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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	dead_a	faith_n	lively_a	5,187	5	10.6802	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A09958	The doctrine of the saints infirmities Delivered in severall sermons by John Preston Doctor in Divinity, Mr. of Emanuel-Colledge in Cambridge. And late preacher of Lincolnes Inne.	Preston, John, 1587-1628.; Goodwin, Thomas, 1600-1680.; Ball, Thomas, 1589 or 90-1659.; Marshall, William, fl. 1617-1650, engraver.	1636 (1636)	STC 20219; ESTC S115062	47,226	230

friends lived but all this doth not argue life in us because they are but extrinsecall causes as a hand may make a stone move upwards the stone hath not life therefore but when a man is so farre inlightned so fashioned and formed by Iesus Christ that hee judgeth aright of the waies of God and being thus formed he moves himselfe to doe good then he is said to be alive when Christ shall set up Iudgement in the heart of man to see the evil of the waies of sinne and the good that is in the waies of God even then hee moves towards those wayes naturally willingly such a one hath life in him Let some consider this that live in the Church under good Tutors or Masters or Parents that are carried on in a crowde of good company they may do much and yet have no life because it may proceede from an outward cause not froman inward perswasion of the heart of the goodnesse of the waies wherein they walke There is a two-fold perswasion one is that the wayes of God are good a bare perswasion onely and yet this stirres not men up to walke in these wayes but it lyes dead in the heart But there is another perswasion which is ingrafted in the heart that moves a man to new obedience 1 Iames 21. 22. So wee shall finde there a double expression of light one which barely shewes men all evill and good But there is another light with life Iohn 8. 12. He that followeth me shal have the light of life It is an Hebraisme hee shall have the light of life that is the lively light Ephes. 5. 14. Awake from the dead and Christ shall give thee light The first difference betweene them is the one reveales the wayes of God but so that the affections are not mooved the hands are not set on worke But the other is when that the wayes of God are so revealed that wee see an amability an excellency in them and so that we lift up our hearts unto the waies of the Lord as before we did unto vanity that is wee desire earnestly to walke in them Consider how you sitted up your hearts to riches pleasures and other earthly vanities if now you so lift up your hearts to walke in his waies then here is that inward perswasion that lively light wrought in you that life whereof wee speake This life is nothing else but that which the Scripture calleth faith Now there is a dead faith spoken of and how shall wee know it to bee dead Thus when it stirs us not up to good works And howshall wee know it is living when it moves us willingly and readily to duties of obedience Christ dwels in the heart by faith so saith St. Paul The life I now live is by faith in the sonne of God Gal. 2. 20. that is there are two men that looke on Christ one lookes on him beleeves all the promises all threatnings all his word opens his heart le ts Christ come in and rule and doe there what he list Another saith if you aske him that he beleeves all this but we shall know it by this because it doth not make him moove forwards unto new obedience now according to our life that is in us so is our strength the lesse life the lesse strength Revelations 3. 8. The Church of Philadelphia is said to have a little strength now if you would know whether you have true strength or no you must distinguish betweene life and strength to wit the least degree of strength will first enable a man to do all things in some measure though not in that measure you should it wil enable you to love God to beleeve to pray c. you can doe something of every thing Phil. 4. 13. I can doe all things through Christ that strengthneth mee Secondly though it do not reach the highest degree yet it aimes at it and hath a desire to come to it After he had said he had not yet attaind to perfection but aimed at it made forward toward it he ads let as many as be perfect be thus minded the least spark of fire wil endevour to rise above the Aire as well as the greatest and where true strength is it wilendeavour to be stronger Thirdly this is not an empty leveling at it but it grows up to it so doth not other common strength there is a strength in iron to resist violent stroakes and in a rocke to resist the force of the waves but this is not a vital strength so in other men there may be strength of resolution but it is not a selfe moving strength therfore it cōtinues as it was growes not but in vitall strength there is a period to which it growes never rests til it comes up to it as we see in plants and other living creatures and men they grow up to their full strength so Christiās have their period which they grow up to this period is perfect holines w ch they cannot attaine to in this life and therfore they are stil growing so lōg as they live Now then see if you have such a strength if you can find that you have then there is life in you and that is the first that we propounded to shew that there must bee some life some strength The second thing was that this strength is subject to much bruising A bruised reed will he not breake A wea Christian though he have not the strength of a man yet he hath the strength of a child though not of a tree yet of a plant and such strength is subject to bruisings and the lesse strength the more subject it is tobruisings as we see in plants Now bruisings are of two sorts and both arising from sinne The first arise from sin as it is unpardoned that is as you apprehend sin to be unpardoned the more ready you are to be bruised The second sort ariseth from sinne as it is unmortified when a man sees still that sinne growes up which he had thought he had cut down he is ready to bee bruised The former sort is contrary to the grace of justification the latter to that of sanctification now Christ hath promised to heale these bruises w ch is the third thing to be considered let those therefore that are thus weak cōsider this promise here that Christ will heale all these bruisings and so all other the promise for this purpose that he will heale these bruisings which arise from our doubting of justification Esay 61 1 2 3 4 ver this is the bruising for which Christ came into the world to preach glad tidings to the weak and to binde up the broken hearted to proclaime liberty to the captives Therefore if a poore soule would goe to Christ and say thus Lord I am bound with a chaine of my sins and thou camest to set such at liberty Christ hee would doe it for he was

have strong desires let him bee brought to have an apprehension of Gods wrath and hell fire he would have an earnest desire to bee delivered from it But all this is not to please God but himselfe not God in all this But our desire must bee to please God See how the affections were stirred and what fruits it wrought they were moved by motives taken from God and with desire tending to him and so must wee be Againe this righteous fire hath in it this property that it purifieth the heart from drosse and filth and it puts it selfe forth in holy actions makes a man ready to pray to speak profitably and the like as fire makes men active and fit for action Lastly it is alway guided by the spirit of judgement when you minde that most which the Scripture presseth most where the heart is upright a man despiseth none of the waies of God not the meanest trueth but would know them all but that which the Scripture most of all urgeth that hee most earnestly presseth after and labours to bring his heart unto them as the Scripture is most love and the like so hee taketh most paines with his heart about this now therfore try by these properties whether you have heate in you or no. Oh! but I cannot finde this heate in me I cannot finde these holy affections in my heart I answer consider if thou findest any affections that are holy in thee though not many yea if thou findest none consider if thou hast not this smoake for sometimes a man may finde the fire it selfe somtimes onely this smoake what is it I answer when you finde not the affections so moving as you see some others doe yet you finde in your selfe a carefulnesse and watchfulnesse over your wayes that thou wilt'st not runne into sin though thou canst not doe what good thou would'st why here is the smoake and some fire though but small David was not able to doe as he was wont to doe to pray as hee was wont and therefore hee praies God to restore him his spirit and the joyes he was wont to have but yet he was carefull over his wayes afterwards And if thou findst but this smoak this care over thy wayes this resolution to commit no knowne sinne though thou findst not the flame of this holy affection yet be not discouraged thou hast that which is of the same nature within thee Smoake is of the same nature with flame for flame is nothing but smoake set on fire and therefore take comfort continue constant still till God inflames thee and that is the 3 signe Where there is true grace wrought there is combate and strife in the working and afterwards till hee bring forth judgement into victory Before victory there goes a combate this then is implied there must be a strife The Disciples strove amongst themselves who should bee the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven This is a property of all his servants as Christs kingdome is not of this world so are they not apt to contend for any thing in this world But you may know if you be Christs servants or no if you contend for spirituall things Strive to enter in at the streight gate for many shall seeke to enter in thereat but shall not be able We see there are two dispositions of men that some seeke are willing to goe to Heaven but take no paines for it these seeke saith Christ to enter but shall not be able to get in but others strive and contend with all their power such must be our strife if we will get into Heavē The difference betweene the wise Virgins and the foolish lay in this that the wise were more diligent than the other Formall professors may contend but it is but for a fitt they are soone weary of this contention they leave off rowing suffer the boate to goe down the streame but wee must strive untill we get the victory and run with St. Paul untill we get the prize And what made him to doe so why hee considered 2 things first he look't on the Crowne an incorruptible Crowne Secondly he was loath to run in vaine lose all his labour so the reason why we doe not contend is because we doe not consider these 2 things namely the prize crowne of reward and that else wee shall but lose our labour and therfore we must strive if we be remisse it is an argumēt that wee have a name to live but are dead And therefore consider it there must be a strife a combate and there will be that by reason of that original corruption that is in us We have continuall worke with our owne hearts the flesh is ready to have the first hand in every businesse if wee doe not resist it wee shall exceedingly goe downe the winde if we do not strive and that hard For when there is an infused habit as grace is and a corrupt nature contrary to it nature is ready to take part with it which was bred borne with it Whē I would doe good evill is still present with me there is something lay at the fountaine-head as it were and stopt him when hee would doe any good It is our case also in wel-doing we see how backward we are to begin and when we haue begun how ready we are to leave off But if it be a businesse that concernes our selves we are ready to doe yea to over-doe it How ready we are to idle words how backward we are to profitable conference how ready to spend on our lusts how backeward to true liberality so I might instance in divers others And therfore seeing wee have this flesh about us we had neede to strive it is that which a Christian should make account of to do that which he hath not a mind to doe and not to doe that which he hath a minde to doe and so still to doe the contrary and strive against the lusts of the flesh and so to restraine his nature from what he would doe But how should we doe to contend thus To give you some directions Fight the good fight of faith The acting of our faith and setting it on worke when any thing comes to hinder us will helpe us to overcome in this combate Let a man beleeve the promises and threatnings of God and he shall be able to resist the flesh but let faith bee asleepe and it will quickly prevaile against us Take the shield of faith Now what a shield is for the defence of the body that faith is for the defence of the soule Whē any temptations are suggested unto us faith is it that repells them never is a man overcome but through defect of faith or when the habit lies hid asleepe in us Heb. 11. When they set their faith on worke what marvellous things did they what made Ieroboam so weake but