Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

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
A41604	The anatomie of infidelitie, or, An explanation of the nature, causes, aggravations and punishment of unbelief by Theophilus Gale.	Gale, Theophilus, 1628-1678.	1672 (1672)	Wing G133; ESTC R29918	143,754	276

ye of doutful minds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let not your Minds hang as Meteors in the Air ful of suspense about future supplies be not of an anxious thoughtful Mind Let not your thoughts be distracted and as it were racked with carking cares The word signifies such an Anxietie as fluctuates 'twixt hope and fear Such is the suspicious anxious temper of Unbelief as to Providential maters of the Covenant 3. The last branch of the Covenant concernes maters of coming Glorie wherein also Unbelief may be said Not to know the things that belong unto our peace The chief concernes of our peace are those invisible Glories of the other world Al our present spiritual Suavities and Delices are but dreams in comparison of that formal Beatitude in the Beatifi● Vision of God face to face Alas how far short is our present vision of God in Evangelic Shadows and Reports of that immediate Intuition of God as he is 1 Joh. 3. 2 3 Whence the main worke of a Believer here is to live by faith in the daily contemplation and expectation of that approching Glorie For the more we eye our home the more industrious lively and pressing wil we be in our journey thither Faith maketh things absent present So Heb. 11. 1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that which gives a substantial Essence an actual Existence a solid Basis or Foundation the First-fruits yea a real presence to those Good things hoped for of the other world So much is wrapped up in that Notion Then it follows The Evidence of things not seen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Argument the Demonstration the Meridian Light the legal conviction the spiritual eye whereby invisible Glories are made Visible Such is the miraculous efficace of faith as to approching Glorie such a clear real fixed sight of Heaven has it here on earth Ay but now Unbelief draws a veil on al these invisible Glories and makes them to disappear what fantastic dreams what carnal and grosse Notions what base and unworthy thoughts has it of future rest How studious is Unbelief to obliterate and rase out the Idea of Eternitie fixed in the heart How apt is it yea industrious to remove far from conscience the second coming of Christ and ensuing Jugement How fain would it build Ma●sions here and take up with something short of God Oh! how little doth Unbelief regard those Mansions of Glorie which Christ is preparing John 14. 1 2 How seldome or never doth it take a view with Moses on mount Pisgah of the celestial Canaan the new Jerusalem where is the Lambs Throne Yea what low cheap undervaluing thoughts hath Unbelief of that promissed Land Thus it is said of the unbelieving Jews Psal 106. 24. Yea they despised the pleasant Land or the Land of desire and believed not his word This pleasant land Canaan was a type of Heaven and in despising it they despised Heaven and al this lay wrapt up in the bowels of their Unbelief They did not yield a real supernatural firme certain practic Assent to the word of promisse touching Canaan and therefore they despised it and not only that but also the celestial Canaan which made God swear in his wrath against them that they should not enter in Heb. 3. 11. So much for the Material Notions both general and particular which Unbelief is ignorant of 2. I shal treat a little of the formal Object of Faith and how far Unbelief is defective therein The formal Object of Faith as it comes under the Notion of Assent is the Divine Veracitie or Autori●ie of God appendent to his Word For look as in the Workes of God there are certain Divine Characters Ideas Impresses or Notices of Gods Wisdome Power and Goodnesse which a spiritual heart contemplates and admires so likewise in the Words of God there are certain Stampes and Ideas of the Veracitie and Autori●ie of God which the Believer contemplates and assents unto as the formal object of his faith Thus 1 Thes 2. 13. Because when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us ye received it not as the word of men but as it is in truth the Word of God Not as the word of men As here notes a Reduplication i. e the formal reason proper motive or principal ground of their assent to Gods Word was not any Human Autoritie but the Divine Autoritie or Veracitie of God And here lies the main specific essential Difference betwixt divine and human faith Divine faith receives the Word of God as the Word of God under that Reduplication i. e as it is clothed with Divine Autoritie but human faith receives the Word of God as the word of men i e as clothed with some human Autoritie Church-Tradition or the like commun Motives Now this human faith as to the Word of God is no other than real unbelief For he that believeth the Word of God only as commended to him by the Church doth really disbelieve the same It is not the Objects believed but the formal Reason of our belief that distinguisheth a Divine from a human faith He that assents to divine Truths merely on human Grounds or Reasons can have but an human faith which is real unbelief as he that assents to natural Truths reveled in the Word of God as reveled and clothed with Divine Autoritie has a Divine faith So that albeit the mind assentes to the whole Word of God yet if the principal ground or formal reason of its assent be not Divine Autoritie its Faith is but real Unbelief And here lies a main plague of Unbelievers its possible they do assent to the whole Word of God ay but yet they see not those sacred Characters those Divine stampes of Gods Autoritie and Truth which are appendent to his Word the chief ground of their belief is only some human Tradition or Autoritie Such was the Faith of those Samaritans John 4. 40. who believed merely for the saying of the woman c. whereas afterward ver 41. Many more believed because of his own word This is a Divine faith there was a sound of Heaven in Christs own voice a little Image or Stampe of Divine Majestie which the believing Samaritans could discerne O! Remember this If the Autoritie of God be not the chief bottome of your Assent your faith is but Vnbelief So much for the Notional object both Material and Formal of Unbelief CHAP. IV. An Explication of Unbelief as it opposeth or is defective in the first Act of faith namely Assent to the good things that belong to our peace WE now procede to the Act of Unbelief comprised in that Notion If thou hadst known This knowlege must be commensurate to or as large as its Object which as we have shewn is either Notional or Real As it refers to its Notional object so its termed Assent as to its Real object so Consent We shal begin with the first namely What

to applie it to himself and improve it Thus every word of God is an infallible oracle to such as have a pious affection for him Thus David describes his faith by his delight in the statutes of God Psal 119. 16. I wil delight my self in thy statutes The original imports to behold with delight or to contemplate with pleasure Oh! What satisfaction did Davids faith find in the Statutes of God But oh how melodious and sweet was the joyful sound of the Gospel to Davids faith If the Law be so delightful to a Believer because he sees therein as in a Glasse al the spots of his soul Oh! how delightsome then is the Gospel to him which discovers the face of God and Christ to him yea and transformes his heart into the same glorious Image Hence it appears that if our Assent to the Reports of the Gospel be not affectionate and chearful it is not saving The Devils believe and tremble but because they do not gladly assent therefore their faith is not saving So essential is an affectionate inclination to divine Assent Whence it naturally follows that such as afford only a forced assent to evangelic Truths do really dissent from them such an intimate connexion is there between Divine Assent and pious Affection 13. Not to know the things that belong unto our peace is not to retain the same when once received This also is a consequent of the former For things forced are not durable when our Assent is only compelled by legal convictions it lasts no longer than that compulsion which gave foundation to it whereas an affectionate Assent is very adhesive it sticks fast unto its object every thing delights to adhere to what it likes If the heart be chearfully inclined towards God it wil delight in its assent unto his word But when our Assent is grounded only on legal Threats and forced convictions how soon doth it wear off and die away This was the case of many unbelieving Jews they had now and then some stounding convictions such as produced in them a great Assent to the words of Christ Oh! What Attention what Reverence and Respect do they give to Christs word But alas how soon is their Assent turned into Dissent Thus John 5. 38. And ye have not his word abiding in you 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to abide signifies with John to dwel or take up its fixed habitation The Word of God now and then sound some place in their minds as v. 35. ay but it did not inhabit there it loged there but as a Traveller in an Inne for a night only There are many Professors who entertain the glad tidings of the Gospel for a season but they retain them not Whereas David saith Psal 119. 11. Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee There seems to be an elegant Metaphor in the word hid drawen from those who having found a choise Treasure they hide it thereby to secure it Thus David hid Gods word in his heart Whence Christ pronounceth a blessing on those that hear his word and keep it Luk. 11. 28. Hence that exhortation Hebr. 2. 1. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that we have heard lest at any time we should let them slip 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e let them slide away as water through a Mil which never returnes more He that lets evangelic Truths slide away out of his heart cannot be said to know the things that belong unto his peace Al true Divine Assent is permanent and lasting he that ever dissents from never yet truely assented to Evangelic Notions of peace We find this Divine Retention of Gods word wel expressed by Moses in his exposition of the Law Deut. 6. 6 7 8 9. 14. Such as have not a transcendent estime or great and sublime thoughts of the things that belong to their peace may also be said not to know them For an object or thing is then only known truely when its worth and value is in some mesure known He that has only poor unworthy base thoughts of great things may be said not to know them The efficace vigor and strength of every Assent ariseth from the right valuation of the object For the minds adherence unto truth is more or lesse prevalent according to the apprehension it has of their value unto several truths equally apprehended the minds assent or adherence is not equal but greater or lesse according to the estime it has of their worth Thus the prevalence vigor and efficace of our assent and adherence to supernatural Truths doth naturally arise from the apprehension we have of their value and thence a true assent to divine Notions and Promisses alwaies carries admiration in its bowels he that doth entertain the great Mysteries of the Gospel with a cheap mean estime only doth really disestime the same An undervaluing low assent to divine Truths is real dissent Certainly such know not Christ who estime him not as the Worlds wonder This Christ Ironicly upbraids the unbelieving Jews with John 7. 28. Ye both know me and know whence I am c. He speaks Ironicly in replie to the Jews reprocheful speech v. 27. Howbeit we know this man whence he is c. As if he had said You neither know me nor yet the Messias as you pretend for if you knew me and whence I am you would highly estime me as your Messias sent by God c. Lastly They know not the things that belong to their peace who give only a sterile dead unactive assent to them True Divine Assent is ful of Life Virtue and Activitie A barren dead faith is real Unbelief the end of saving knowlege is Practice Unprofitable knowlege is one of the worst kinds of Ignorance Al sacred Sciences are Affective and Effective That Assent which doth not kil sin wil never give life to the sinner Divine Assent leaves suitable Impresses and sacred Stampes on the Heart Doth thine Assent to the things That belong to thy peace fil thy soul with Admiration of and Love unto them Is there an agreament twixt thine heart and the things thou believest Thou saiest thou assentest to the Truths of the Gospel ay but doth not thine heart dissent from the Duties of the Gospel and is not this a strong argument that thy faith is but a dead Assent So Jam. 2. 26. For as the bodie without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also Though works are not the cause which gives life to faith yet they are necessary products which argue life in faith A living faith is ful of vital spirits and operations he that wants these has only a dead corps of faith or the name of a Believer David gives us a better account of his faith Psal 119. 11. Thy word have I hid in mine heart and why so that I might not sin against thee