Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	believe_v	jesus_n	son_n	2,005	5	5.1885	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17486	Concerning the true beleefe of a Christian man a most excellent and profitable dialogue, by S.C. Herevnto, besides the marginall notes, declaring the chiefe points of doctrines, there is added a godlye and lightsome prayer, which in certain breefe petitions, comprehendeth the very contents of the vvhole vvorke: vvritten in Latine, by Abraham Fleming Londoner borne. To the right Reuerend Father in Christ, Iohn Bishop of London. Translated out of Latine, by Arthur Golding.; De vera Christiani hominis fide. English.	Wittewronghelus, Jacobus.; Fleming, Abraham, 1552?-1607. A godly and fruteful prayer.; Golding, Arthur, 1536-1606.	1582 (1582)	STC 4301; ESTC S109605	31,186	106

to him alone And yet by the vvay I vvill let passe that cheefe and intire care of yours vvherewith you bee often touched namelye of preferring the bookes of learned men to light by the reading and considering vvhereof your Fatherhoode knovveth that so many as studie them as becommeth them being stayed vp and inlightned vvith right reason and founde iudgement doe gather most plentifull fruite For these resemble not those vvhich in setting forth Book●s doe play the poysoners vvho into their slubbersauces doe put liquerice or of the choysest suger beaten into poulder that they may vvith the lesse lothsomnesse and misliking be conuayed into the stomacke and afterwarde shead themselues into all the conueiaunces of the body so as the vaynes at length maye swel the bovvels burst and finally the vvhole man be killed Naye they be muche more hurtfull then the poysoners vvhiche destroy but only the frame of the body for they infect the very soule killing it vtterly and throvving it headlong into the tormentes of Hell vvhiche shall neuer die nor cease Contraryvvise the vvorkes of the right beleeuers be they little or be they greate yield such profit to the Readers that they grovv euer better but neuer vvoorse euer skilfuller holyer purer perfecter and acceptabler to God The reason vvhereof hath ledde your Fatherhood so to fauour the vvritten Copie of this little Booke vvhich treateth lightsomly of the true faith of a Christian man that among other Bookes whereof the nūber is infinite vvith the superscription of your own hand you haue authorised the same to be printed that it may go abrode and be common in the hands of all such as desire to haue the triall of their faith The vvhich now comming forth vvith a new outward shew if your reuerend Fatherhoode shall vouchsafe to accept vvith the accustomed fauor of your good countenance and to suffer it to rest vnder the shadow of your defense yelding your self to be as Patrone of it considering that the booke is commended inough of it selfe and the vvriter therof vvas notably learned and hath deserued very vvell of the true Religion vvhich vve novv imbrace or as I may vvell say that it shall be the better vvelcome to all such as loue the Christian faith so am I vvell assured that it shall turne to the great benefite of many and besides that though I be sore hindred vvith the great vvaight almost of daylye businesse you shall stirre me vp to take in hande the Translating thereof into Englishe and to make an ende of it euen oute of hand GOD moste gratious and almightye graunte you abundaunce of his heauenly grace shead vppon you the most sweete Oyle of his hol● spirite daylye increase your Honour and lengthen the time of your life that hauing putte the enimies of the Gospell to flight sette foorth his glory inlarged his Church and happily ended your last day you may liue for euer blessedly placed at the right hand of Christ the vnspotted Lambe and firste begotten of the Father So be it Most addicted to your Honor ABRAHAM FLEMING Londoner borne ¶ The Argument of this Dialogue WHat it is to beleeue in God and what wonders are wrought by the power of beleefe be it worldly or diuine and what thinges doe hinder beleefe Also how a man may hate himselfe and by fayth forsake himselfe and kill the deedes of the fleshe The effect of the talke is this That he which beleeueth in God and in his sonne Iesus Christ is able by the power of that beleefe to mortifie his flesh with the lusts therof through the holy Ghost and to serue God in spirite and truth 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 Friende Frederike haue I hearde your talke both yesterday and to day and therby I haue learned many thinges which I knew not before and this is one thing which hath cheefly mooued me that you haue shewed that our Lorde commaundeth not any thing which is vnpossible to be done For I was of beleefe before that as it is cōmonly hearde and taughte Gods commaundements are vnpossible to be obayed Which perswasion to tell you the truth hath made me slowe to obay so as I neuer strayned my selfe to obay with my whole power Fred. The lyke hath befalne vnto me also and I could neuer yield my selfe truely and earnestly to obaying before I beleeued that it was possible to obay And truelye hereby I haue learned the force of Beleefe which Beleefe maketh a man desirous willing to obaye And desire being afterward matched with power giuen of GOD bringeth to passe that a man doeth the things which he hath beleeued himselfe to be able to doe and so he is saued by obaying as hee was earste vndone by disobeying And so being led by the spirite of Christ he fulfilleth the rightuousnesse of the lawe not walking after the flesh but liuing after the spirite whiche righteousnesse is therefore called the righteousnes of the law not for that it maketh the beleeuer righteous but because the law requireth it For the whole performaunce thereof is Christs because it is brought to passe by his power and spirite liuing and working in those that are his The Law then commaundeth and Christ fulfilleth and 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 obay God vnlesse a man do also know the way how god may be obayed without the which obedience fayth is dead and without fayth no man canne be saued But this I would haue you to bee perswaded of my Lewis that the discourses both of vs and of al others are to saye no worse of them vnprofitable if they trayne 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 communication I pray you shewe me by what meane I may attayne to obey God For inasmuche as you haue shewed me by your talk that it is possible to be done I haue conceyued a desire of obeying Fred. O my Lewis would God that I my selfe were rightly obedient to the intent I might leade thee as it were by the hande to obedience As now it is vnpossible for me to leade you further then I myselfe haue attayned vnto Lew. Yet notwithstāding I beleeue you haue proceeded further forward then I haue done therfore I beseech you shew me but as farre as you your selfe are gone Fred. Willingly will I do that Lewis but I am afrayde the hardnesse and roughnesse of the way will scare you from it Lew. Feare not I hope I am ready to all things be they neuer so harde so I may attayne to the ende that I desire Fred. I pray God to stablishe this willingnesse of yours and to bring it throughout to

the ende And therefore to go in hande with the matter you knowe howe the author of the Epistle to the Hebrewes hath written that without faith it is vnpossible to please God Lew. I know it well Fred. First of all then you must beleue in God if you wil be saued Levv. Procede on then to other things my Frederike for as concerning beliefe I haue euer from my childhood beleeued in God truely I am of opinion that there are very few if there be any at al which beleeue not in God Fred. In deede it is very easie to be sayd and so are men commonly perswaded But I feare mee it is sayd rather rashly and of custome than vpon 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 triall then I saw how farre off I was Lewis Thinke you then that I haue no fayth 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 be sayde to be fayth or saue you And I praye you be not offended with mee for in as much as you haue sayde that you are readie to al things be they neuer so harde it is meete afore all thinges that you shoulde suffer to haue it shewde that you want the thing which you weene you haue aboundantly and soothly the first enteraunce to the knowledge of truth is to vnlearne the vntruth or else there will be no roome for seede where all is ouergrowne with weede Come on therfore let vs examine your beleefe I praye you Lewis when you were a child did you beleeue in your father Lewis What meane you by beleeuing in my father Fred. That you tooke him for your father and depended wholy vpon him Lew. Yea that I did Fred. Then if you wanted any thing as shoes apparrell or meat you resorted to none but him neyther doubted you anye whitte his good will towardes you Lew. Surely no more then of mine owne Fred. Againe if any mishappe befell you you had your eye vpon him onely Levv. Yea verily Fred. Also if he promised you any thing you doubted not of his performance Levv. No more thē if I had had the thing already in my hande Fred. Then tooke you no thought for his behauiour towardes you but onely of your owne towards him Levv. You say truely Fred. Moreouer if he either cōmanded you any thing or did any thing himself wherof you beeing a child knew not y e reason or which seemed to you against reason yet notwithstanding you did it and stoode not skanning doubtfully vpon his doings Le. So is it For vpon a time when new grapes wer broght in he bad me treade vpon them w t my feete surely me thought it was a fonde thing to treade vpon so good faire grapes which I had leuer shuld haue bin saued to eate But because he was my father I thought he commaunded me not without cause therfore I obeied him Also at another time when he shredded his vines and greffed trees to my seeming was agaynst reason to cut of the boughs which nature had broght forth which were likely to haue brought forth fruit But yet this thought ran alwais in my mind Unles this wer good my father would not do it Fr. Now let vs come vnto god You say you beleeue in god the father and by that name you call vpon him saying Our father which art in heauen and so forth Surely it is meete therefore that you should depende vpon him no lesse then you depended vppon your father when you were a childe Lew. Yea. Fred. Then if you want anye thing you flie vnto God alone and you doubt not at all but that hee will giue you all thinges bountifullye What Doubte yee Why answere you not my Levvis Confesse the truth and let not fleshlye feare restraine you which is wont to withholde menne from being known of their vices because they are afrayde least ●e to whom they be to be vttered shoulde mislike of them as of sinful folke or make the lesse account of them But there is no such perrill towarde you at my hande for I cannot finde in my harte to mislike of any mā for those thinges which I both see and bewaile in my selfe not long agoe and I doubte not but are in others also vnlesse they be come alreadye to their wayes ende which certesse we two that is to say you and I haue not yet attaind vnto neither will I make the lesse accounte of you for confessing the things with your mouth to your Friend which I am sure you acknowledge alreadie in your heart Levv. O my Frederike I am ashamed to be acknowne of it Uerilye I am yea euen verye sore afrayde leaste I should want bread and drinke and such other things specially when I see I haue but a little money lefte and no likelye meane at hande whereby to gette new money Fred What if you haue youre purse full or some meane in a readinesse whereby to come by Money then you take no thoughte at all or at least wise your thoughte is the lesse Levv. It is so Fred. Ergo you trust to youre money or to your owne pollicie more then to God Levv. Truely it is euen so Fre. But whē you were a child you trusted only to your father Levv. Yea. Fred. Nowthen you see howe you beleue not in God but in your mony in your owne policie Uerily I beleeue these things seeme boystous vnto you in y t you be not able to deny them yet are eyther doutful or ashamed to confesse thē so soone But inforce your selfe Lewis Many things ar to be sifted out which lye lurking in oure harts and the very roote must be gone vnto without y e plucking vp wherof we cānot be saued Let vs go on What say you to aduersitie Lewis Is your minde nothing troubled at it Levv. Yes very sore I can very ill away with it besides that I seeke all the corners of my wit for worldly help●s Fr. What do you concerning Gods promises He hath promised to giue all things needful for your life if you first seeke his kingdome righteousnes Do you certenly beleeue y ● promise so as you dout no more of his faithfulnes thē you did of your fathers when you were a childe Le. Alas I am farre from it Fr. But if your neighbour Henry Rottenfeeld a riche man and in account of the world a man of good credite had promised you three hundred crownes I am of opinion you were rid of that care for a good sort of yeres Levv. Yea that I were Fred. Now God hath promised not three hundred crownes but all things that you haue neede of and yet you distrust him Levv. O how truely you say Fred. Lesse therefore do you beleeue in God I say not thā in your

owne Father but than in Henrye Rottenfielde Levv. I am cōpelled to confesse the truth Fred. And yet men maye starte frō their promises eyther through vntrustines or for want whereof none of both can befall vnto God You therefore by this distruste of yours doe falsly accuse God eyther of vntrustines or of wante Levv. I doe so in deede Fred. Nowe if you doe thus distrust of God in the sustenaunce of your body whiche notwithstanding you haue neuer wanted to this houre can you trust to him for the blessed and endles life whiche you neuer yet tasted of For consider the matter after this sort with your selfe If a King shoulde now send an Ambassadour vnto you to adopte you to his sonne and you beleeued him how woulde you behaue your selfe Levv. Truely what substaunce soeuer I haue I woulde make no reckoning at all of it and being here as a Wayfarer in bodye I shoulde haue my mynde running vpon y e court for a much like thing happened to mee when I was a stripling For whereas I liued in very slender state I was called into the housholde of a certayne Gentleman of great worship and wealth whervpon I felt my mind so altered that I thought of none of the thinges whiche I hadde thoughte of before neyther was I pincht with any further care Inso much that when my father and my mother were aboute to haue sent me a little money I sent them worde agayne that thenceforth I shoulde neede no money What neede many words I imagined aforehande in my minde a kinde of fashion of the buyldings and of the place of the persons among whom I was to dwell and yet had I neuer seene them Fred. I beleeue you Lewis For I myself also haue had experience of the like But what if you had not beleeued that message Levv. Surely I had continued in mine olde state still Fred. And what if a man had seene you abyding in your former state might he not well haue auowed that you beleeued not the message Levv. Yes very well Fred. Now let vs come to the matter To them that loue God God hath promised suche good things as nother eye hath seene nor eare heard nor heart of man conceiued Let vs confesse y e truth herealso my Lewis If we beleeued this promise throughly should not our mindes be rauished vp into heauen so as no earthly care might touch vs and muche lesse trouble vs Lew. Yes verily Fred. But nowe when we bee glad of gayne sory for losse greatly greeued and cast downe with reproch hoyssed vp with honour and ouerioyed with pleasure all whiche things are earthly is it not an apparant proofe that wee beleeue not Gods promises but sticke stil to y e earthly inheritance Lew. Yes that it is Fred. What if God should promise vs some thing that mighte seeme vnpossible as when he promised olde Abraham a sonne by Sara beeing old and barren too Or what if he should commaund vs a thing that might seeme vnreasonable as when he willed the sayd Abrahā to offer vp his sonne in Sacrifice by which sonne he had promised him an ofspring without number Lew Surely I am afrayde we would not beleeue him Fred. And yet was Abraham y e father of the faithfull so as if we will be saued we muste haue the fayth of Abraham And thus muche concerning beleefe in the father Now if we come to the sonne I feare me we muche lesse beleeue in him For I take not fayth as a number thinke it to be a beleuing that Christ hath done and suffered the things which are written of him for as for that fayth or beleefe the very diuels haue it But I speake of the true liuely and mightfull fayth whiche is able euen to remoue mountaynes whereof the Lord speaketh thus The signes that shal follow those which beleeue are these In my name they shall caste out diuels speake with new tungs and driue away serpents if they drinke any deadly thing it shal not hurt thē When they lay their hands vpon sicke folks the sicke folks shall recouer Doo these tokens follow your faith Lewis Lew. No verily Fred. Then haue you not fayth Levv. Why They deny y t there is now any neede of myracles Fred. Nother do I now require any such nother were they at that time wrought by all beleeuers For Paule writeth Do all worke myracles Haue all the giftes of healing Doo all speake with toungs The thing that I require is the same that Peter requireth Get you strength to your fayth sayth he For needes muste the fayth of any mā or of any time haue strēgth if it be matched with loue Which thing that you maye the easier vnderstand consider the force of worldly beliefe A man beleeues that ritches are good that it is possible for him to atteine to them by marchaundise Heerevpon leauing oftentimes a very fayre and deare beloued wife and young children at home he vndertakes the vnmeasurable perils of robbers of wayes and of seas and indureth intollerable payns to fetche the ritches whereon he hath set his beleefe and loue euen from Taprobane and the Iles of Canarie which are the vttermost partes of the world and it is his beleefe that purchaseth him this stoutnesse For vnlesse he beleeued it he would not doe it And therefore it may be sayd that this man is inriched by beleefe What shal we say of Learning Lewis The childe beleueth that learning and humane artes are a very goodly thing to be sought with all his power And therevppon applying him self to them day and night he indureth pouertie colde and whatsoeuer else in seeking them with all his might to the intent he may attayne to the thing which he beleeueth to be good Also what do souldiers What kinde of calamitie is there which they vndertake not to obteine eyther victory or rewarde How often watche they all y e night long How often are they pinched with hunger Insomuche that sometimes they eate Mice Rattes Horses yea and euen their owne shoes and afterward make their boast thereof Whence haue they so great strength Whence but of beleefe For they beleeue the thing which they couet to be good Agayne what do Hunters do they not spende oftentimes the whole winter nightes abrode when the colde is so great that it riueth euen the flintes Yea and what do louers what inconueniences do they not most gladly indure to y e intent to please the partie whom they be in loue withall And still they deeme thē selues happy that they haue suffered those things for her sake And this force of beleefe is seene not onely in seuerall persons but also euen in whole Nations For whereof comes it that our Italians doo so easily absteine from drunkennes or that the Swissers are so resolute in battell that they will rather be slayne then flee Euen of this that they are perswaded in themselues that so

and promises Fred. Doubt you of that First as touching Gods commaundements whereas our masters vniuersally be wont to teache that they be not set downe to the intent we should obey them but to make vs acknowledge our infirmities what else is it then a ●iscrediting of Gods commaundementes For seeing our Lord hath sayd that all things are possible to him that beleeueth and Paule sayth he is able to doo all things through him that strengthneth him surely that man which not onely obeyeth not Gods commaundementes but also beleeueth that it is vnpossible to obey them doth not beleue the commaundements aright Whervpon it followeth that looke how fewe folke obey the commaundementes so few do beleeue them Levv. But this saying whiche you allege namely that al things are possible to the beleuer seemeth to be spoken of myracles and not of obedience Fred. It is spoken generally of all the works of fayth which I spake of in alledging that place of the Epistle to the Hebrewes Thorough fayth the Saints conquered kingdomes wrought righteousnes c. For surely to worke righteousnes is a deede of fayth Besides this if Gods wil be that men should through fayth be able to work miracles which notwithstanding are not of the necessitie of their saluation muche more is it his will that they should by the same fayth bee able to obey his commaundementes seeing that without obedience a man can not be saued and that to obey is not a harder matter then to worke myracles and yet that to obey belongeth to all beleeuers wheras to worke myracles belongeth not to all as I haue shewed afore Levv. In deede these things are true Frederike but yet there remayneth one thing whiche I would ●ayne haue opened vnto me You sayd euen now that all men beleeue Christes hystories but not his commaundementes likewise But if they beleeued the whole story of Christ and 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 in deede and moreouer giue credite to all his sayings In whiche respect Iohn sayde These thinges are written to the intent yee mighte beleeue that Iesus is the annoynted sonne of God that through beleeuing it ye should obteine lite by his nam● Fred. Wheras I deny that they beleeue his commaundementes I would not haue it so taken as though they beleeued not that his commaunding of those thinges was well and as became y e sonne of God to do but that forasmuch as they beleue not that the things which he commaunded to be done are eyther possible or needefull to be done misconstering them after their owne fancie and not according to his mind I say they beleeue them not aright For your better vnderstanding wherof I will giue you an example When God hauing brought the children of Israel out of Egipt commaunded them to enter into the land of Canaan did they beleue that god commaunded it Lew. Yea verily Or else they would neuer haue sent Spyes into the lande of Canaan Fred. Why then did they not obey him Lew. Because they were of opinion that the Chananites could not be ouercome and that God had brought them out of Egypt not to conquer Canaan but to perish wretchedly in the wildernes Fred. Then did they not beleue Gods commandement according to Gods meaning forasmuche as his meaning was that they should haue inuaded Canaan subdued the Chanaanites Lew. You say the trueth Fred. Then did they not beleue aright Levv. No not aright Fred. Whether then are they to be called beleuers or vnbeleuers Levv. Truly by this reason they should be called vnbeleeuers Fred. And soothly so bee they Lewis in very deede For in the very same place God calleth them vnbeleeuers in these words How long will this people spite mee How long will it be ere they will beleue me for al y e miracles which I haue wrought among them Now if these be iustly called vnbeleeuers the same reason leadeth vs to call the others vnbeleeuers and distrusters of Christes cōmaundementes forasmuch as they do no lesse misconster the preceptes of Christ than the Israelites did the commaundementes of God For Christ hath not wrought fewer miracles to vs then Moses did to them Nother doth Christ cōmaund vs lesse earnestly to subdue sinne then God commaunded them to subdue the Cananites Nother are we lesse spiteful distristful towards him if we deny that sinne may be subdued when as he both commaundeth vs promiseth vs strength then they were spitefull and distrustfull towards God in denying it to be possible to ou●rcome the Cananites Nother do we offende lesse agaynst the meaning of Christ when we deny that it is eyther possible for vs or ment by Christ that we should do the things which he hath commaunded vs to doo then the Israelites offended agaynst the meaning of God when they wrested it another waye then hys open wordes imported And therefore in denying them to beleeue Christes commaundementes I do them no wrong As touching the place of Iohn by you alleged it is too bee taken as if a man should haue sayde at that tyme to the Israelites God hath wrought these miracles for your sakes in Egypt to the intent you should beleeue and by beleuing enter into the r●stingplace of Chanaan But the cause why all of thē came not there was not Gods purpose but their owne hardening of their hartes against him which thing woulde God were not done in Christ also But wee see it is so Howbeit the author of the Epistle to the Hebrewes warneth vs not to do it citing this saying out of a certain Psalm To day if ye heare his voyce harden not your hartes as your forefathers did harden theirs Therefore to returne agayne to the matter Whereas these men are wont so diligently to picke out the things to beleeue which belong to the office of God and to refuse the things that perteine to the duetie of man I praye you what a dealing is it Gods gracious goodnes hath yelded saluation to all men O how gladly is this admitted But as for that which followeth namely to teach vs to forsake vngodlynesse and worldly lusts and to liue thriftily righteously and godlily in this world that is a seede which fewe men receiue Many beleeue that Christ hath so performed y t poynt as that we neede not to performe the same Againe that the man is blessed to whom the Lorde imputeth no sinne is easily beleeued of all men but as for that which is annexed to it namely in whose hart there is no guyle that they beleeue to be vnpossible Likewise it is commonly vaunted with full mouth that they whiche are in Christ Iesus are not subiect to any condemnation for it is a very sweete saying but as for this

VVhich walke not after the flesh but after the spirite it is bitter and of very few beleeued And to make few words men do easily beleue that they shall reape with ioy but if you tel them that they must sow with teares they put that sentēce ouer vnto Christ. Herevpon it commeth to passe that the false prophets because they teach delectable things blaze abrode Gods pleasaunt promises with open mouth do easily find credit wheras the true prophets because they vrge men and make them afraide with threats and teach the truth seuerely do beare sway among very fewe according as Esay crieth out Lord who hath beleeued our preaching Heereby it appeareth playnly my Lewis that self-loue is the let that men beleue not the trueth And if selfeloue were done away they would beleeue nothing so easily as the trueth as who are borne vnto trueth and do by and by fall in acquayntaunce with it as a thing of their owne kinne if there be no impediment to let it Therefore if you will rightlye beleeue the trueth that is to say God you muste needes put away selfeloue or rather conceiue a hatred towards your selfe Levv. Truly Frederik you win me to be of your minde in these things but it is no smal matter for a man to hate himself Nother do I see how I may attaine vnto it or yet perceiue whether it be possible for me to attaine thereto I am so farre in loue with my selfe Fred. I know Lewis that it is a very hard thing and passing the strength of man but in this case we must beare in minde how that whē Sara beleued not y t she might breede child our Lord said of her Is there any thing which god can not do The things y t are vnpossible to man are possible to God wher god is our guide nothing is to be despayred of Lew. I beseech you then shewe me the way to attayne thervnto Fred. By Gods leaue I will do it giue eare vnto me If I had a Seruant in whom I very much delighted fayrespoken and seruisable whiche should prepare me some meates that best liked mine appetite with the same meates should mingle poyson to bereeue me of my life and you who loue me should haue knowledge thereof what would you doo Levv. Surely I would spedily and earnestly giue you warning that you should not taste of those meates nor loue that seruant for that he lay in wayte for your life Fred. What if I should say that I am delighted with the seruisable behauiour of that seruant and with y e sweetnes of his cooquerie Lew. I would counsel you that you should not make so great account of your present pleasure as to loose your life for it Fred. What if some friende of yours were in loue with a flattering and a peinted harlot whiche were diseased with the Frenche pockes and you knew of it what would you do Levv. I would make him priuie to her disease and to the vttermost that I could I would disswade him from her companie Fred. What if he sayde he were delighted with her Lew. I would tell him that Fishes also are delited with baytes but yet that it were folly to purchase so small pleasure with so great sorrowes or rather with death Fred. What if he should say that he can not but like well of the pleasure Levv. I would counsell him that if he could not yet restrayne the desire of his minde he should at leastwise resist it and not yeeld to obey it Fred. But what if he obeyed it for all that Lew. Then would I think him foolisher then the brute beasts and worthy of any mischief For fishes wolues foxes puttocks and such other be they neuer so hungry wil neuerthelesse forbeare the bayte if they spye or mistrust any snare or any thing wherewith they may be caught Fred. You saye trueth Lewis Thus then standeth y e case Euery mans own flesh is as a Harlot as Iudas termeth it in his Epistle yea and a peinted harlot which with her inticements fayrefawnings doth allure delight egge the man to sinne hold him down in sinne and at length throw him headlong into death of the soule And man beeing ignorant of the poyson imbraceth the pleasures yeelds himself ouer to them Now commeth in truth as a friend vnto him warneth him that y e wages of sinne is death declaring vnto him that his flesh whom he tooke to haue bin his friend is his deadly enimie Therefore if thou desire to be saued thou must beleue that thou hast not a more noysome enimie to thee then thy selfe that is to say thē thy flesh or thy lustfulnes that as thou hast hitherto loued it thou must hencefoorth hate it and resist it because it is noysome and deadly And although thou canst not ridde away her allurements out of hande as in deede thou canst not for they sticke fast to thee the trueth wyll saye vnto thee as it sayde in olde tyme vnto Moyses Go thy waye into Egypt for it lyeth in thee to doo that and I will bee with thy mouth and I will inable thee to do that which thou canst not do Euen so Lewis the trueth sayth vnto thee as now Do thou what thou a●t able and God will inable thee to do that whiche thou canst not do As for exāples sake Thou sittest at a well furnished table and hast eaten ynough 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 suche 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 spirite striueth against the flesh and warneth thee thus beware Lewis that thou yeelde not vnto voluptuousnes for voluptuousnes is a poysoner For first it calleth away thy minde from God than the which there can be no greater mischiefe For seeing that no man can serue two masters thou canst not serue both voluptuousnes and god because voluptuousnes ouerwhelmeth the minde beareth it downe to the ground and separateth it from God Besides this it also hurteth the body with surfetting insomuche that although thou haddest no soule yet oughtest thou to absteine from superfluitie 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 can not but obey them you be easily disproued For if a man would giue you a floren to absteine from the sayde dishe would you not absteine Yes And will you not absteine by reason of the trueth Do you not hereby bewray that the truth beareth lesse sway with you then one floren Or if some man shoulde threaten that he would giue you a blow on the eare if you refrayned not surely you would

vs haue skill howe to deny our selues let vs beate downe the diuelish lustes of the flesh beeing fenced with the sheelde of fayth as with a banke let vs set our selues agaynst all daungers let vs reape thence a most plentifull croppe and store of fruites and beeing garded therewith let vs incounter with out enimies both at hande and aloofe marche on the right and ready waye to the attaynement of saluation and haue the best opinion that maye bee concerning thy heauenly gracious goodnes acknowledging that it is able to performe more then we can eyther craue or deuise Let vs consecrate our selues wholly vnto thee leading a holy and vncorrupt lyfe that by that meanes after the breathing out of our Ghost and the buryall of our body we may rest at length moste happily in thy lappe All these thinges and whatsoeuer else both this flightfull life of ours craueth and also the endlesse worlde to come requireth vouchsafe most bountifull and mercifull father to bestowe vpon vs abundauntly through Iesus Christe our Lorde So be it FINIS ¶ Imprinted at London by Thomas Poorfoote And are to be solde at his shoppe ouer-agaynst S. Sepulchers Church without Newgate Hee beginneth at the dif●ficultnes of obaying gods healthful cōmaundements The effe●tuall po●er and ●orce of ●eleefe The righ●uousnes of the law ●nd why ●t bea●eth that ●ame Beleefe withoute obediēce is dead A godly and christian wish concerning obedience Beliefe in God is most necessary to the obteining of saluatiō Manye thinges are easie to be said which are harde to be done The first● waye to the kno●●ledge of the truth What it is to bee●leeue in the fath●● is shewe● by the g●●thering togethe● of certai● circumstaunce Howe ●eedefull ●bediēce ●o the fa●her is is ●hewed ●y ex●mples Fleshlye feare and what it vvorketh where it beareth ●way How be●●efe in God is ●eglected ●y tru●ing too ●uche to ●hese trā●tory ●ightfull ●hings That Gods pro●mises deceiue no● the belie●uers ●wo thin●●es maye ●t men ●●om per●orming ●heir pro●ises Honors chaunge manners as the cōmon prouerbe sayth Howe boūtifull God is to thē that ●oue him Proofes or tokens of distrust in God Abrahās saith is of necessitie to saluation This as I take it is that whiche they call the historical faith The signs that are peculiar to the beleuers ●he force ●f world●● fayth ●nd how ●onder●ully it ●noueth ●●en He procedeth i● shewing the stren●gth of the worl●●ly belef●● ●ow ●ret force ●orldly ●eleefe ●ath euen ●mong ●●me ●hole ●ations A trial o● Christia● faith most wo●●thy to b● obserue Where obedience ●s not ●here is not faith The mar● whereat mans sal●uation shooteth● What things our forefathers attayned to by their faith The fond and ydle beleef of the Iews The workfulnes of Christian faith appereth in charitie Who they bee whiche haue the true christiā faith To what purpose bodily miracles are wrought The diuels that lurk with in vs and what is ment by speaking with new tungs The workes of suche as speake with new tungs Of the true and iustifying faith and how mighty it is in working No man doubtes but that all these things ar spoken of the wicked beleefe By an argument from the lesser to the greater he sheweth the force of the true fayth Paules faith warranted by his owne record What ●hing held Paul occupied chiefly ●boue all other things The true faith hath scarce any place in the world The impedimentes of fayth shewed by an argument taken frō the court barre or from a cace in Lawe An exāple by the vse of things in commō Another example by the deliuering of mens souls c. The laste example by the persecution for religion sake Selfelou● is the hi●derer of fayth There is ●o doubt ●mong Christiās ●ōcerning ●he doo●ngs of ●hrist What is the cause that so fewe beleue gods cōmaundements Not miracles but beleefe is neede●ull to saluation The beleuing Christes resurrec●tion ma●keth all the rest o● his sayings and doings credible What is ●ent by ●ot be●euing of Christes ●ōmaun●ements ●nd who ●hey bee ●hat offēd ●n that ●ehalfe How the Israelites beleeued not God in that they beleued no● his commaundement How the place taken out of Iohn is to be vnderstood Psal. 95.8 Selfeloue dazeleth mens eies that they can not see to beleeue the truth ●hat is ●he cause ●hy false ●rophets ●oe easi●● finde ●redite We must of necessitie ha●e our selues and not loue our selues Al things be they else neuer so impossible are possible to the power of God How pernicious selfloue is is shewed by certayne familiar exāples Men are caught with plesure as fishes are with an Angle a bayt to their vndoing Euerye mannes own flesh is a Harlot of whom he warneth men to take ve●ry good heede Moste wholso● counsai● and wo●●thy to b● followe● A very fit example and not ●o be pas●ed light●y ouer The incōparable harmes that co●● of pleasure The preposterous preferring of the feare of worldly punishment before the feare of Gods wrath vengeaunce The conclusion gathered of the thinges going a●ore The knowing of many yea or of all things is no let but that men may serue the Diuell Sinne be●ing our natiue Countri● cannot be forsaken without greefe to vs. ●e will ●arne to ●e oure ●●es we ●ust me●re it by ●re ha●●ng of o●●er men Euery mā is a deadly enemy to himselfe and how such an enemy is to bee delt with The flesh and the spirit are cleane contraries and f●ght full but one against another A famili●ar exāpl● whereby he goeth about to teache a man ho● to forsake him selfe A triacle agaynst the diuelish lustes of the flesh and the instigatiōs of the ●icked will to res●rain thē withall That to the beleuer all things seme they neuer so high harde or aboue our power are notwithstanding eas● to be done There is but onlye one right waye to the atteinment of saluation Mē must ●ot con●eiue p●rely ●iga●dly 〈◊〉 ●●rge●y and a●undant●y o● gods ●●acious goodnes We can not ask● so largely at God hand bu● that his bountie will surmoūt it ●od will ●●aunt vs ● good ●●ings for ●hristes ●●ke