Selected quad for the lemma: virtue_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
virtue_n	brazen_a	look_v	serpent_n	839	5	9.9901	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A37035	A commentarie upon the book of the Revelation Wherein the text is explained, the series of the several prophecies contained in that book, deduced according to their order and dependance on each other; the periods and succession of times, at, or about which, these prophecies, that are already fulfilled, began to be, and were more fully accomplished, fixed and applied according to history; and those that are yet to be fulfilled, modestly, and so far as is warrantable, enquired into. Together with some practical observations, and several digressions, necessary for vindicating, clearing, and confirming many weighty and important truths. Delivered in several lectures, by that learned, laborious, and faithfull servant of Jesus Christ, James Durham, late Minister of the Gospel in Glasgow. To which is affixed a brief summary of the whole book, with a twofold index, one of the several digressions, another of the chief and principall purposes and words contained in this treatise.	Durham, James, 1622-1658.	1658 (1658)	Wing D2805; ESTC R216058	1,353,392	814

and thus Faith is the condition thereof Then 2. Suppose him to look to the charge that standeth against him for his former sins in Gods threatned curse and to satisfie this he giveth-in Christs satisfaction which being offered to him for this end that he upon the receiving thereof may be justified he by Faith resting on Gods faithfull Word through Christ repelleth all these charges by presenting that as his defence and by the letter of the Law of Faith which saith He that believeth shall not come into cond●mnation but hath passed from death to life he is absolved and this is Justification even as he was formerly condemned by the Law of Works Here the only meritorious cause of the absolution and the righteousnesse upon which the sentence passeth is the Cautioners payment yet so as it is Judicially pleaded in which respect we say that Faith is instrumentall And though this pleading of it be necessary and the Law absolveth not but when the ground i● instructed yet this pleading or instructing is not the persons righteousnesse properly or the ground of his absolution but that which is pleaded and instructed to wit the Cautioners payment which being according to Law instructed is the ground of absolving the debtor from the charge this is plain even in the dealing of humane Courts And the tennor of the way of Justification being holden forth in the Word with respect to a judiciall procedour in humane Courts as is said it can no other way be more satisfyingly cleared To insist a little more then there is a twofold peculiarity attributed to Faith beside what is given to works and any other Grace 1. That it is the condition of the Covenant properly 2. That it hath an instrumentall causality peculiar to it in our Justification By the first is meaned that believing in Christ and receiving of Him is that which enstates one into the Covenant and giveth him right to what is promised and doth in our having right to Gods promises supplie that room which conditions do in mens mutuall bargains wherein when one promiseth somewhat on such a condition the performance of that condition doth turn the conditionall promise into an absolute right to him that hath performed it and so a condition is that upon which the title to the great promise to wit Gods being our God doth depend And Faith getteth this name in respect of the place God hath put it into in His Covenant and so it floweth from His extrinsick ordination By the second to wit that it is called an instrumentall cause the intrinsick manner of its acting is respected for though it be from the Spirit with other Graces and they be not separated yet hath it a peculiar aptitude to look to Christ receive Him apprehend and ●at Him take hold of and rest on Him c. which no other grace hath For it is in the new Creature and Inner-man someway proportionably as it is in the Outter-man for though there be many members of one body yet all act not in the same manner the hand acteth one way and the ear another c. So it is in the Inner-man there are many Graces which are members thereof yet have they their peculiar way of acting whereof these mentioned are attributed to Faith for which often it is called the eye the hand and the door of the renewed soul because by it Christ is apprehended received and admitted thereunto We conceive this instrumentality is justly attributed to Faith because seing there must be an application of the righteousnesse of Christ and seing Faith doth concur or is made use of as a mids for receiving of Him which is the way by which His Righteousnesse is applied why may it not be called instrumentall in our Justification as it is instrumental in receiving of and resting on His Righteousnesse by which and for which we are justified And thus Faith is not our receiving but the mean by which we receive as the eye is not our seeing nor the hand our gripping of any thing but the organs or means whereby we see and grip Neither doth this give any thing to Faith that derogateth from Christ for it leaveth the praise and vertue to Him but doth infer only an exercising of Faith for attaining of that benefit to wit Iustification Justification it self being an apotelesma to say so or effect both of Christs purchase Gods Grace and our believing and doth flow from them all respectively and doth presuppose the same The dispute about active and passive instruments is needlesse here seing the meaning is clear that for attaining of Justification by Christs Righteousnesse Faith doth peculiarly concur in the apprehending thereof and resting thereon otherwise than other Graces can be said to do And this cannot be denied if we consider 1. That to be justified by Christ and by Faith or by the righteousnesse of Christ and the righteousnesse of Faith are still one in Scripture even then when that concurrence which is allowed to Faith is denied to all other things which saith that Faith concurreth peculiarly and that so as Christ is rested on by it when it justifieth or that it justifieth by obtaining Justification through Him 2. If this be truth that the righteousnesse of Christ is the thing immediatly presented before Gods Justice upon which we are absolved as is said and also if it cannot be denied that Faith hath a peculiar aptitude to act on Christs Righteousnesse and present the same Then it must be granted first that Faith must have a peculiar way of concurring to the attaining of Justification And secondly that this may well be called an instrumental causality in reference to that end otherwise there is no use nor exercise of this its peculiar aptitude which is still acknowledged And if it please better to say that Faith justifieth or concurreth in Justification in respect of its peculiar aptitude to act on Christ and to receive Him than to say it concurreth instrumentally we shall not contend providing it be the same upon the mater with the ordinary doctrine concerning this instrumentality of Faith which we may illustrate and confirm by these considerations and similitudes 1. It is granted that the Word is the external instrument of Justification and that must be because it doth offer the same upon condition of believing or holdeth forth a righteousness by which we may be justified So Faith must be the internal instrument because it receiveth the same that is offered by the Word and receiving is no lesse necessary to Justification than offering and seing that receiving and offering relate so to each other and both to the end there is reason to attribute the same kind of causality to the one that is given to the other respectively 2. We are said to be justified by Faith in Christ as the people were healed by looking to the brazen serpent which was to typifie this Ioh. 3. vers 14. Now they by the vertue of the serpent considering it typically and with respect to the appointment did receive health yet so as that health was attained by looking thereto

in which respect their eye or look might be called instrumental in their health although it was not looking simply but to that Object with respect to the Lords appointment even so it is here it s Christs vertue whereby we are justified yet so as by Faith it is apprehended and according to Gods appointment looked unto and thus as Matth. 7. the eye is called the light of the body because it is the organ by and through which light is brought or letten-in to it so Faith may be called our righteousnesse as it is the mean by which Christs Righteousnesse without us is apprehended brought in as it were and admitted of to be ours 3. Justification is still held forth in judicial expressions as is said Now as an accused party their producing of a Law for them or a discharge may be said to be instrumentall in their own absolution although it be only the vertue of the discharge given-in that doth procure the same so may Faith be said instrumentally to justifie us as it presenteth for us Christs satisfaction before the justice of God And so it is here as in humane Courts for although some Advocates it may be plead better and some worse yet suppose that they all produce the same discharges and the same Laws in favours of their Clients they might all be called instrumental in their absolution and the ground of their absolvitours would be equal whereas if their act of pleading without respect to what is pleaded were considered it would not be so even so here though some mens faith be more strong and others more weak yet all apprehending the same satisfaction of Christ there is equal sharing in Justification which could not be if Faith did not concur instrumentally in the use-making of Christs Righteousnesse even as of the only immediate Evangelick-righteousnesse as it respecteth our Justification because if Faith be considered in it self and not as with the object apprehended by it it is not equal even in those that are justified 4. See it in miraculous Faith as it concurreth for attaining of a particular benefit so doth saving Faith for attaining of Justification for that there is an equal influence of both upon their respective effects cannot be denied Now that miraculous Faith might be said someway to concur instrumentally for health is clear for it is said that some had Faith to be healed to receive vertue from Christ c. which others had not and accordingly the effects are attributed both to their Faith and to Christs Power therefore it may be so here to wit Justification may flow from Faith as the instrumental cause and from Christs Righteousnesse as the meritorious 5. In the ordinary similitude of Marriage or solemn Covenanting it may be seen for actuall consenting or the hand that writeth the name may be said to be instrumental in the closing of the bargain or in attaining the priviledges that follow thereon and the hand hath an other influence than the foot or eye although these also be necessary yet it is not consenting or subscribing simply but such and such in reference to such Objects and Covenants even as it is not the tongue its speaking truths and the reaching forth of discharges simply that are instrumental in mens courts for attaining absolution but it is the speaking of such pertinent truths or producing of such sutable discharges that cometh under that name and this is all we intend when we say that Faith concurreth instrumentally even to hold out the immediate cause of our Justification to be Christ apprehended by Faith so that Faith and Christ are both necessary but differently and so also that the efficacie of all the concurrence of Faith may be from Christ the Object from which it is not to be separated when it is said to justifie The other thing peculiarly attributed to Faith is that it is the condition of the Covenant of Grace properly which can be said of no other grace or work This is to be understood as is above expressed to wit that Faith is that which on our side is called-for for constituting of us Covenanters and giving us right to the great comprehensive promise thereof that God may be our God and upon the performing of which that which God hath promised in it may be expected as is before said That Faith is thus the condition peculiarly and not Works nor any other grace beside what is said afterward upon Repentance may thus appear 1. Because Faith only hath that peculiar aptitude of receiving Gods offer and returning of our engagement and so for making the bargain mutually to be closed and Faith cannot be conceived to be exercised but the bargain must be conceived to be closed and that person to be in Covenant therefore the exercising thereof must be peculiarly the condition 2. If Faith be that which peculiarly riddeth marches between the Covenant of Grace and the Covenant of Works and curse and a Believer so ipso be freed from the curse because he is a Believer and doth rest on Christ Then Faith must be peculiarly the condition of the Covenant of Grace But the former cannot be denied and is clear Ioh. 3 18 36. 3. If Works concur in the same causality with Faith Then it must either be Works before one be in Covenant or Works thereafter But it can be neither not before one be in Covenant because such Works cannot be accepted nor secondly after because then they could not be the condition upon which we are admitted for so we would be accepted before the condition be performed If it be said that the same reasoning will seclude Faith because if Faith be the condition Then it must either be Faith before we be in Covenant or after c. Answ. It followeth not because its Faith neither before nor after our entrie but that which enters us that is the condition and it cannot be conceived before nor after being an instantaneous act as solemn consenting in Marriage is not before nor after as it constituteth Marriage but instantly Here still observe that when we speak of a condition we speak of that condition whereby one is admitted within the Covenant and not of any thing that may be implied to be performed by one admitted already to Covenant because that must be the condition of the Covenant properly that intitleth one to the priviledges covenanted But what entereth one into this Covenant doth intitle him to the priviledges covenanted Therefore it must properly be the condition and Faith being that is therefore alone so to be esteemed Which we may further urge thus either being admitted to the Covenant one is freed from the curse and instated in all the priviledges of the Covenant or not It cannot be said not because that were to make one a Covenanter and not a Covenanter and one cannot be conceived to be in Covenant with God