Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	create_v	good_a	workmanship_n	4,350	5	11.8942	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A34262	The Confessions of the faith of all the Christian and Reformed churches which purely profess the holy doctrine of the gospel in all the kingdoms, nations, and provinces of Europe, with the order of time when they were written, and an exact table of the principal articles of faith, which in every confession is debated : wherein the obsure and difficult places are explained, and those things which may in shew seem to contradict each other, are plainly and modestly reconciled, and such points as yet hang in suspence, are sincerely pointed at : freely submitted to all Reformed Churches, as a means to knit and unite all the churches of Christ in one bond of love, for the avoiding of hereafter, discords and schismes in these dangerous time.		1656 (1656)	Wing C5803; ESTC R16415	482,755	587

cometh by Acts 13. Rom. 10. hearing and hearing by the word of God And in another place he willeth men to pray for faith And the same also calleth faith Powerfull Tit. 1. Galat. 5. and that sheweth it selfe by love This faith doth pacifie the conscience and doth open unto us a free accesse unto God that with confidence we may come unto him and may obtaine at his hands whatsoever is profitable and necessarie The same faith doth keepe us in our dutie which we owe to God and to our neighbour and doth fortifie our patience in adversitie it doth frame and make a true confession and in a word it doth bring forth good fruit of all sorts and good workes which are good indeed doe proceede from a lively faith by the holy Ghost and are done of the faithfull according to the will or rule of Gods word For Peter the Apostle saith Therefore giving all diligence thereunto ioyne moreover vertue with your faith and with vertue knowledge and with knowledge temperance c. It was said before that the law of God which is the will of God did prescribe unto us the patterne of good workes And the Apostle saith This is the will of God even your sanctisication that 1 Thess 4. you abstaine from all uncleannesse and that no man oppresse or deceive his brother in any matter But as for such workes and worships of God as are taken up upon our owne liking which Saint Paul calleth wilworship they are not allowed nor liked of God Of such Coloss 2. the Lord saith in the Gospel They worship me in vaine teaching Matth. 15. for doctrine the precepts of men We therefore disallow all such manner of workes and we approve and urge men unto such as 〈◊〉 according to the will and commandement of God Yea and these same workes that are agreeable to Gods will must be done not to the end to merit eternall life by them for life everlasting as the Apostle faith is the gift of God nor for ostentations sake which the Lord doth reject Matth. 6. nor for lucre which also he misliketh Matth. 23. but to the glory of God to commend and set forth our calling and to yeeld thankfulnesse unto God and also for the profit of our neighbours For the Lord saith againe in the Gospel Let your light so shine before men that they may see your Mat. 5. good workes and glrifie your Father which is in heaven Likewise the Apostle Paul saith Walke worthy of your calling Al●o Whatsoever Ephes 4. Coloss 3. you doe faith he either in word or indeede doe all in the name of the Lord Iesus giving thankes to God the Father by him Let no man seeke his owne but every man his brothers And Let ours also learne to shew forth good workes for necessary uses that they be Phil. 4. Tit. 3. not unprofitable Notwithstanding therefore that we teach with the Apostle that a man is justified by faith in Christ and not by any good workes yet we doe not lightly esteeme or condemne good works because we know that a man is not created or regenerated through faith that he should be idle but rather that without ceasing he should doe those things which are good and profitable For in the Gospel the Lord saith A good tree bringeth forth good fruite And againe Whosoever abideth in me bringeth forth good fruit And lastly the Apostle saith We are the workemanship of God Matth. 12. Iohn ●5 Ephes 2. Tit. 2. created in Christ Jesus to good workes which God hath prepared that we should walke in them And againe Who gave himselfe for us that he might deliver us from all iniquitie and purge us to be a peculiar people to himselfe zealous of good workes We therefore condemne all those which doe contemne good workes and doe babble that they are needlesse and not to be regarded Neverthelesse as was said before we doe not thinke that we are saved by good workes or that they are so necessary to salvation that no man was ever saved without them For we are saved by grace and by the benefit of Christ alone Workes doe necessarily proceede from faith but salvation is improperly attributed to them which is most properly ascribed to grace That sentence of the Apostle is very notable If by grace then not of workes for then grace were no Rom. 11. more grace But if of workes then is it not of grace for then workes were no more workes Now the workes which we doe are accepted and allowed of God through faith because they which doe them please God by faith in Christ and also the workes themselves are done by the grace of God through his holy Spirit For Saint Peter saith that Of every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousnesse is Act. 10. Coloss 1. accepted with him And Paul also We cease not to pray for you that you may walke worthy of the Lord and in all things please him being fruitfull in every good worke Here therefore we diligently teach not false and Philosophicall but true vertues true good workes and the true duties of a Christian man And this we doe with all diligence and earnestnesse that we can inculcate and beate into mens mindes sharply reproving the slothfulnesse and hypocrisie of all those who with their mouthes praise and professe the Gospel and yet with their shamefull life doe dishonour the same setting before their eies in this case Gods horrible threatnings large promises and bountifull rewards and that by exhorting comforting and rebuking For we teach that God doth bestow great rewards on them that doe good according to that saying of the Prophet Refraine thy voyce from weeping because thy worke Isa 4. Mar. 5. 10. shall have a reward In the Gospel also the Lord said Reioyce and be glad because your reward is great in the heavens And He that shall give to one of these little ones a cup of cold water verily I say unto you he shall not loose his reward Yet we doe not attribute this reward which God giveth to the merit of the man that receiveth it but to the goodnesse or liberalitie and truth of God which promiseth and giveth it who although he owe nothing unto any yet he hath promised to give a reward to those that faithfully worship him notwithstanding that he doe also give them grace to worship him Besides there are many things unworthy the majestie of God and many unperfect things are found in the workes even of the Saints and yet because God doth receive into favour and imbrace the workes of them for Christs sake therefore he performeth unto them the promised reward For otherwise our righteousnesses are compared to a menstruous Isa 64. cloath yea and the Lord in the Gospel saith When you have done all things that are commanded you say we are unprofitable servants Luke 17. that which we ought to doe we have done So that though we teach

Lord is my merit I am not without merit so long as the Lord of mercies is not wanting And if the mercies of the Lord be many I abound in merits Gregorie saith Therefore our righteous Advocate shall Greg. lib. 1. super Ezech. hom 7. in fine Bern. in Serm. 1. annunciat B●●tae Mariae defend us in the day of iudgement because we know and accuse our selves to be uniust Therefore let us not trust to our teares nor to our actions but to the alleadging of our Advocate Bernard saith Our reioycing is this the testimonie of our conscience not such a testimonie as that proud Pharisee had his thoughts being seduced and seducing him giving witnesse of himselfe and his witnesse was not true But then is the witnesse true when the spirit beareth witnesse with our spirit Now I beleeve that this testimonie consisteth in three things For first of all it is necessarie to beleeve that thou canst not have remission of sins but through the favour of God Secondly that thou canst have no good worke at all except he also give it to thee Lastly that thou canst not deserve eternall life by any works except that also be given thee freely Out of the Confession of SVEVELAND Of Iustification and of Faith CHAP. 3. OVR Preachers doe some what differ from the late received opinions about those things which the people were commonly taught concerning the meane whereby we are made partakers of the redemption wrought by Christ and touching the duties of a Christian man Those points which we have followed we will indeavour to lay open most plainly to your sacred Majestie and also to declare very faithfully those places of Scripture by which we were forced hereunto First therefore seeing that we were taught of late yeeres that works were necessarily required to justification our Preachers have taught that this whole justification is to be ascribed to the good pleasure of God and to the merit of Christ and to be received by Faith alone To this they were mooved especially by these places of Scripture As many as received him to them he gave power to be the sonnes of God even to them that beleeve in his name which are borne not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God Ioh. 1. Verily verily I say unto you except a man be borne againe a new hee cannot see the kingdome of God Ioh. 3. No man knoweth the Sonne but the Father neither knoweth any man the Father but the Sonne and he to whom the Sonne will reveale him Matt. 11. Blessed art thou Simon the sonne of Ionas for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee but my Father which is in heaven Matth. 16. No man can come to me except my Father draw him Ioh. 6. By grace are ye saved through Faith and that not of your selves it is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast himselfe For we are his workmanship created in Christ Iesus unto good works which God hath ordained that we should walke in them Eph. 2. For seeing it is our righteousnesse and eternall life to know God and our Saviour Iesus Christ and that is so farre from being the worke of flesh and blood that it is necessarie to be borne againe anew neither can we come to the Sonne except the Father draw us neither know the Father except the Son reveale him unto us and Paul doth write so expressely Not of your selves not of works it is evident enough that our works can helpe nothing at all that of unjust such as we are borne we may become righteous because that as we are by nature the children of wrath and therefore unjust so we are not able to doe any thing that is just or acceptable to God but the beginning of all our righteousnesse and salvation must proceed from the mercie of the Lord who of his onely favour and the contemplation of the death of his Son did first offer the doctrine of truth and his Gospel sending those that should preach it and secondly seeing that naturall man cannot as Paul saith 1 Cor. 2. perceive the things that are of God he causeth also the beame of his light to arise in the darknesse of our heart that now we may beleeve the Gospell preached being perswaded of the truth thereof by the holy Spirit from above and then forthwith trusting to the testimonie of this spirit in the confidence of children to call upon God and to say Abba Father obtaining thereby true salvation according to that saying Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved Of good works proceeding out of faith through love THese things we will not have men so to understand as though we placed salvation and righteousnesse in the sloathfull thoughts of men or in faith destitute of love which they call faith without forme seeing that we are sure that no man can be just or saved except he doe chiefly love and most earnestly imitate God For those which he knew before he also predestinated to be made like to the image of his Sinne. But no man can love God above all things and worthily imitate him but he which doth indeed know him and doth assuredly looke for all good things from him Therefore we cannot otherwise be justified that is as to become righteous so to be saved for righteousnesse is even our salvation then by being endued chiefly with faith in him by which faith we beleeving the Gospel and therefore being perswaded that God hath taken us for his adopted children and that he will for ever shew himselfe a loving Father unto us let us wholly depend upon his pleasure This faith Saint Augustine doth call in his booke De Fide operibus Evangelicall To wit that which is effectuall through love By this faith we are borne againe and the image of God is repaired in us By this faith whereas we are borne corrupt our thoughts even from our childhood being altogether bent unto evill we become good and upright For hereupon we being fully satisfied with one God the spring of all good things that is never drie but runneth alwaies most plentifully we doe forthwith shew our selves as it were Gods towards others that is toward the true sonnes of God indevouring by love to profit them so much as in us lyeth For He that loveth his brother abideth in the light and is borne of God and is wholly given to the new and to the old commandement touching mutuall love And this love is the fulfilling of the whole law as Paul saith The whole law is fulfilled in one word namely this Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy selfe Gal. 5. For whatsoever the law teacheth hitherto it tendeth and this one thing it requireth that at the length we may be reformed to the perfect image of God being good in all things and ready and willing to doe men good the which we cannot doe except we be adorned

Christ saith All men do not receive this word where he sheweth that all men are not fit for a single life because that God created man for procreations sake Gen. 1. It is not in mans power without a speciall gift and worke of God to alter his creation Therefore such as are not meet for a single life ought to joyne in Matrimony For no law of man no vow can take away the commandement of God and his ordinance By these reasons our Priests do prove that they may lawfully marry wives And it is well known that in the ancient Churches Priests were married For Paul saith that a Bishop must be chosen which is a husband And in Germanie about 400. yeers ago the Priests were by violence compelled to live a single life who then were so wholly bent against the matter that the Archbishop of Mentz being to publish the Pope of Rome his decree in that behalfe was almost murdered in a tumult by the Priests in their anger And the matter was handled so contrary to law that they did not only forbid marriages for the time to come but also such as were then contracted contrary to all laws divine and humane contrary to the Canons themselves that were before made not onely by Popes but also by most famous Councels And seeing that the world decaying mans nature by little and little waxeth weaker it is behoovefull to looke well to it that no more vices doe overspread Germanie Furthermore God ordained marriage to be a remedie for mans infirmitie The Canons themselves doe say that the old rigour is now and then in latter times to be released for the weaknesse of men Which it were to be wished might be done in this matter also It is very like that if marriage be forbidden any longer we shall at length want Pastours in the Church Seeing then that there is a plaine commandement of God seeing the use of the Church is well knowne seeing that the impure single life bringeth forth very many offences adulteries and other enormities worthy to be punished by the godly Magistrate yet it is a marvell that greater crueltie should be shewed in no other thing then against the marriage of Priests God hath commanded to honour marriage the laws in all well ordered Common-wealths even among the heathen also have adorned marriages with very great priviledges But now men are cruelly put to death yea and Priests also contrary to the minde of the Canons for no other cause but onely for marriage Paul calleth that a doctrine of devils which forbiddeth marriage 1 Tim. 4. which may now very well be seene when as the forbidding of marriage is maintained by such punishments But as no law of man can take away the law of God no more can any vow whatsoever Therefore Cyprian giveth counsell that those women should marry which do not keep their vowed chastity His words are these in the first book the 11. Epist If they will not or are not able to indure it is farre better they should marry then that they should fall into the fire by their importune desire In any wise let them give no offence to their brethren or sisters Yea and the Canons use a kinde of equitie towards such as before their ripe yeers did vow chastitie as hitherto the use hath been To this place also belongeth the 6. Article Of the vows of Monks VVHat is taught amongst us touching the vowes of Monks shall be better understood if you call to minde what was the state of Monasteries and how many things were every day committed in the Monasteries contrary to the Canons In Augustines time Colledges were free but afterward when discipline was corrupted every where vowes were laid upon them that as it were by a new devised prison the discipline might be restored again Over and besides vows by little and little many other observations were added And these bands and snares were cast upon many before they came to ripe yeeres contrary to the Canons Many through errour fell into this kind of life unawares who though they wanted no yeers yet they wanted discretion to judge of their strength and abilitie They which were once got within these snares were constrained to abide in them though by the benefit of the Canon some might be set at libertie And that fell out rather in the Nunneries then in the Colledges of Monks because the weaker sexe was more to be spared This rigour and severitie misliked many good men heretofore when they saw young maides and young men thrust up into Monasteries there to get their living and saw what an unhappie successe this counsell had what offences it bred and what snares it laid upon mens consciences They were grieved that the authoritie of the Canons was wholly neglected and contemned in a thing most dangerous To all these evils there was added such a perswasion of vows which as it is well known did in former times mislike the Monks themselves if any of them were some what stouter then the rest They taught forsooth that vows were equall to Baptisme touching single life they taught that it merited remission of sins and justification before God yea farther that the Monks life did not onely merit righteousnesse before God but more then that because it observed not onely the commandements but also the Counsels in the Gospel And thus they taught that the Monks profession was better then Baptisme that the Monks life did merit more then the life of Magistrates of Pastours and such like which in the obedience of Gods commandement followed their calling without any such religion of mans making None of these things can be denied they are to be seene in their writings What fell out afterward in the Monasteries In old time there were Schooles for the study of Divinitie and other Arts which were profitable to the Church and thence were Pastours and Bishops taken But now the case is altered It is needlesse to rehearse their vows In old time they came together into such places to learne but now they feigne that it is a kinde of life taken up to merit remission of sinnes and justification yea they say it is a state of perfection and preferre it to all other kinde of lifes that God ordained We have therefore mentioned these things amplifying nothing odiously to the end that the doctrine of our men touching this matter might be understood First touching such as joyne in marriage thus they teach with us that it is lawfull for any to marry that is not fit for a single life for as much as vows cannot take away Gods ordinance and commandement The commandement of God is To avoid fornication let every man have his wife And not onely the commandement but also the creation and ordinance of God compelleth such unto marriage as without the speciall work of God are not exempted according to that saying It is not good for man to be alone They therefore that are obedient to this commandement and ordinance