Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	believe_v	faith_n	good_a	22,604	5	4.7923	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A36887	Abraham's faith stated and applied a sermon preached February 16, 1695/6 / by Geo. Duncumb ...	Duncumb, George, 1661 or 2-1743.	1697 (1697)	Wing D2609; ESTC R14747	11,585	30

those of whom we read of in Mic. 6.7 and saying Shall I give my first-born for my transgression the fruit of my Body for the sin of my Soul Instead of halting between Two Opinions or expostulating doubting and disputing whether he should not destroy the Promise by obeying a Command which seemingly put him upon cutting off the hopes of a numerous Posterity with his own hand Behold he presently prepared to set forth upon this unwelcome Expedition with the same forwardness as he had done formerly when he quitted the Land of his Nativity upon the prospect which his Faith in God gave him of that Inheritance which he now enjoy'd together with the Heir of Promise For we read v. 3. That Abraham rose up early in the Morning and Sadled his Ass and took Two of his Young Men with him and Isaac his Son Moreover he clave the Wood for the Burnt-Offering and when they drew nigh unto the place of which God had told him he laid the Burthen of Wood upon Isaac his Son and laid him on the Altar upon the Wood and having so done he stretched forth his Hand and took the Knife to Slay his Son But the Angel of the Covenant interpos'd with a Counter Injunction and so stopt the Execution declaring that God was so well satisfied with his real Purpose and holy Resolution as to accept the Will for the Deed. For tho' Isaac was not actually offer'd or Slain by his Father yet since it was verily intended by him who had done so much towards it as to make all things ready for it who had gone so far in it as to come to the very last act of it Abraham received this Testimony from Heaven v. 12. of the forecited Chap. Now I know that thou fearest God seeing thou hast not witheld thy Son thine only Son from me Which may be Paraphrastically expressed thus Thou hast given abundant proof of thy pious impartial regard to the Commands of God and so may'st fairly be discharged from the Obligation of proceeding any further in the prosecution of this particular Order We are not to imagine That Abraham was acted by any such Enthusiastick Principle as that which influenced those who made their Children pass through the Fire to Molech offering their Sons and their Daughters unto Devils He could have no other Motive or Inducement in a Country where this piece of cruelty was never practised save only his heart's desire to please God by declining no instance of Obedience but endeavouring to do all that he should say of what kind soever And here I cannot but observe to you the several remarkable Circumstances which occur in this matter and do so mightily heighten or enhaunce the Worth and Excellency of that admirable Faith which Abraham shewed in performing such a singular instance of Obedience and in which you may see how far a true lively Faith in God will carry a good man For here was a Command to do that with which the loss of Money or indeed of Life it self in a good Cause is not to be compared nay that from which Nature most abhorr'd and Carnal Reason would have dissuaded namely That a man very Rich and in great Authority who earnestly desired an Heir which was born to him when by the course of Nature he could have no hopes of one that such a man should so overcome his natural Affection to him which must needs be exceeding great as to forego all the mighty Expectations he had from him and consent after a journey of Three days to Slay this Son with his own hands Surely this was one of the greatest things that ever mere man did If he had done it instantly or in the Moment that he receiv'd the Command it might have been interpreted the sudden precipitant inconsiderate Act of one terrified with a Dream or scared with a Vision But to do it so many days after the Command was given by Him who has undoubtedly an uncontroulable Dispensing Power and consequently a right to suspend the Sixth or any other Commandment at pleasure I say to do it upon such mature deliberation is an evident proof or clear demonstration of his unreserved Obedience and that too proceeding from a principle of pure love to God For he did not make haste to Slay his Son out of any fright he was in lest God should have Slain him or stript him of his Estate if he had disobey'd But took time to consider of it that he might show to all men what we ought to do in Obedience to God even where there is no fear of Temporal Punishment nor hope of Worldly Reward for 't is plain he Sacrific'd his dearest Comfort his greatest delight on Earth to the Will of his Father in Heaven Thus having given you an ample account of our Father Abraham's Faith which was imputed to him for righteousness and shewn you that the Two Apostles notwithstanding their seeming Difference are at a perfect Agreement it is now high time that I enquire into ours and let you see what is required in it in order to a Christian's being justified by it which was the Subject of my Second General 2dly Faith being in it self one part of the condition of our Happiness and also instrumental to work the rest 't is no less than necessary to be thoroughly informed what it is and to understand well wherein it consists For tho' it be above 1600 years since it was first preach'd it is still needful to be inculcated and explain'd especially in an Age when too many who are such loose livers as to have little or no fear of God before their Eyes would pass for True Believers barely because they retain so much of the Form of Godliness as to stand up at the Creed and with their Lips profess to believe every Article saying Amen to the whole whereas if this be all if no more were required to constitute a right Faith than thus to believe in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost as the Maker Redeemer and Sanctifier of Mankind the most dissolute Person one that is abominable disobedient and to every good work reprobate might look to be justified But the case is otherwise every Article is to be made practical and the Faith that justifies must influence our lives As there is no coming to God without believing that he is so no Faith can bring us to him or give us hopes of receiving the promised Reward from him but what is fruitful in good Works for without holiness no man shall see the Lord without Holiness no man's Faith shall be imputed to him for righteousness We read indeed That the just shall live by faith But still this Faith must be justified by such actions as are most proper and agreeable to it Faith or Belief in general is nothing else but an assent to something credible upon the Testimony or Declaration of another And the Christian Faith is our believing the Gospel and all things therein contained concerning God

present and so may well be called by him as tho' they were should wait the issue and event and therefore he foreseeing certainly at the time when Abraham believed the Promise concerning receiving a Son that he would readily resign him up or frankly surrender him back by making an Oblation of him whenever he should call for him I say this being as perfectly known unto God then as at any time afterwards he might very well make the imputation beforehand And now that God has really an Eye to this very thing in imputing righteousness unto Abraham is very evident from the words immediately foregoing and following my Text So that we have an infallible Interpretation to warrant the Application for in the Two Verses next before the Text we read expresly that Abraham our Father was justified by Works and that particularly when he had offer'd his Son Isaac upon the Altar whereby his Faith was made perfect Whence the Apostle makes this Inference or Conclusion And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith Abraham believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness How was the Scripture fulfilled how did it receive its completion By the bare believing the Promise No but by his Expression of Obedience to God's Command in being ready to offer up his only Son The Design of St. James is to prove That Christians are justified by Works and not by Faith only For which purpose he alledges the Example of Abraham the Father of the Faithful affirming that he was therefore justified because he obey'd Ye see then says the Apostle just after the passage cited in my Text how that by Works a man is justified and not by Faith only Which is as much as to say 'T is apparent from the forementioned Example that Obedience to God's Commands as well as Belief of his Promises must concur to the making any person accepted or approved of God So that either the Apostle did not rightly understand the Saying of Moses Either he mistook the meaning and misapplied it which no good Christian can say or else it must be taken as you have heard it now explained namely in conjunction with that after-Act which God saw would be performed in its season in the proper time appointed for it But because it may be objected That St. Paul seems to have been of another mind and in his Relation of it to put a different or rather a clean contrary construction upon it 't is necessary I should attempt a clear solution of this difficulty by shewing their real Concord notwithstanding this appearing contradiction The Apostle of the Uncircumcision having declared in Rom. 3.28 That a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law he proceeds in the Fourth Chapter to illustrate this point at large where at the 3d v. he cites the same passage that St. James does here in my Text and thence argues against the boasted righteousness of the Jews in observing the Mosaick Law especially the discriminating parts of it which they were wont to press as necessary to Justification and shews that as Abraham was justified without them so shall his Seed be after him But in all this there is nothing inconsistent with St. James's assertion for St. Paul does not exclude Works or suppose that Abraham's Faith was not approved by them But he only rejects those Legal deeds which the Jews obtruded and cried up for righteousness such as Circumcision Sacrifices the Mosaick differences of clean and unclean Meats as also their setting up a meer human Righteousness in consisting in outward Acts and the like These he knew would never commend any man to God these therefore he condemns as superseded or set aside by the Gospel And that these are what he means by Works is evident from his declaring to those who laid so much stress upon them as to trust wholly to them that Abraham's righteousness was imputed when uncircumcised and consequently could not be on the account of any such Works as were before specified But rather such as he would have Christians or all that believe in God charged carefully to maintain Tit. 3.8 The Law of Moses being the Law of their Commonwealth whose breaches were triable in their own Courts the manner of the Jews was to esteem themselves righteous in the Eye of their Law as the World does in case of other Political and State Laws when they are not liable to be brought in trouble or indicted upon them before any of their own Tribunals Hereupon measuring themselves only by external Acts which alone are cognizable in human Courts the orderly Livers among them made no more scruple of asserting their Righteousness in the Eye of their Law than any good Subjects do in pleading their innocence as to the Laws of their respective Countries As we find St. Paul himself did in setting off his Jewish Confidences saying That touching the righteousness which is in the Law he was blameless that is had done nothing that could be alledg'd against him before any of their Tribunals Phil. 3.6 So that upon the whole matter when St. Paul affirms that Abraham was justified by Faith and not by Works without all peradventure he means such a lively Faith as did constantly demonstrate its sincerity by suitable affections and actions a Faith working by love and so made acceptable to God through Christ the Promised Seed even without performing perfect unsinning Obedience and without Conforming to the Rites of the Mosaick Precepts Which are the Two things that St. Paul certainly means by Works whereever he explodes them or sets up Faith in opposition to them and particularly in the instance before us Agreeably hereunto it is observable That when the same Apostle speaks of Abraham's Faith in another Epistle where he makes it his business to magnify and extol it exceedingly and so cannot be thought to have omitted what was most praise-worthy he takes no notice of his believing the Promise but makes mention only of his obeying the Command as may be seen in Heb. 11.17 18. By Faith saith he Abraham when he was tried offer'd up Isaac and he that had received the promises offer'd up his only-begotten Son Of whom it was said That in Isaac shall thy seed be called The Story is related more fully in Gen. 22. and the Substance of it is this It seems some time after the Promise to Abraham was fulfilled in that Sarah his Wife conceived and brought forth a Son it pleased God as he had purposed of old to make a further trial of his Faith such as might deserve to be a standing Monument throughout all Ages to the end of the World God said unto him v. 2. Take now thy Son thine only Son Isaac whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of Abraham did not more easily believe the strange Promise than he readily obey'd this hard Command for instead of murmuring like