Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
spirit_n	flesh_n	reap_v	sow_v	14,782	5	11.5940	5	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A20398	A Most excellent and profitable dialogue, of the powerfull iustifying faith shewing what it is to beleeue in God, and what wonders are wrought by the power of beliefe, be it worldly or diuine, and what things do hinder beliefe : also how a man may hate himselfe, and by faith forsake himselfe, and kill the deeds of the flesh : the effect of the talke is this, that he which beleeueth in God, and in his son Iesus Christ, is able by the power of that beliefe, to mortifie his flesh, with the lusts thereof, through the Holy Ghost, and to serue God in spirit and truth / translated out of Latine by Arthur Golding.	Golding, Arthur, 1536-1606.	1610 (1610)	STC 6809.5; ESTC S342	24,313	58

that to obey is not a harder matter then to work myracles and yet that to obey belongeth to all beleeuers whereas to work myracles belongeth not to all as I haue shewed afore Lew. Indeede these things are true Fredericke but yet there remaineth one thing which I would faine haue opened vnto me You said euen now that all men beleeue Christs histories but not his cōmandements likewise But if they beleeued y e whole story of Christ specially his resurrection in my opinion they should beleeue all the other things also For no doubt but if they beleeued that Iesus Christ is risen from the dead in so doing they should both beleeue that he is the very sonne of God indeed and moreouer giue credit to all his sayings In which respect Iohn said These things are written to the intent yee might beléeue that Iesus is the annoynted sonne of God and that through beleeuing it yée should obtaine life by his name Fred. Whereas I deny that they beleeue his commandements I would not haue it so taken as though they beleeued not that his commanding of those things was well and as became the sonne of God to doe but that forasmuch as they beleeue not that the things which he commanded to be done are either possible or needfull to be done misconstruing them after their own fancy not according to his mind I say they beleeue them not aright For your better vnderstanding whereof I will giue you an example When God hauing brought the children of Israel out of Aegypt commanded them to enter into the land of Canaan did they beleeue that God commanded it Lew. Yea verily Or else they would neuer haue sent spies into the land of Canaan Fred. Why then did they not obey him Lew. Because they were of opinion that the Canaanites could not bee ouercome and that God had brought them out of Egypt not to conquer Canaan but to perish wretchedly in the wildernesse Fred. Then did they not beleeue Gods commandement according to Gods meaning forasmuch as his meaning was that they should haue inuaded Canaan subdued the Canaanites Lew. You say the truth Fred. Thē did they not beleeue aright Lew. No not aright Fred. Whether then are they to be called beleeuers or vnbeleeuers Lew. Truly by this reason they should be called vnbeléeuers Fred. And soothly so they be Lewis in very deede For in the very same place God calleth them vnbeleeuers in these words How long will this people spite me How long will it be ere they will beleeue me for all the miracles which I haue wrought among thē Now if these be iustly called vnbeleeuers the same reason leadeth vs to call the others vnbeleeuers and distrusters of Christs commandements forasmuch as they do no lesse misconstrue the precepts of Christ thā the Israelites did the commandements of God For Christ hath not wrought fewer miracles to vs then Moses did to them Neither did Christ command vs lesse earnestly to subdue sin then God commanded them to subdue the Canaanites Neither are we lesse spiteful distrustful towards him if we deny that sin may be subdued when as hee both commandeth vs and promiseth vs strength then they were spitefull and distrustfull towards God in denying it to be possible to ouercome the Canaanites Neither do we offend lesse against the meaning of Christ when we deny that it is either possible for vs or meant by Christ that wee should do the things which he hath commanded vs to doe then the Israelites offended against the meaning of God when they wrested it another way then his open words imported And therefore in denying them to beleeue Christs commandements I do them no wrong As touching the place of Iohn by you alledged it is to be taken as if a man should haue said at that time to the Israelites GOD hath wrought these miracles for your sakes in Aegypt to the intent you should beleeue and by beleeuing enter into the resting place of Canaan But the cause why all of them came not there was not Gods purpose but their owne hardening of their hearts against him which thing would God were not done in Christ also But we see it is so howbeit the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrews warneth vs not to do it citing this saying out of a certaine Psalme To day if ye heare his voyce harden not your hearts as your forefathers did harden theirs Therefore to returne againe to the matter Whereas these men are wont so diligently to picke out the things to beleeue which belong to the office of God to refuse the things that pertaine to the duty of man I pray you what a dealing is it Gods gracious goodnesse hath yeelded saluation to all men O how gladly is this admitted But as for that which followeth namely to teach vs to forsake vngodlinesse and worldly lusts to liue soberly righteously godlily in this world that is a seede which fewe men receiue Many beleeue that Christ hath so performed that poynt as that wee neede not to performe the same Againe that the man is blessed to whom the Lord imputeth no sinne is easily beleeued of all men but as for that which is annexed to it namely and in whose heart there is no guile that they beleeue to be impossible Likewise it is commonly vaunted with full mouth that they which are in Christ Iesus are not subiect to any condemnation for it is a very sweete saying indeed but as for this Which walke not after the flesh but after the spirit it is bitter and of very fewe beleued And to make fewe words men doe easily beleeue that they shall reape with ioy but if you tell them that they must sow with teares they put that sentence ouer vnto Christ. Hereupon it cometh to passe that the false prophets because they teach delectable things and blaze abroad Gods pleasāt promises with open mouth do easily finde credit whereas the true Prophets because they vrge men make them afraid with threats teach the truth seuerely do beare sway among very few according as Esay crieth out Lord who hath beleeued our preaching Hereby it appeareth plainly my Lewis that selfe-loue is the lot that men beleeue not the truth And if self-loue were done away they would beleeue nothing so easily as the truth as who are born vnto truth and doe by and by fall in acquaintance with it as a thing of their owne kinne if there bee no impediment to let it Therefore if you will rightly beleeue the truth that is to say God you must needes put away selfe-loue or rather conceiue a hatred towards your selfe Lew. Truly Frederike you win me to be of your mind in these things but it is no smal matter for a man to hate himself Neither do I sée how I may attaine vnto it or yet perceiue whether it bee possible for me to attaine thereto I am so farre in loue

A MOST EXCELLENT AND PROFItable Dialogue of the powerfull iustifying Faith Shewing what it is to beleeue in God and what wonders are wrought by the power of Beliefe be it worldly or Diuine and what things do hinder Beliefe Also how a man may hate himselfe and by Faith forsake himselfe and kill the deeds of the flesh The effect of the talke is this That he which beleeueth in God and in his Son Iesus Christ is able by the power of that Beliefe to mortifie his flesh with the lusts thereof through the holy Ghost and to serue God in spirit and truth Translated out of Latine by Arthur Golding LONDON Printed by N.O. for Samuel Rand and are to be sold at his shop on Holburne bridge 1610. TO THE CHRIstian Reader GOod Reader amongst the multitude of books both written and printed that be at this day spread abroade in the world I lighted vpon this little Treatise of Faith wherein perceiuing a matter handled so necessary needfull to be read and knowne of all men especially in these dangerous if not desperate daies wherin iniquity haue gotten the vpper hand and men are growne so blinde that they striue more about the chaffe then for the pure wheate corne it selfe and content themselues to feede rather on the leaues then on the fruit of the fig tree that is more to talke of an imagined faith then to know haue and enioy in themselues the true powerfull and liuing faith which is a daily dying to sin rising to righteousnesse Seeing the same I say a worke so necessary to bee knowne of all men I thought it good being also perswaded thereto by many that haue found great benefite by it to be a means for the printing of it that whosoeuer haue any zeale or desire to know the true faith and to haue it with the fruites thereof effectually in himselfe as is said he may view himselfe in this little pithy Treatise of the powerful faith The title with the Authors name was torne out before it came to my hands but whosouer was the Writer the matter will shew from whence it came And so the almighty God which liueth euerlastingly plant his true feare and faith in our hearts that being iustified by this powerful faith that worketh through loue we may haue peace with God through Iesus Christ our Lord. Amen A MOST EXCELLENT AND PROFITAble little Booke concerning the true Christian Faith The persons that talke together are Lewis and Frederike Lewis GLadly in good sooth friend Frederick haue I heard your talke both yesterday and today and thereby I haue learned many things which I knew not before and this is one thing which hath chiefly moued mee that you haue shewed that our Lord commandeth not any thing which is vnpossible to bée done For I was of beliefe before that as it is commonly heard taught Gods commandements are vnpossible to be obeyed Which perswasion to tell you the truth hath made me slow to obey so as I neuer strained my selfe to obey with my whole power Fred. The like hath befalne vnto mee also and I could neuer yeeld my selfe truly and earnestly to obeying before I beleeued that it was possible to obey And truly hereby I haue learned the force of Beliefe which Beliefe maketh a man desirous and willing to obey And desire being afterward matched with power giuen of God bringeth to passe that a man doth the things which he hath beleeued himselfe to be able to do and so he is saued by obeying as he was earst vndone by disobeying And so being led by the spirit of Christ he fulfilleth the righteousnes of the law not walking after the flesh but liuing after the spirit which righteousnesse is therfore called the righteousnesse of the law not for that it maketh the beleeuer righteous but because the law requireth it For the whole performance thereof is Christs because it is brought to passe by his power and spirit liuing working in those that are his The law thē cōmandeth Christ fulfilleth so the praise is due not to the commander but to the performer Neuerthelesse it were to smal purpose to beleeue that it is possible to obey God vnlesse a mā do also know the way how God may be obeied without the which obedience faith is dead without faith no man can be saued But this I would haue you to be perswaded of my Lewis that the discourses both of vs and of all others are to say no worse of them vnprofitable if they traine vs not to obedience and to the renewing of the man Lew. These things are true Frederike Therefore that I may fare somewhat the better by your cōmunication I pray you shew me by what meane I may attaine to obey God For inasmuch as you haue shewed me by your talke that it is possible to be done I haue conceiued a desire of obeying Fred. O my Lewis would God that I my selfe were rightly obedient to the intent I might leade thee by the hand to obedience As now it is impossible for me to leade you further then I my selfe haue attained vnto Lew. Yet notwithstāding I beléeue you haue procéeded further forward then I haue done therfore I beséech you shew me but as far as you your selfe are gone Fred. Willingly will I do that Lewis but I am afraid the hardnesse and roughnesse of the way will scare you from it Lew. Feare not I hope I am ready to al things be they neuer so hard so I may attaine to the end that I desire Fred. I pray God to establish this willingnesse of yours to bring it throughout to the end And therefore to goe in hand with the matter you know how the Author of the Epistle to the Hebrewes hath written that without saith it is vnpossible to please God Lew. I know it well Fred. First of all then you must beleeue in God if you will be saued Lew. Procéede on then to the other things my Fredericke For as concerning beliefe I haue euer from my child-hood beléeued in God and truly I am of opinion that there be very few if there be any at all which beleeue not in God Fred. Indeed it is very easie to be said and so are men commonly perswaded But I feare me it is said rather rashly and of custome then of truth For the time hath bene that euen I also haue beleeued the same both of my selfe and of others but when it came to the tryall then I saw how farre of I was Lew. Thinke you then that I haue no faith Fred. I am not of opinion that you haue no faith Lewis but I thinke you haue so slender a faith as it cannot rightly bee said to be faith or saue you And I pray you bee not offended with mee for in as much as you haue said that you are ready to all things be they neuer so hard it is meet afore all things that

with my selfe Fred. I know Lewis that it is a very hard thing and passing the strength of a mā but in this case we must beare in mind how that when Sara beleeued not that she might breed child our Lord said of her Is there any thing which God cannot do The things that are vnpossible to man are possible to God and where God is our guide nothing is to be despaired of Lew. I beseech you then shew me the way to attaine thereunto Fred. By Gods leaue I will do it giue eare vnto me If I had a seruant in whom I very much delighted faire-spoken and seruiceable which should prepare mee some meates that best liked mine appetite with the same meats should mingle poyson to bereaue me of my life and you who loue mee should haue knowledge thereof what would you do Lew. Surely I would spéedily and earnestly giue you warning that you should not taste of those meates nor loue that seruant for that hée lay in waite for your life Fred. What if I should say that I am delighted with the seruiceable behauiour of that seruant and with the sweetnesse of his cooquery Lew. I would counsell you that you should not make so great account of your present pleasure as to lose your life for it Fred. What if some friend of yours were in loue with a flattering and painted harlot which were diseased with the French pockes and you knew of it what would you doe Lew. I would make him priuy to her disease and to the vttermost that I could I would disswade him from her company Fred. What if hee said he were delighted with her Lew. I would tell him that fishes also are delighted with baites but yet that it were folly to purchase so small pleasure with so great sorrows or rather with death Fred. What if hee should say that hee cannot but like well of the pleasure Lew I would counsell him that if hée could not yet restraine the desire of his mind he should at least-wise resist it and not yéeld to obey it Fred. But what if hee obeyed it for all that Lew. Then would I thinke him foolisher then the brute beasts and worthy of any mischiefe For fishes wolues foxes puttockes and such other bee they neuer so hungry will neuerthelesse forbeare the baite if they spye or mistrust any snare or any thing wherewith they may bee caught Fred. You say truth Lewis Thus then standeth the case Euery mans owne flesh is as a harlot as Iudas termeth it in his Epistle yea and a painted harlot which with her enticements and faire fawnings doth allure delight and egge the man to sinne and hold him downe in sin and at length throwe him downe into death of the soule And man being ignorant of the poyson embraceth the pleasures and yeeldes himselfe ouer to them Now commeth in truth as a friend vnto him and warneth him that the wages of sinne is death declaring vnto him that his flesh whom he tooke to haue bene his friend is his deadly enemy Therefore if thou desire to be saued thou must beleeue that thou hast not a more noysome enemy to thee then thy selfe that is to say then thy flesh or thy lustfulnes that as thou hast hitherto loued it thou must hēceforth hate it resist it because it is noysome deadly And although thou canst not rid away her allurements out of hand as indeede thou canst not for they sticke fast to thee the truth will say vnto thee as it said in old time vnto Moses Goe thy way into Aegypt for it lyeth in thee to doe that and I will bee with thy mouth and I will enable thee to doe that which thou canst not do Euen so Lewis the truth saith vnto thee as now Do thou what thou art able and God will enable thee to doe that which thou canst not do As for examples sake Thou sittest at a well furnished table and hast eaten inough already to refresh thy powers and to staunch hunger Now there is brought in some delicate dishe made to prouoke gluttony withall By and by thy flesh is tempted with it and putteth such an imagination as this in thy head This is a fine dish if I eate of it I shall receiue pleasure by it But the spirit striueth against the flesh and warneth thee thus Beware Lewis that thou yeeld not vnto voluptuousnesse for voluptuousnesse is a poysoner For first it calleth away thy mind from God than the which there can be no greater mischiefe for seeing that no man can serue two maisters thou canst not serue both voluptuousnes God because voluptuousnesse ouerwhelmeth the mind beareth it downe to the ground and separateth it from God Besides this it also hurteth the body with surfetting insomuch that although thou hadst no soule yet oughtest thou to abstaine from superfluity euen for thy bodies sake I require not now that you should not be tempted with the inticements of the flesh but that you should not obey them And whereas you alledge that you cannot but obey thē you be easily disproued For if a man would giue you a floren to abstein frō the said dish would you not absteine Yes And will you not absteine by reason of the truth Do you not hereby bewray that the truth beareth lesse sway with you then one floren Or if some man should threaten that he would giue you a blow on the eare if you refrained not surely you would refraine Behold God threatneth a blow vnto your soule and yet you refraine not The like I say of all other things You be minded to haue to do with a whore but because a boy is by you doe it not Behold God is present and yet you be not ashamed to do it Do you not now make lesse account of Gods presence then of the presence of a boy Or if you forbeare for feare of punishment at mans hand and not as well for feare of Gods punishment doe you not preferre man before God You are angry with a man and would faine cudgel him but you forbeare for feare of the magistrate Why forbeare you not as well for feare of God I pray you make as great reckoning of God as you doe of men why doth the feare of God beare lesse sway with you then the feare of men You slaunder your neighbour God seeth the slaunder and yet you do it neuerthelesse But if men saw it you would not do it Run through all things after the same sort Lewis you shall see that whosoeuer doth more for the loue or feare of men then of God doth beleeue in men rather then in God Lew. O my Fredericke my conscience beareth me witnesse that y e things which you say be true and rightfull but thereof springeth a griefe in my heart Lew. Why so did you feele any such griefe when we treated of Predestination or of Free-will Lew. No none at all Fred. I beleeue you

Lewis For knowledge bringeth no griefe but rather gladnesse as which leaueth the old man vnminished For although you could skill of all maner of mysteries yet might you serue the Diuell euer stil. But now when we deale with the forsaking of our selues the flesh perceiuing that she must goe to wracke for it playeth as harlots are wont to doe when young men giue them ouer They vexe them with the desire of them and try all meanes to hold them still Euen so that harlot the flesh which bewitcheth al men with the cup of her vncleannesse as soone as shee perceiueth that a man mindeth to giue her the slippe doth vexe him with the desire of her still and leaueth nothing vnattempted that shee may hold him still Hereof breedeth great griefe according to the greatnesse of the loue towards the flesh like as if you were to forsake your country looke how much you were in loue with your country so much would it grieue you to forgo it And surely sin is our country for in sin haue our mothers conceiued vs which cannot bee forsaken without griefe Here is that crosse of Christ wherof he himselfe saith If any man be minded to come after mee let him take vp his crosse and follow me And if any man come vnto me hate not father mother wife children brethrē and sisters yea and euen his owne life so as he be contented to beare his crosse and to follow me he cannot bee my Disciple And to the intent you may vnderstand what the hating of a mans selfe is what crosse it bringeth with it consider it throughly by the hating of another man If you hated a man deadly how would you bee minded towards him or what would you do to him Lew. I would wish him all euill euen from my heart likewise enuy him any good I would be sorry for his welfare and glad of his aduersity If a man brought me word of any mischāce of his I would reioyce at it gētly entertain him liberally reward the messēger with some gift To be short I would loue mine enemies foes and do them good I would hate his friends and do them harme if I could All his sayings and doings would I prye at and take aduantage of them and by all meanes possible yea many times euen to mine own harme would I hurt him Finally I would kill him if I could and that not by any common maner but with the grieuousest death that could be and I would doe what I could to wipe the very remembrance of him out of the world Fred. Now turne this your hatred Lewis towards your selfe for you are a deadly enemy to your selfe ought to hate your selfe deadly not other men who cānot kill you that is to say your soule And therefore you must take pains to wish all maner of euill yea euen death to your selfe that is to say to your flesh and to enuy her all good things and to bee sory for her prosperity and to be glad of her aduersity And that if any man tel you any thing amisse of your selfe you may reioice thereat in spirit liberally reward the reporter thereof and to bee short that you may deuise and do all things against your selfe as men are wont to do against those with whō they be at deadly hate that you neuer rest till you haue killed your selfe And forasmuch as no man hath euer yet hated his owne flesh as saith S. Paul you must first and formost bee diuorced from your flesh that shee may no longer be your flesh but strange flesh and in her steed you must place the spirit betweene whom and the flesh there can neuer be any more concord or agreement then betweene fire and water Lew. O my Fredericke to tell you the truth mee thinkes the things that you speake of are as hard as stone Fred. I beleeue you Lewis and so must it needs be But bee of good cheere and begin euen now to loue me in spirit because I am an aduersarie to your flesh For it is for your benefite and you cannot bee saued so long as your flesh is aliue Wherefore if you will be saued see that ye hate your selfe and forsake your selfe And I will tell you an example of this forsaking If a seruant giue ouer himselfe in bondage to you he abandoneth himselfe that is to say his owne libertie and will thenceforth to follow your will and not his owne Oftentimes when hee would sleepe he must watch if his maister command him when he would goe abroade hee must tarry at home when hee would play he must worke and at a word he so forgoeth his owne freedome that if he be asked what he will do or what he mindeth to do he must answer what his maister listeth at whose appointment hee is So we if wee belong to Christ who hath bought vs at a great price are not at our owne disposition or appoyntment but at Christs and therefore wee must doe not what we list but what he listeth and worthily For if hee being the way and the truth did notwithstanding so submit his will to the will of his Father that he said Not my will be done but thine what becometh it vs to do which are ouer couered with errours and leasings Therefore when you be about to bee angry without cause you must restraine your anger at the appoyntment of Christ. When you would giue your selfe to voluptuousnesse you must absteine and giue your selfe to sorrowing When you would bee auenged of any body you must forgiue him When you would doe a man harme you must doe him good When you would laugh you must weep When you would sue for honour you must endure shame When you would seeke riches you must suffer pouerty And to be short you must in such wise depart from your own wil as if you be asked what you would you may answer nothing but what Christ listeth And all these things shal you do through faith for vnlesse you beleued you would not do thē But it is necessary to be vnderstood what is meant by this saying of S. Paules that we must proceede from faith to faith There is a certaine first and vnperfect beliefe whereby a man is moued to renounce himselfe This being once kindled becommeth daily greater by a mans holding on vntill at length hee become so farre that he doth as certainly beleeue all Gods sayings commandements promises and threatnings as you beleeue that the day shal succeed the night Hence springeth that almightie power of faith wherethrough it is able to remoue mountaines so as there is no pride no couetousnesse no lecherie nor to be short no vice so huge and great which that faith is not able to put away and to plucke vp by the roote Howbeit ere euer a man attaine to that strength hee is to endure many hard things in the way of his forsaking of himselfe

and without such hardnesse there is no accesse to be had to that strength like as a figge or a grape cannot become sweet except it be first sowre And because I my selfe haue not yet attained the victory but do yet still sweate in the incounter of forsaking my selfe and as yet am farre off from the garland I will say no more concerning the victory that is to say concerning the thing which is vnknowne to me but yet as much as I can I will helpe you by Gods grace in the incounter if you wil be my companion Lew. Truly for my part although my selfe do shudder start backe at it yet am I carried with my spirit and mind to follow you For I sée no other way for a man to be saued but by departing out of his owne nature that hee may put vpon him the nature of Christ and by caring studying striuing and taking paines to repaire the image whereafter we were created And therefore beséeching God y t it may be to his glory 〈◊〉 mine owne saluation henceforth I yeeld my selfe into this way as a follower of Christ taking God for my guide Fred. And I thanke God for this willingnesse which he hath giuen you beseeching him to finish his worke which hee hath begun in you and to bring you to that poynt that yee may at length serue righteousnesse as ye haue serued vnrighteousnesse which thing hee will vndoubtedly do except you grieue his spirit and cast it out through your disobedience Finally of this I will warne you that you must haue a rich faith because you beleeue in him that is rich in doing good For men haue euer sinned in beleeuing vnto wardly and more niggardly of Gods gracious goodnesse then they ought to do Abraham and Sara were rebuked for laughing as though it had bene a matter to be laughed at that God promised them issue when they were both old and Sara moreouer barraine Zacharias the father of Iohn Baptist was striken dumbe for a time because hee beleeued not the Angels words We be commonly more forward in following the weake beleefe or if I may so terme it the vnbeleefe of the godly then in following their full and rich beliefe Why doe wee not rather follow those which durst beleeue all things Elizeus durst craue double the spirit of Elias which soothly was a great thing euen by the record of Elias himselfe and yet he obtained it so vnpossible is it for any faith to be so great but that Gods gracious goodnesse and power doe surmount the same All things saith he are possible to the beleeuer Againe Whatsoeuer you aske beleeue that you shall obteine it and yee shall haue it in deede Remember I say the saying of Elizeus speaking after this maner to the poore woman Borrow oyle vessels of thy neighbours yea borrow a great sort and the Lord will fill them all full Euen so Lewis let vs do our endeuour that wee may haue such a faith as may be able to receue the greatest good things and let vs be bold to beleeue that God both can and wil bring to passe that wee shall loue him alone with our whole heart soule power and strength And hee of his owne gracious goodnesse will bestowe all thinges vpon vs much more largely then we can euen thinke for his Sonne our Lord Iesus Christs sake to whom be honour glory and dominion for euer Amen FINIS 2 Thes. 1.11 Rom. 6.2.4 Prou. 15. Rom. 5.1 Gal. 5.6 He beginneth at the difficulties of obeying GODS healthful commandements The effectuall power force of beliefe The righteousnesse of the law and why it beareth that name Beliefe without obedience is dead A godly Christian wish concerning obedience Beliefe in God is most necessary to the obtaining of saluation Many things are easie to bee said which are hard to bee done The first way to the knowledge of the truth What it is to beleeue in the Father is shewed by the gathering together of certaine circumstāces How needful obedience to the Father is is shewed by examples Fleshly feare 〈…〉 How belife in God is neglected by trusting too much to these trāsitory flightfull things That Gods promises deceiue not the beleeuers Two things may let mē frō performing their promises Honors change maners as the common prouerbe saith How boūtifull God is to them that loue him Proofes or tokens of mistrust in God Abrahams faith is of necessity to saluation This as I take it is that which they call the historicall faith The signes that are peculiar to the beleeuers The force of worldly faith and how wonderfully it moueth men He proceedeth in shewing the strēgth of the worldly beleefe How great force worldly beleefe hath euen amōg some whole Nations A triall of Christian faith most worthy to be obserued Where obedience is not there is not faith The mark whereat mans saluatiō shooteth What things our forefathers attained to by their faith The fond idle beliefe of the Iewes The work fulnesse of Christian faith appeareth in charity Who they bee which haue the true Christian faith To what purpose bodily myracles are wrought The diuels that lurk within vs and what is meant by speaking with new tongues The works of such as speak with new tongs Of the true iustifying faith how mighty it is in working No man doubts but that all these things are spoken of the wicked beleeuers By an argument frō the lesser to the greater he sheweth the force of true faith Paules faith warranted by his owne record What thing held Paul occupied chiefly aboue all other things The true faith hath scarce any place in the world The impediments of faith shewed by an argument taken from the Court barre or from a case in Law An example by the vse of things in common Another example by the deliuering of soules c. The last example by the persecution for religiōs sake Selfe-loue is the hinderer of faith There is no boubt among Christians cōcerning the doings of Christ What is the cause that so few beleeue Gods commandements Not myracles but beliefe is needfull to saluation The beleeuing of Christs resurrection maketh all the rest of his sayings doings credible What is meant by not beleeuing of Christs commādements and who they be that offēd in that behalfe How the Israelites beleeued not God in that they beleeued not his cōmādemēts How the place taken out of Iohn is to be vnderstood Psalm 95.8 Selfe loue dazeleth mens eyes that they cannot see to beleeue the truth What is the cause why false Prophets do easily finde credit We must 〈…〉 hate our selues and not loue our selues All things be they else neuer so impossible are possible to the power of God How pernicious selfe-loue is is shewed by certaine familiar exāples Men are ●aught with pleasure as ●●shes are 〈◊〉 an an●gle a ba●t 〈◊〉 their vndoing Euery mās own flesh is a harlot of whom he warneth men to take very good heede Most wholsome counsel worthy to be followed The incōparable harmes that come of pleasure The preposterous ●re●erri●g 〈◊〉 the feare 〈◊〉 worldl●●unishnēt ●●fore the ●●are of GODS ●rath ●engeāce The cōclu●●ō gathe●ed of the ●●ings go●●g afore The knowing of many yea or of al things is no let 〈◊〉 that 〈◊〉 may serue the Diuell 〈◊〉 being 〈◊〉 natiue ●ountry ●annot bee ●orsaken without griefe to vs. Euery mā is a deadly enemy to himselfe how such an enemy is to bee dealt with The flesh the spirit are cleane cōtraries and fightful but one against another A familiar example wha● by 〈◊〉 goet● about to teach a man how to forsake himselfe That to the beleeuer all things seeme they neuer so high hard or aboue power are notwithstanding easie to bee done There is but onely one right way to the attainment of saluatiō Men must not conceiue spa●ingly and niggardly but largely 〈◊〉 aboun●antly of 〈◊〉 gra 〈…〉 dnesse We cannot aske so largely at Gods hand but that his bounty wi●● surmoun● it God will grant vs all good things for Christs ●●ke