 It was the Apostles life they looked not on things that are seen but on things that are not seen Men are never Christians in good earnest till they be perswaded fully of the things of eternity and that poor seduced soul that resolveth never to be perswaded hath no ground to think that ever it shall be converted Luk. 16.18 Dives begg'd that one might go from the dead to tell his brethren on the earth lest they also should come into the same place of torment intimating the cause of his own sin and eternall misery intimating that he was not perswaded of this place of torment in his life and therefore came down to this place of torment at his death God hath made the vision herein so plain that every one that runneth may reade it and he that hardneth his heart against Moses and the Prophets is left inexcusable ver 31. and is irrecoverable and would not be perswaded though one should arise from the dead The Use of this point is First If there be an other life besides this life then let us be humbled for all that world of unbelief that is in our nature that our perswasions about the things of eternity are so weake when Gods expressions are so strong and clear that we can beleeve the things of sense and will not beleeve the things of faith that we entertain the reports of men and reject the reports of God 1 Joh. 5.9 Surely if we receive the witnesse of men is not the witnesse of God greater this unbelief was the first sin and is the last sin the cause of our first apostasie and ground of our continued malignity when Christ intendeth to convert a soul unto himself this is the great sin whereof the Spirit of Christ convinceth the soul and the Spirit never proveth a comforter but where he is a convincer and the first work in conversion is laid in an act of conviction and that conviction discovereth the great sin of unbelief Joh. 16.9 and where Christ doth not convince them of it he wil condemn them for it how often are we bidden to take heed of this spirit of unbelief Heb. 3.12 in departing from the living God nor can any man be an heir of life who lieth under the power of unbelief for will any man deny himself crosse his own appetite take up Christs crosse to assure to himself a propriety to those things wherein he beleeveth there is no reality the soul must first beleeve the excellency of the things in themselves before it make it its great design to get an interest in them if the things of eternity were fully beleeved what manner of persons would men be in all holinesse of conversation 2 Pet. 3.11 and did you really look on such things it would make you diligent to be found of him without spot and blamelesse In the next place Vse 2 Let this entreat you to abhorre all those opinions that may any waies weaken this perswasion hate to be under the power of them and when the power of them is broken resist the remainders that Satan may get no advantage against you especially fortifie your selves with strong arguments against these two opinions which carry away a

ver 20. 1 Pet. 2.2 Job 23.12 that you desire the word as new borne babes the brests and long for it as much as for your appointed food this is a strong argument your hope is grounded upon the Word of God when the word doth nourist it this word weakneth the hope of Hypocrites discovereth the rottennes of their vain confidence but t is otherwise with the Saints though their soules have many doubts when they consult with humane reason yet when they come to the law Isa 57.19 and to the testimony the Lord createth the fruit of the lips to be peace and when their light is cleerest their hope is strongest Vse 3 Let this Doctrine make your soules in love with this hope which will be an arke to preserve you when others are drowned a City of refuge to secure you when others fall into the hand of that avenger of blood that doth pursue them If any aske how shall we attaine this frame of spirit to set our hopes on God I answer and so conclude Vse 4 Take these directions First strive to apprehend and meditate upon the great blessing of Jesus Christ let the thoughts of eternity dwell upon your hearts things not apprehended can never be desired nor really expected Secondly That you may apprehend these riches of Christs glory beleeve the excellencies revealed in the Gospel the object of hope is things invisible and faith must be the ground of such things hoped for Heb. 11.1 and the onely evidence we can have for those things that are not seen if any prophane person resolve I will not beleeve that there is a Heaven or a Hell nor the powers of the world to come till I see them Consider poore soule when these truths are the object of thy sight they cannot be the object of thy hope for hope that is seen is not hope for what a man seeth Rom. 8 24. why doth he yet hope for beleeve therefore the excellencies of Jesus Christ otherwise thou wilt never be at the paines to cleare thy interest in them and if Heaven be not first made the object of thy hope it can never be made the object of thy sight expectation must precede fruition Thirdly Love the excellencies of the Lord Jesus Christ many things may be beleeved as true Fides est ●●alarum rerum bonarum quare bona creduntur mala boc fide bonà non malâ c. Lombard l. 3. dist 27. Psal 43 4. Cant. 8.6 and yet not loved as good faith may be good when the object of it is evil for we are bound to beleeve every truth which God revealeth the evil of sin as truly as the goodnesse of grace but nothing is the object of hope but what the soule is really perswaded is truly good where love is weake the mind is carelesse and hope cannot be strong and that which is not earnestly desired is never greedily expected but when the desires of our soule are earnestly carryed out after Christ when we set up Christ in our hearts as the gladnes of our joy then we begin to long after him then love and hope prove strong as death and hope deferred maketh the heart sick but this is the great priviledge of this hope though in all other things you may meet with disappointments yet God will fulfill the desires of them that feare him and the expectation of poore soules in Christ shall never goe away ashamed Prov. 13.12 and when this hope is granted it will be a tree of life Fourthly In the use of all meanes that God hath appointed beg importunately the spirit of grace which God hath promised freely t is beyond the ability of mans will above the strength of ordinances above the reach of any created power to worke this hope t is easy to presume but to beleeve and hope in God that raiseth up the dead is an act of transcendent difficultie for a poore soule under the sense of sinne and Gods wrath and sight of Hell to roll it selfe upon the rich mercy of Christ to have all this guilt so great to be pardoned and all the lusts that are strong to be subdued this is onely the gift of God and therefore pray that the eyes of your understanding may be opened and that your hearts and consciences may experimentally feele that exceeding working of his power Ephes 1.19 1 Pet. 1.21 which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead that your faith and hope may be in God and that your soules may be so in love with Heaven and your perswasions thereof so well grounded that you may be above the love of this life and above the feare of death and that all the dayes of your appointed time Job 14.14 you may be waiting till your change come FINIS