Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
truth_n	faith_n	justify_v	object_n	1,744	5	9.2095	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64642	Eighteen sermons preached in Oxford 1640 of conversion, unto God. Of redemption, & justification, by Christ. By the Right Reverend James Usher, late Arch-bishop of Armagh in Ireland. Published by Jos: Crabb. Will: Ball. Tho: Lye. ministers of the Gospel, who writ them from his mouth, and compared their copies together. With a preface concerning the life of the pious author, by the Reverend Stanly Gower, sometime chaplain to the said bishop.	Ussher, James, 1581-1656.; Gower, Stanley.; Crabb, Joseph, b. 1618 or 19.	1660 (1660)	Wing U173; ESTC R217597	234,164	424

taste it and therefore many Christians on serious consideration would not change their estate for the estate of Angels Why because hereby Christ is my husband I am wedded to him he is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh which the Angels are not capable of Our nature is advanced above the Angelical nature for we shall sit and judge the world with Christ judge the twelve Tribes of Israel And what an high preferment is this Nay observe this and take it for a Rule Never beg of God pardon for thy sins till thou hast done this one thing namely accepted of Christ from Gods hands For thou never canst confidently ask any thing till thou hast him For all the Promises of God are in him yea and Amen This may serve for the Object of faith to shew that the primary Object is Christ crucified and God by him We come now to declare 2. The Acts of faith what they are and there is some intricacy in that too There is much ado made in what part and power of the soul faith is We must not proportionate the Act of faith according to our own fancy For it s no faith but as it hath relation to the Word now look how is the Word presented After you heard the Word of Truth the Gospel of your salvation Now the Word is presented under a double respect 1. It s presented Sub ratione veri After you had heard the Word of Truth and there comes in the Understanding 2. Then Sub ratione boni as a good word that so we should lay hold on it and here comes in the Will For the Will we say challenges that which is good for its Object Now the Gospel of salvation is a good Word its glad tidings worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners And now as the Word is presented as a good Word so must my Act of faith be answerable unto it See in Heb. 11.13 The act of faith answering hereto These all died in faith not having received the Promises What did their faith to them It made them see the Promises a far off and they were perswaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth So that by comparing place with place it appears that first this Gospel was presented as the Word of Truth they were perswaded of it It is the first Act of Faith to perswade men of the truth of the Word and then as it is a good word they embraced it these are the two arms of faith as true it perswades me as good I embrace it We must not now be too curious in bringing in Philosophical Disputes whether one Vertue may proceed from two faculties whether Faith may proceed from the Understanding and the Will The truth is these things are not yet agreed upon and shall we trouble our selves with things not yet decided in the schools as whether the practical Understanding and the Will be distinct faculties or no The Word of God requires that I should believe with my whole heart Act. 8.37 As Philip told the Eunuch if thou believest with all thy heart thou mayest If with the heart but with what faculties may you say Why I tell thee believe with thy whole heart and what shall I peece and devide the heart when the whole is required Now to come to these two The Word is presented 1. As a true Word 2. Then as a good Word a word like Gospel like salvation 1. As a true Word And the Act of faith answering thereto is called in Scripture 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Knowledge and Acknowledgement 1 Titus 1. 1 Peter 3. 1 Knowledge that 's a thing requisite Why because if there be a Remedy able to cure a mans disease if he do not know it what is he the better for it Knowledge is so essential unto Faith that without it there can be no faith In John 17.3 the terms are confounded the one put for the other This is life eternal to know thee to be the true God and whom c. to know thee that is to believe in thee because knowledge is so essential to belief as one cannot be without the other thou canst not believe what thou hast never heard of I know saith Job that my Redeemer liveth that is I believe he liveth and hereupon it s said in Isa. 53. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many Knowledge is an Act primarily requisite to Faith to be justified by his knowledge is to be justified by faith in his blood this then is the first thing that I know it to be as true as Gospel then comes the acknowledgement 2. The Acknowledgement Joh. 6.69 We know and are assured that thou art that Christ. This is an assurance I say not the assurance of my salvation for that is another kind of thing but an assurance that God will keep touch with me will not delude me but that if I take his Son I shall have life I shall have his favour When God illuminates me I find all things in him when I have him I am made When the Understanding clearly apprehends this then comes the next word it is the Gospel of salvation there being a knowing and acknowledging the Act of the Understanding then comes the Will and it being 2. Propounded as a good word then follows 1. Acceptation 2. Affiance 1. Acceptation which receives Christ. 1 John 12. As many as received him to them he gave power to become the sons of God even to as many as believed on his name Then a man resolves I will take God on his word and thereupon follows A resting or relying on God which is a proper act of faith I need no other place then Rom. 10.13 Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved But how shall they call on him on whom they have not believed that is on whom they have not reposed their confidence Mark the ●postle How shall they call on him on whom they have not believed That Faith which was in the antecedent must be in the conclusion therefore our faith is a relying on God and so in this place this trust is made the same with faith as it is in the Text in whom you trusted after you had received the word of Truth for our trust and belief there is the self-same word Nimium ne crede colori this Credo is to have a great confidence in fleeting and fading things and so it is in justifying faith If I have a knowledge of God and acknowledgement of him and from my knowing my will is conformed to accept Christ and if when I have accepted him I will not part from him this is faith and if thou hast this faith thou wilt never perish suppose thou never hadst one day of comfort all thy life long yet my life for thine thou art saved Perhaps by reason of thy

●his Kingdome of grace before you come to the K●ngdome of glory First here ●s set down the mother and radical grace of all the rest and ●hat is justification by faith and then followeth the bl●●sed fruit that issueth from thence 1. Peace w●th God 2. A graci●us accesse into his presence 3. A joyfu● hope arising from that great glory that we shall enjoy for t●e time to come 4. In the ●orst of our troubles and midst of our afflictions this ●oy is so great that it cannot be abated by any of them ●ea it is so far from being abated by them that they are a fuel to kindle it we rejoyce in affliction saith the A●ostle that which would undo the joy of a carnal man is made the matter of this mans joy Concerning the first of these justification that is the ground or foundation of all the rest being justififyed by faith that 's the root and ground without which there is no fruit no peace no joy no hope much lesse any kinde of rejoycing in tribulation Faith is that which seasoneth all we must first be justified by faith before we have any other comforts for that 's the first ground the first rudiment of a Ch●istian in the School of Christ. Therefore I proposed unto you three things for the understanding of it 1. What that faith is that justifieth 2. What that justification is that is ●btained by faith 3. What relation the one of these hat● to the ot●er Concerning the first of these I sheved you that it is not every faith that justifieth I shew'● you that there is a dead faith whereupon the Apostl● saith The life that I now live I live by the faith of the Sonne of God A dead thing cannot make a living ma● it must be and I shew'd you how a living faith Again I shew'd that beside the tr●e faith there was a temporary faith which is active 〈◊〉 and comes near the other It had the operations of the Spirit but it wanted root It had supernatu●●ll works but it wanted the new creature There w●● a conception that was but an abortive kinde of birth it came not to maturity not to a full growth it did not continue And I shew'd unto you how a man mig●t discern one of these from the other for herein lye● the wisdome of a Christian not to content himself 〈◊〉 be deceived with flashes therefore the Apostle exhorts us to prove and try and examine our selves it 's an easie matter to be deceived and therefore Gods people should be careful to examine themselves to have their senses exercised herein that however others may slight and slubber over the matter they must and will be careful in it and then they will not only do it themselves but they will crave the aid of God also Prove me O my God c. try me c. Then for the second thing concerning that justification that is obtained by faith I shew'd you that the word justification was derived from justice or righteousnesse and as many wayes as justice and righteousnesse may be taken so many wayes may justification be taken Sometimes for justification of righteousnesse in a man and sometimes it is opposed to condemnation so it s taken in Saint Paul and it signifieth an acquital sometimes it s opposed to hypocrisie and pollution in a mans soul so it signifies sanctification whereby God not only covers our sinnes past but heals our natures The first is perfect but imputed the second inherent but imperfect When the time cometh that God will finish his cure he will then make a perfect cure when final grace cometh we shall not need to think of a Popish Purgatory Death is the Lords refining pot then there is not a jot of sinne shall be left in a Christian Now when God hath taken away our drosse then to think we shall be put in a refining fire that an intire soul that hath no blot that one that hath no spot should be purged after final grace hath made him clear and whole this is against reason and common sense They might have learned better of their own Thomas all the fire in the world will never put away sinne without the infusion of grace This by the way concerning them I shew'd besides that these two being both righteousnesses the Church of Rome confounds them both together Saint James his justification w●●h Saint Pauls They confound inherent righteousnesse which is begun and shall be perfected in final grace with the other so that the point is not between us and Rome Whether faith justifieth by works or no but Whether it justifieth at all in truth that is the state of it The question is this whether there be another justification that is distinguish't from sanctification or whether there be another grace besides justification Do not think that we are such block-heads as to deny faith and sanctification yet faith is but a piece or part of that traine of vertues There justification is taken for sanctification we acknowledge a man is justified by faith and works but the question is between us and them whether there be any justification besides sanctification i. e. whether there be any justification at all or no we say sanctification is wrought by the Kingly office of Christ he is a King that rules in our hearts subdues our corruptions governs us by the Scepter of his Word and Spirit but it is the fruit of his Priestly office which the Church of Rome strikes at i. e. whether Christ hath reserved another righteousnesse for us besides that which as a King he works in our hearts whether he hath wrought forgivenesse of sinnes for us we say he hath and so saith all the Church till the new spawn of J●suites arose They distinguish not remission of sinnes from sanctification Bellarmine saith remission of sinnes is the extinguishing of sinne in the soul as water though it be cold yet the bringing in of heat extinguishes the cold and so remission of sinnes is the bringing in of inherent righteousnesse which extinguisheth all sinne which was before A strange thing and were it not that the Scripture does speak of a cup in the hand of the Harlot of Rome whereby she makes drunk the inhabitants of the earth with the wine of her fornications except men were drunk it were impossible that a learned man should thus shake out an Article of their Creed which hath ever been believed by all the Churches When the Scripture speaks of forgivenesse of sinnes see how it expresseth it Ephes. 4.32 Be ye kinde one to another Brethren tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you Observe in the Lords prayer we pray that the Lord would forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespasse against us Let him that hath common understanding judge Do we forgive our neighbours by extinguishing sinne in the subject I forgive you i.e. I take away the ill office you did me Doth he

then saith he it is excluded By what Law by the Law of works No but by the Law of faith there is a Law of works and a Law of faith God doth not only give thee leave to come and take him and draw near unto him but he commands thee there 's a Law by the breach of that Law of faith thou art made guilty of a high sin There 's a full testimony of this 1 John 3.23 And this is the Commandment that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. If a man should ask may I love my Neighbour would you not think him a fool because he must do it he is commanded So should a poor soul come and say to me may I believe thou fool thou must believe God hath laid a Command upon thee it is not left to thy choice The same Commandment that bids thee love thy brother bids thee to believe on Christ. To entreaty is added Gods Command and therefore if thou shalt argue what warrant have I to believe Why God injoyns it thee and commands it As the impotent man said so mayst thou He that healed me said unto me take up thy bed and walk This is the very Key of the Gospel and this is the way to turn it right When being thus clean n●ked we have as it were a Cable put into our hands to draw our selves out of this flesh and blood 5. The last thing is if keeping open house special Invitations Entreaties and Commands will not serve the turn then Christ waxeth angry What to be scorn'd when he profer'd Mercy and as it were invite all sorts and compel them to come in by his Preachers and by a peremptory Command Then he falls a threatning We are not of those which draw back unto perdition if thou wilt not come upon this Command thou shalt be damned Mar. 16.16 He that believed not shall be damned Christ commands them to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every Creature unto every soul this Gospel which I speak If you will not hear and believe if you will not take God at his Word you shall be damned John 3. He that believeth not shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him Here 's an Iron scourge to drive thee thou that art so flow of heart to believe In Psalm 78. where is set down Gods Mercy unto the Is●aelites afterwards comes one plague upon another verse 22. it is said They hardened their hearts as in the day of provocation This is applyed in Heb. 3.12 to Unbelievers The Lord heard this and was wrath a fire was kindled against Jacob and against Israel Why was this because they believed not in him because they trusted not in his salvation Nothing will more provoke God to anger then when he is liberal and gracious and we are straitned in our selves hearden our hearts and not trust him never forget this Sermon while you live this is the net which Christ hath to draw you out of the world I shal hereafter tell you what faith is which is to receive Christ and to believe in his name but that will require a more particular explication and on that I shall enter the next time FINIS EPHE 1.13 In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the Word of truth the Gospel of your salvation In whom also after you believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise THE last time I entred on the declaration of that main point and part of Religion which is the foundation of all our hopes and comfort namely the offering of Christ unto us that as he did offer himself a Sacrifice to his Father for us upon the Cross so that which is the basis ground and foundation of our comfort he offereth himself unto us And here comes in that gracious gift of the Father which closes in with God That as God saith To us a child is born to us a Son is given c. so there is grace given us to receive him And as the greatest gift doth not enrich a man unless he accept it and receive it so this is our case God offers his Son unto us as an earnest of his love if we will not receive him we cannot be the better for him If we refuse him and turn Gods Commodity which he offers us back upon his hand then Gods storms and his wrath abides on us for evermore That it is his good pleasure that we should receive Christ it is no doubt we have his word for it all the point is how we may receive him and that is by Faith And in this Text is declared how Faith is wrought and that is by the Word of truth In whom also you trusted after you had heard the Word of Truth Now after this Faith there cometh a sealing by the Spirit of God In whom also after you believed you were sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise Now lest a man should through ignorance and indiscretion be misled and deceived there is faith and there is feeling Where this is not I say not that there is no faith No for feeling is an after thing and comes after Faith If we have Faith we live by it But after you believed you were sealed You see then Faith is that whereby we receive Jesus Christ and to as many as received him to them he gave power to become the Sons of God to as many as believe on his name The blood of Christ is that which cureth our souls but as I told you it is by application A Medicine heals not by being prepared but being applied so the blood of Christ shed for us unless applied to us doth us no good In Heb. 12. It s called the blood of sprinkling and that in the 51. Psalm hath relation to it where he saith Purge me with hysop In the Passover there was blood to be shed not to be spilt but to be shed and then to be gathered up again and put into a Basin and when they had so done they were to take a bunch of Hysope and dip and sprinkle c. Faith is this bunch of Hysope that dips it self as it were into the Basin of Christs blood and our souls are purged by being sprinkled with it In Levit. 14.6 There was a bird to escape alive but see the preparation for it You shall take it and the scarlet and the Cedar wood and the Hysop and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed c. and then you shall sprinkle on him that had the leprosie seven times and shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird loose into the open field We are thus let loose cleansed and freed but how unless we are dipt as the living bird was in the blood of the dead bird there is no escaping unless we are dipt in the blood of Christ Jesus this dead bird and sprinkled with this Hysop we cannot be freed

So that now to come to that great matter without which Christ profiteth us nothing which is Faith The Well is deep and this is the bucket with which we must draw This is the hand by which we must put on Christ As many as are baptized put on Christ thus must we be made ready we must be thus clothed upon and by this hand attire our selves with the Son of Righteousness Wherefore I declared unto you that this Faith must not be a bare conceipt floating in the brain not a device of our own The devil taking hold on this would soon lead a man into a fools Paradise To say I am Gods Child and sure I shall be saved I am perswaded so this the Devil would say Amen to and would be glad to rock men a sleep in such conceipts Such are like the foolish Virgins That went to buy oyl for their Lamps and were perswad●d they should come soon enough to enter with the Bride-groom but their perswasion is groundless and they are shut out So such groundless perswasions and assurances in a mans soul that he is the child of God and shall go to heaven is not Faith thou mayst carry this assurance to hell with thee This Faith is not Faith For faith comes by hearing and that not of every word or fancy but by hearing the word of Truth Faith must not go a jot further then the Word of God goeth If thou hast an apprehension but no warrant for it out of the Word of God it is not faith for it s said After you heard the Word of Truth you believed So that we must have some ground for it out of the Word of Truth otherwise it is presumption meer conceipts fancy and not Faith Now I shew'd unto you the last time how this might be for while a man is an Unbeliever he is wholly defiled with sin he is in a most lothsom condition he is in his blood filthy and no eye pities him And may one fasten comfort on one in such a condition on a dead man And this I shew'd you was our case When Faith comes to us it finds no good thing in us it finds us stark dead and stark nought yet there is a Word for all this to draw us unto Christ from that miserable Ocean in which we are swimming unto perdition if God catch us not in his Net Hearken we therefore to Gods Call there is such a thing as this Calling God calls thee and would change thy condition and therefore offers thee his Son Wilt thou have my Son Wilt thou yield unto me Wilt thou be reconciled unto me Wilt thou come unto me and this may be preacht to the veriest Rebel that is It is the only Word whereby faith is wrought It is not by finding such and such things in us before-hand No God finds us as bad as bad may be when he proffers Christ unto us He finds us ugly and filthy and afterwards washes us and makes us good It is not because I found this or that good thing in thee that I give thee interest in my Son take it not on this ground No he loved us first and when we were defiled he washt us with his own blood Rev. Now there is a double love of God towards his Creatures 1. Of Commiseration 2. Of Complacency That of Commiseration is a fruit of love which tenders and pities the miserable estate of another But now there is another love of Complacency which is a likeness between the qualities and manners of persons for like will to like and this love God never hath but to his Saints after Conversion when they have his Image instamped in them and are reformed in their Understandings and Wills resembling him in both then and not till then bears he this love towards them Before he loves them with the love of pity and so God lov'd the world that is with the love of Commiseration that he sent his only Son that whosoever believed in him might not perish but have everlasting life Now we come to the point of Acceptation the Word is free and it requires nothing but what may consist with the freest gift that may be given Although here be something that a man may startle at Object Is there not required a condition of faith and a condition of obedience Sol. Neither of these according to our common Understanding do hinder the fulness and freedom of the Grace of the Gospel 1. Not Faith because Faith is such a condition as requires only an empty hand to receive a gift freely given Now doth that hinder the freeness of the gift to say you must take it Why this is requisite to the freest gift that can be given If a man would give something to a Begger if he would not reach out his hand and take it let him go without it it s a free gift still so that the condition of Faith requires nothing but an empty hand to receive Christ. 2. Obedience hinders it not I am required may some say to be a new man a new Creature to lead a new life I must alter my course and is not this a great clog and burthen and do you account this free when I must crucifie lusts mortifie Passions c. Is this free when a man must renounce his own Will Yes It is as free as free may be as I shewed you the last time The very touching and accepting of Christ implies an abnegation of former sinfulness and a going off from other courses that are contrary to him If the King give a pardon to a notorious Rebel for Treason so that now he must live obedient as a Subject the King need not in regard of himself to have given the pardon if he give it it takes not from its freeness that he must live like a Subject afterwards the very acceptance of the pardon implies it But now to declare Faith and to open the Mystery thereof Faith is a great thing it is our life our life stands in the practise of it that as in the offering of Christ for us there is given him a name above every name That at the name of Jes●s every knee shall bow As I say in the purchasing of Redemption so in the point of acceptation God hath given unto this poor vertue of faith a name above all names Faith indeed as it is a vertue is poor and mean and comes far short of love and therefore by the Apostle love is many degrees prefer'd before faith because love fills the heart and faith is but a bare hand it lets all things fall that it may fill it self with Christ. It s said of the Virgin Mary That God did respect the low estate of his hand-maid So God respects the low estate of Faith that nothing is required but a bare empty hand which hath nothing to bring with it though it be never so weak yet if it have a hand to receive it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a like

ask to have thy sinnes pardoned that God would be friends with thee and that Christ would make thee love him and that God would be thy God that God delights in it This is the point then Suppose God answer not presently yet knock still seek still that is perseverance the thing whereby it is distinguished from temporary asking The hypocrite will pray in a time of need and adversity but his prayer is not constant Job 27.10 Will the hypocrite alwayes call upon God If they come and seek God and he will not answer as Saul did they will try the Divel God would not answer Saul and he presently goes to the Divel It 's not so with Gods children they pray and pray and wait still they pray with the Spirit and with perseverance God deals not alwayes alike with his children but differently sometimes he answers presently sometimes he makes them wait his leisure Psal. 32.5 I said I would confess my sinne sayes David and my transgressions and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sinne so Dan. 9.21 When he set himself to seek God even while he was speaking and praying the man Gabriel appeared unto him and touch't him about the time of the evening Oblation Before the word was out of his mouth God was at his heart and presently sends him a dispatch The like we see in Esay 65.24 Mark what a promise there is It shall come to passe that before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear This is a great encouragement but it may be God will not alwayes do this and what 's the reason Why he hath a wonderful great delight to be wrestled withall and to hear the words of his own Spirit nothing is more delightful to him than this when the Spirit is earnest and will not give over I will not let thee go unlesse thou blesse me It 's said in the Canticles honey is under the lips of the Church why so it's because there is no honey sweeter to the palate than spiritual prayer to God And therefore God delayes to answer thee because he would have more of it If the Musitians come and play at our doors or windows if we delight not in their Musick we throw them out money presently that they may be gone but if the Musick please us we forbear to give them money because we would keep them longer for we like the Musick So the Lord loves and delights in the sweet words of his children and therefore puts them off and answers them not presently Now Gods children let him deny them never so long yet they will never leave knocking and begging they will pray and they will wait still till they receive an answer Many will pray to God as prayer is a duty but few use it as a means to attain a blessing Those who come to God in the use of it as a means to attain what they would have they will pray and not give over they will expect an Answer and never give over petitioning till they receive it ROM 5.1 Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ c. HAving declared unto you heretofore the nature of faith and that point which concernes the practice of it in our near approach unto God I am now come to shew unto you the fruits and benefits Christians receive from this Mother-grace and that the Apostle sets down in these words He sets down 1. The Mother-Grace Justification that whereas we were afarre off we are made near and of enemies made friends of God Then 2. There are the daughters or hand-maids of this grace For when we are justified by Faith then 1. We have peace with God that peace of conscience which passeth all understanding then 2. We have free accesse by faith unto the Throne of grace so that we need not look for any other Mediators Christ hath made way for us to God so that we may go boldly to the Throne of grace and find help at any time of need 3. There follows a joyful hope that a Christian hath by it a taste of Heaven before he come to enjoy it We rejoyce in hope saith the Apostle hope being as firme a thing as faith faith makes things absent as present hope hath patience with it and would have us wait We shall be sure of it but yet we must wait patiently 4. Not only rejoycing in hope but even that which spoils a natural mans joy as crosses troubles afflictions and these are made the matter of this mans joy not delectable objects only Not in time to come after afflictions but in afflictions so as that which spoils the joy of a natural man is fuel to kindle this mans joy Now concerning justification by faith though it be an ordinary point yet there is nothing more needs Explication than to know how a man shall be justified by Faith It 's easily spoken hardly explicated Therefore in this mother-Grace I shall shew you 1. What faith is that doth justifie And 2. What this justification is For it is not so easie a matt●● neither 1. Concerning the nature of faith I have spoken sufficiently already wherein it consists but yet notwithstanding there is a certain thing as like this faith as may be and yet comes short of it Many there are who are like the foolish Virgins that thought they were well enough and thought they should come time enough So many think verily they have faith yea and perchance go with such a perswasion to their very graves and think they have grace and that they labour after Christ and lay hold on him and are free from worldly pollutions so as that they have a taste and relish of the joy of the world to come and yet are carried all this while in a fooles Paradise and think there is no feare of their safety never knowing that they are cast-awayes till they come to the gates of hell and find themselves by woful experience shut out of heaven And their case is woful that are thus deceived Know then that it is not every faith that justifies a man a man may have faith and yet not be justified The Faith that justifies is the Faith of Gods Elect Tit. 1.1 there is a faith that may belong to them that are not Gods elect but that faith does not justifie In the Epistle to Timothy that faith which justifies must be a Faith unfeign'd 1 Tim. 1.5 2 Tim. 1.5 Now here 's the skill of a Christian to try what that faith is which justifies him Now this justifying faith is not every work of Gods Spirit in a mans heart for there are supernatural operations of the Spirit in a mans heart that are but temporary that carry him not thorow and therefore are ineffectual but the end of this faith is the salvation of our soules We read in Scripture of Apostacy and falling back Now they cannot be Apostates that were never in the way of truth

of a candle made of flax as when a candle burns in the socket it s now up now down you know not whether it be alive or dead so in the first conversion of a Christian infidelity and faith hope and despair mount up and down There 's a conflict in the beginning of conversion but he will not give it over untill he bring forth judgment untill he get the victory of all opposition from the flesh And what is the reason Because the god of this world is judged He shall convince the world of an inherent righteousnesse in spite of the Divels teeth because he is condemned He that before worked in the children of disobedience is now cast down The strong man is cast out and therefore upon that ground you have the third point Besides the grace of justification following upon Christs death there is another the Divel shall be dispossessed the Divel is strong where he doth wicked things but he shall be disarmed he shall not touch thee the wicked one shall not hurt thee I now go forward The third thing I noted besides faith and justification was That we must observe what relation one hath to the other and how it comes to passe that justification is attributed to faith there being more noble graces in us than faith I answer the reason is because faith is brought as the only instrument whereby we receive our justification purchased by the merits of Christs death When we say faith is an instrument we must understand it right well we say not faith is an instrument to work my justification Christ alone must do that it 's no act of ours nothing is in us faith is said to be an instrument whereby we get our justification in respect of the object it is a nearing us to Christ it is the instrument of application the only instrument whereby we apply the medicine and the plaister of Christs blood whereby we that were strangers and afar off are made near faith is the only hand which receiveth Christ when the hand layeth hold on a thing it layeth hold on a thing without it self so is faith a naked hand not as a hand that gets a mans living but like a beggars hand that receives a free almes given by the donor as the Apostle speaks Rom. 5.17 For if by one mans offence death reigned over all by one much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousnesse shall reigne in life by one Jes●● Christ. There is abundance of grace and a gift of righteousnesse faith is the only means whereby we receive this gift whereupon I inferred this which was of great consequence seeing faith did justifie not as an active instrument but as it did receive the gift of grace it did follow that the weakest faith that was did get as much justification as the strongest faith of any whatsoever because faith justifieth not only as a work but as it did receive a gift therefore our Saviour saith O ye of little faith yet as little as it was it was builded upon the Rock and though Satan desired to winnow them and sift them as wheat yet they remained firme as our Saviour saith of the faith of miracles If ye had faith as much as a graine of mustard-seed ye should say to this Mountain be removed and it would obey you So for common faith which the Apostle calleth so because it is common to all the Elect if thou hast so much faith thou shalt be able to remove Mountains of corruptions suppose thou hast a trembling hand scarce able to hold yet have the perswasion of the woman in the Gospel If I may but touch him I shall be whole I shall be saved healed if I can but touch him And mark our Saviour The people throng'd about him and he saith Who is it that toucheth me A wonder that he when they crowded him should ask such a question but Christ knew that some body touched him beside the touch of the multitude it s said in the Text The poor woman came trembling and told him all the truth And he said Be of good comfort though thou hast a paralytick and palsie sick-hand yet the touch is enough the least faith brings as much life as the greatest Object But then what need a man look for a great faith Sol. Yes by all means for though thou hast much comfort by a little weak faith yet the more faith the more comfort and therefore 't is to very much purpose to labour after a strong faith Abraham it is said stagger'd not through unbelief if thou hast a strong faith thou wilt have a strong consolation Thou mayst by thy weak faith be healed of thy disease yet by the weaknesse of thy faith mayst want much of the strength of thy comfort therefore thou must go from faith to faith but know this that a new-born childe 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not yet so strong as a man yet he is as much alive as the strongest and tallest man so that again thus thou art yet but a new-born babe not so strong or so lively as one more grown but yet thou hast all the lineaments of the new creature in thee though thou art not so strong and lively as another may be Object Did not you tell me that it was not every faith that did justifie but a working faith how then doth faith alone justifie Sol. I answer When faith justifieth there is one thing said of another the subject and the predicate faith justifies Justification is attributed unto faith Look on the word only whether it doth determine the subject or the predicate doth faith which is alone severed from good works justifie so the proposition is false First that faith which is alone separated from love and the fruits of good works doth not justifie but let the word alone be put to the predicate faith justifieth alone i. e. faith is the only vertue in the soul whereby a man is justified that is true As if a man should say the eye alone seeth 't is true if we put it thus the eye severed from the members of the body seeth its self If the eye were taken out of the head it would neither see alone nor at all but the meaning is this the living eye is the organ whereby a man discerns a visible object so faith though joyn'd with other graces yet takes not other with it for helps of justification Object But why should God select this vertue among others that are more noble Sol. I say as before God had respect to the low estate of his hand-maid it was reason that God should choose the lowest and the meanest God selected this poor beggars hand for two reasons First in respect of God I say 1. Therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed not to that only which is of the Law but to that also which is of the faith