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A76270
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A nosegay of divine truths; wherein the chief points of religion are ingeniously discussed, and also the doctrines of predestination, reprobation, &c. rightly determined Highly necessary for all Christians to peruse. And digested into 50 chapters; both French and English, for the benefit of those who are desirous to improve themselves in the French or English tongues. By P.B. formerly of the order of S. Francis, now a convert to the Church of England
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P. B.
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1687
(1687)
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Wing B152A; ESTC R230839
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97,134
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289
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came unto me Mat. 25.35 He shall render to every one according to his works to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality eternal life but unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness indignation and Wrath Rom. 2.6 By those Texts of the Holy Scripture it is as clear as the day at Noon that Predestination is not without a respect to our Faith Obedience and good Actions CHAP. XXVIII How Reprobation is to be understood IT is a gross impious and blasphemous impiety to assert that God did by his immutable decree appoint the greatest part of Men to eternal damnation without having any regard to their infidelity disobedience and bad actions as Calvin will have it to be lib. 3. c. 23. Sect. 1 2. Reprobation is an Act of God's hatred and God hates and punishes nothing but Sin which no Creature can be guilty of before its existence Wherefore the existence of the Creature and his disobedience to Gods Commandments ought to be presuppos'd before he be doom'd to eternal damnation I mean before he can be hated and condemn'd by God into Hells Fire From whence it follows when God did by eternal decree appoint the greatest number of Man-kind to eternal damnation it was in consideration of their infidelity disobedience to his Commandments or wicked Actions And to let you see that what I say is very well grounded pray mark these Texts following Go ye cursed depart from me into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels mark the reason of it for I was an hungred and ye gave me no meat I was thirsty and ye gave me no drink I was a stranger and ye took me not in naked and ye clothed me not sick and in prison and ye visited me not Mat. 25. The wicked saith David shall be turned into Hell Ps 9.17 they shall have their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone Ps 11.6 Rev. 21.8 the wrath of God cometh upon the Children of disobedience Eph. 3.6 Mans destruction is of himself saith Hosea The Angels which kept not their first estate and Sodom giving himself over to fornication are set forth for an example 2 Pet. 2. When God punished them 't was for their sins and when in his eternal decree he condemned them to everlasting flames 't was in regard of their sins because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the Children of disobedience Eph. 5.6 though Calvin saith that it is for no other cause but because he wills l. 3. c. 23. S. 1 2. Gods decree is eternal and immutable that is certain but it is subsequent and conditional I grant he hath appointed the greatest part of Men to eternal damnation but it is in regard of their infidelity or disobedience to his Commandments Their disobedience is antecedent and presupos'd the Soul that sinneth shall dye Reprobation is but conditional that is to say no man is Reprobate but upon condition he transgresses Gods Commandments or be unfaithful But some will say I grant predestination and Reprobation to be as you have explain'd them before I grant it is in respect of my Faith or Infidelity Obedience or Disobedience to Gods Commandments yet that hinders not his decree to be immutable For as he hath the knowledge of all things which have been are and shall be and because nothing can be added to his knowledge he knows whether I shall be faithfull or unfaithfull obedient or disobedient to his Commandments and therefore he knows whether I shall be sav'd or damn'd Therefore I have no need to trouble my self for whatsoever I do I can never change Gods knowledge and eternal decree concerning my salvation or damnation Answer It is true we cannot alter Gods knowledge it is certain his decrees are immutable and that we shall be either saved or damned But knowing not which of the two and being certain that God will have all Men to be saved and none to perish and that for this cause he gives his grace unto all it being their fault if they be not saved as it appears by several Texts of the Holy Scripture Mans destruction is of himself Hos 13.9 Whilst we are in this World we ought to entertain this thought that we are of the number of the Elect. And because the Tree is known by its Fruit and the mark of the Elect is to do good and avoid evil embrace vertue and eschew vice and wholly obey the will of God. Therefore we ought to live conformable to those Rules all the days of our life this is the Character of a predestinated Soul which we ought to endeavour to carry along with us to our Grave CHAP. XXIX Gods Works are necessary to Salvation WE speak of Faith we extol it in Sermons assert we are thereby Justified without having any regard to good works and to confirm what we say we alledge Both the words of St. Paul and the example of Abraham If Abraham were Justified by works he hath whereof to Glory but not before God. Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for Righteousness even as David discribeth the Blessedness of the Man unto whom God imputeth Righteousness without works Rom. 4.2.6 which is the cause that many thinking too much upon Faith care very little to practice good works But they deceive themselves for they ought to Remember there are two sorts of Faith one Dead and another Living The Living Faith which only Justifies our Souls and whereby we are sav'd is never without good works as a good Tree is never without Fruit in its Season the Sun without Light Fire without Heat and Water without moisture Every Faith without good works is Dead saith St. James 3.17 What doth is profit my Brethren though a Man saith he hath Faith and have not works can Faith save him If a Brother or Sister be naked destitute of daily food and one of you say unto them depart in Peace be ye warmed and filled notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needfull to the Body what doth it Profit even so Faith if it hath no works is Dead being alone yea a Man may say thou hast Faith and I have Works shew me thy Faith without thy Works and I will shew thee my Faith by my works thou believeth that there is one God thou doest well the Devils also believe and tremble But wilt thou know O vain Man that Faith without Works is Dead was not Abraham our Father Justified by works when he had offered Isaac his Son upon the Altar seest thou how Faith wrought with his works and by works was Faith made perfect ye see then how that by works a Man is justified and not by Faith only for as the Body without Spirit is Dead so Faith without works is Dead also It profits nothing neither to our Justification nor Salvation Whosoever therefore will after his Death obtain an eternal Salvation ought
to perform whilst here good works When J. Christ shall reward every one he doth not say it shall be according to his Faith but according to his works When St. John Rev. 2.3 speaks of the Angels of the Seven Churches he regards only their Works I was hungry and ye gave me to eat Thirsty and ye gave to drink Naked and ye have cloathed me Stranger and ye received me in c. ye are Blessed of my Father come and possess the Kingdom which is prepared for you from the beginning of the World. Therefore when St. Paul saith that Man is justified by Faith without works v. 8. and St. James assures that he is not Justified by Faith without Works v. 24. they do not contradict one another because they speak in a different sense St. Paul speaks of natural works not vivified by Grace He saith that Faith doth justifie without these works for if we were justified by 'em we should have whereof to Glory our Salvation should be in our Power and depend upon our natural strength as some Hereticks would have it to be And St. James speaks of supernatural works vivified by Grace which do Justifie us without having whereof to Glory because we are indebted to the Grace of God for it and which can no more be without a true and Living Faith than a Body can be vivified without a Soul. Break off thy Sins by Righteousness and thine Iniquities by shewing mercy to the Poor Dan. 4.27 CHAP. XXX Images are of great advantage to instruct us and inflame our Devotion WHen I say that Images are of great advantage to instruct us and inflame our Devotion I do not mean the Figures of Venus nor Aretin's Postures nor the Images that are made to represent God Almighty The former are forbidden by the Moral Law being onely fit to corrupt us and the latter are forbidden by the Divine Law because God being not a Creature but infinitely above all Creatures cannot be represented by them To whom will ye liken God or what likeness will ye compare unto him Isa 40.18 Take ye good heed unto your selves for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire lest yé corrupt your selves and make you a graven Image the Similitude of any Figure the likeness of Male or Female Deut. 4.15 I speak onely of the Images of Saints Martyrs Apostles of the blessed Virgin and Christ And I say that they being of great advantage to teach us and inflame our Devotion ought to ba kept not onely in our Churches but also in our Houses For in looking upon them we quickly and without trouble learn how they lived what they did and suffered and at the same time we are incited to follow their good Examples and imitate their Vertues Why shall we condemn their Images rather than their Writings If you tell me it is because they are misused by some and that many ignorant and superstitious Persons do kiss and worship them Pray and offer Frankincense unto them I answer we must correct the abuse but not prohibit the having them in our Churches and Houses The abuse of any thing ought not wholly to destroy the use of it otherwise the best things would be forbidden and taken from us because they are sometimes misused The Holy Scripture would be taken away from us because there are some that do make a bad use of it and alledge it to authorise their erroneous opinions and criminal actions The use of Wine would be forbidden because many are drunk with it and is the cause of several disorders Our Feet and Hands would be cut off and our Eyes pluckt out from our Heads even our Souls from our Bodies because there are a great many that do misuse all these CHAP. XXXI Bad Companions are rather to be avoided than the Plague it self THe Plague can onely infect our Bodies but wicked Company both Body and Soul. Therefore you must avoid and fear them more than you do the presence of a Toad or Serpent you ought to forsake their Company with a greater dilegence than you do Houses that you know to be infected with Plague Come out from amongst them and be ye separate 2 Cor. 6.17 wicked Men are dangerous and pernicious they lay their nets to ensnare you and to take away your goods honour life and the grace of God. They laugh at all things and would be lookt upon couragious and undaunted If you will believe them vice is vertue and vertue vice They say that vengeance is a greatness of courage that pride is gravity that dissimulation is a complement that cheat is a subtilty of wit that devotion is but a bigotery fit onely for women and that to give alms to the needy is vain glory They corrupt the best things and to the worst they give the colour of good How many have shortned the course of their life and been ruined both in their goods and reputation onely for having kept ill Company The Holy Prophet whom God sent into Samaria was killed by a Lyon upon the High-way because he ate and drunk with a false Prophet 1 King. 1. Jeosaphat being in Company with the wicked Ahab was ready to be killed King. 22 Peter keeping ill Company denied his Master He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled 2 Eccl. 22.1 but if we could search into Hell how many should we see there burning weeping lamenting onely for not having left ill Company As Birds of the same feathers flie together so flock together those that live wickedly and it is as hard to them that keep ill Company to be good and vertuous as to swim against the stream of a rapide River Therefore when God speaks to your hearts and excites you to forsake bad Company you must not delay As soon as J. Christ had cast his Eyes of Mercy and Compassion upon Peter he forsook the ill Company wherein he was engaged he went out and wept bitterly for his sins Luc. 22.62 CHAP. XXXII The Sinner being to die shortly and knowing not when nor how ought not to delay his Conversion HOW many do we find that abounding in Richess speak thus to themselves Thou hast many goods lay'd up for many Years take thine ease eat and drink and be Merry But God saith unto them ye Fools this night your Souls shall be required of you then whose shall these things be which you have provided Luk. 12.19 indeed the Life of Man is so short and uncertain that it may surPrize him in that very time when he thinks himself most secure Man saith Job born of a Woman is of few days and full of trouble he comes forth like a Flower and is cut down he flieth also as a shadow and eontinues not His Life is like the water which runs continually 't is like a Cobweb which is suddenly swept away with a broom Let us go and see the Coffin of our Fathers and Friends and