Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	evil_a	good_a	tree_n	33,809	5	11.7409	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A41355	The marrow of modern divinity touching both the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace, with their use and end, both in the time of the Old Testament, and in the time of the New : wherein every one may cleerly see how far forth he bringeth the law into the case of justification, and so deserverh the name of legalist : and how far forth he rejecteth the law, in the case of sanctification, and so deserveth the name of Antinomist : with the middle path between them both, which by Iesus Christ leadeth to eternall life : in a dialogue, betwixt Evangelista, a minister of the Gospel, Nomista, a legalist, Antinomista, an Antinomian, and Neophytus, a young Christian / by the author, E.F. ; before the which there is prefixed the commendatory epistles of divers divines of great esteem in the citie of London ; whereunto is also added, the substance of a	Fisher, Edward, fl. 1627-1655.; Hamilton, Patrick, 1504?-1528. Patricks places.	1646 (1646)	Wing F997; ESTC R1839	130,516	286

thou do it not thou shalt die the death In which Covenant there was first contained 〈◊〉 precept Do this Secondly a promise joyned unto it If thou do it thou shalt live Thirdly a like threatning If thou do it not thou shalt die the death Imagine saith Musculus that God had said to Adam Lo to the intent that thou maist live I have given thee liberty to eat and have given thee abundantly to eat let all the fruits of Paradise be in thy power one tree except which see thou touch not for that I keep it to mine own authority the same is the tree of knowledge of good and evill If thou touch it the meat thereof shall not be life but death Nom. But Sir you said that the Law of the Ten Commandements or Morall Law may be said to be the matter of the Law of works and you have also said that the Law of works is as much to say as the Covenant of works whereby it seems to me you hold that the Law of the Ten Commandements was the matter of the Covenant of works which God made with all mankind in Adam before his fall Evan. That 's a truth agreed upon by all Authors and Interpreters that I know And indeed the Law of works as a learned Author saith signifies the Morall law and the Morall law strictly and properly taken signifies the Covenant of works Nom. But Sir what is the reason you call it but the matter of the covenant of works Evan. The reason why I rather chuse to call the Law of the Ten Commandements the matter of the Covenant of works then the Covenant it self is because I conceive that the matter of it cannot properly be called the covenant of works except the form be put upon it that is to say except the Lord require and man undertake to yield perfect obedience thereunto upon condition of eternall life and death And therefore till then it was not a covenant of works betwixt God and all mankinde in Adam As for example you know that although a servant have an ability to do a masters work and though a master have wages to bestow upon him for it yet is there not a covenant betwixt them till they have thereupon agreed Even so though man at the first had power to yield perfect and perpetuall obedience to all the Ten Commandements and God had an eternall life to bestow upon him yet was there not a covenant betwixt them till they were thereupon agreed Nom. But Sir you know there is no mention made in the book of Genesis of this covenant of works which you say was made with man at first Evan. Though we read not the word Covenant betwixt God and man yet have we there recorded what may amount to as much for God provided and promised to Adam eternall happinesse and called for perfect obedience which appears from Gods threatning Gen. 2.17 For if man must die if he disobeyed it implies strongly that Gods covenant was with him for life if he obeyed Nom. But Sir you know the word Covenant signifies a mutuall promise bargain and obligation betwixt two parties Now though it is implied that God promised man to give him life if he obeyed yet we read not that man promised to be obedient Evan. I pray take notice that God doth not alwayes tie man to verball expressions but doth often contract the Covenant in reall impressions in the heart and frame of the creature And this was the manner of covenanting with man at the first for God had furnished his soule with an understanding mind whereby he might discern good from evill and right from wrong and not only so but also in his will was most great uprightnesse and his instrumentall parts were orderly framed to obedience the truth is God did ingrave in mans soule wisdom and knowledge of his will and works and integrity in the whole soule and such a fitnesse in all the powers thereof that neither the mind did conceive nor the heart desire nor the body put in execution any thing but that which was acceptable to God so that man endowed with these qualities was able to serve God perfectly Nom. But Sir how could the Law of the Ten Commandements be the matter of this Covenant of works when they were not written as you know till the time of Moses Evan. Though they were not written in tables of stone untill the time of Moses yet were they written in the tables of mans heart in the time of Adam for we read that man was created in the image or likenesse of God Gen. 1.27 And the ten Commandements are a doctrine agreeing with the eternall wisdome and justice that is in God wherein he hath so painted out his own nature that it doth in a manner expresse the very image of God And doth not the Apostle say that the image of God consists in knowledge righteousnesse and true holinesse and is not knowledge righteousnes true holines the perfections of both the tables of the law And indeed saith M. Rollock it could not wel stand with the justice of God to make a Covenant with man under the condition of holy good works perfect obedience to his Law except he had first created man holy pure and ingraven his law in his hart whence those good works should proceed Nom. But yet I cannot but marvell that God in making the covenant with man did make mention of no other commandement then that of the forbidden fruit Evan. Do not marvell at it for by that one species of sin the whole genus or kind is shewn as the same Law being more clearly unfolded Deut. 27.26 Gal. 3.10 doth expresse And indeed in that one Commandement the whole worship of God did consist as obedience honour love confidence and religious feare together with the outward abstinence from sin and reverent respect to the voice of God Yea herein also consisted his love and so his whole duty to his neighbour so that as a learned writer saith Adam heard as much in the garden as Israel did at Sinai but only in fewer words and without thunder Nom. But sir ought not man to have yielded perfect obedience to God though this Covenant had not been made betwixt them Evan. Yea indeed perfect and perpetuall obedience was due from man unto God though God had made no promise to man for when God created man at first he put forth an excellencie from himself into him and therefore it was the bond and tie that lay upon man to return that again unto God so that man being Gods creature by the law of creation he owed all obedience and subjection to God his creator Nom. Why then was it needfull that the Lord should make a covenant with him by promising him life and threatning him with death Evan. For answer hereunto in the first place I pray you understand that man was a reasonable creature

by faith without the works of the law Rom. 3.28 No man is justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ And we believe in Jesus Christ that wee may be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the deeds of the law for if righteousnesse come by the law then Christ dyed in vain Gal. 2. No works make us unrighteous If any evill works make us unrighteous then the contrary workes should make us righteous but it is proved that no good works can make us righteous therefore no evill works can make us unrighteous if we be believers Works then make us neyther good nor evill It is proved that works make us neither righteous nor unrighteous therefore no works make us either good or evill for righteous and good are one thing and unrighteous and evill another Good works make not a good man nor evill works an evill man but a good man bringeth forth good works and an evill man evill works Good fruit maketh not the tree good nor evill fruit the tree evill but a good tree beareth good fruit and an evill tree evill fruit A good man cannot doe evill works nor an evill man good works for a good tree cannot beare evill fruit nor an evill tree good fruit A man is good before he doe good works and evill before he doe evill works A good man is known by his good works and an evill man by his evill works yee shall know them by their fruits for a good tree beareth good fruit and an evill tree evill fruit a man is likened to a tree and his works to the fruit of the tree If works make us neither righteous nor unrighteous then it maketh no matter what we doe I answer If thou doe evill it is a sure argument that thou art evill and wantest faith if thou doe good it is an argument that thou art good and hast faith for a good tree beareth good fruit and an evill tree evill fruit yet good fruit maketh not the tree good nor evill fruit the tree evill so that man is good before he doe good works and evill before he doe evill works Faith maketh the good tree and incredulity the evill tree such a tree such fruit such a man such works for all things which are done in faith please God and are good works and all that are done without faith displease God and are evill works Whosoever believeth or thinketh to bee saved by his works denyeth that Christ is his Saviour for how is he thy Saviour if thou mightest save thy selfe by thy works or wherefore should he have died for thee if any works might have saved thee Now seeing that he hath paid the debt thou needest not pay it neither indeed couldst thou pay it but shouldest be damned if his bloud were not but sith hee was punished for that thou shalt not bee punished Finally hee hath delivered thee from thy condemnation and all evill and desireth naught of thee but that thou wilt acknowledge what hee hath done for thee and beare it in minde and that thou wouldest helpe others for his sake both in word and deed even as hee hath holpen thee for naught and without reward O how ready would men bee to help others if wee knew his goodnesse and gentlenesse towards us hee is a good and a gentle Lord and doth all for naught therefore let us follow his steps So that I doe not say that believers should doe no good works but I say men should not doe good works to the intent to get the inheritance of heaven through good works for if we believe we shall get remission of sins or the inheritance of heaven through works wee believe not to get the same for Christs sake neither doe we believe the promise of God that they are given us freely and so we make God a lyar for God sayth thou shalt have the inheritance of heaven for my Sons sake thy sins are forgiven thee for my Sons sake but thou sayst it is not so if thou think to win them by thy works Thus you see that I condemne not good works but the false trust in them for all the works wherein man putteth any confidence are therewith poysoned and become evill Wherefore thou must doe good works but beware thou doe them not to deserve any good through them for if thou doe thou receivest thy good not as the gift of God but as a debt to thee and makest thy se●fe fellow with God because thou wilt ta●e nothing of him for naught Presse not th●rfore to the inheritance of heaven through ●he presumption of thy good works for if thou doe thou shalt fall as Lucifer fell for his pride FINIS Gen. 3.24 Gal. 5.1 2 Pet. 2.19 Burton Me●a● pag. 8. Portis apertis paradisum intrasse Tom. 1. Tit. 3.9 1 Cor. 4.21 Gal. 4.18 Act. 21.20 1 Tim. 1.17 Rom. 3.27 Gal. 6.2 Bal on the Cov. of grace p. 9. Com. pla eng p. 118. Lev. 18.5 Gen. 2.17 Ames med Eng. p. 48. Com. pla p. 31. Downham on Just. p. 443.465 Bal on the Covenant p. 6. Walker on the Covenant p. 39. Bal on the Covenant p. 5. Calv instit fol. eng p. 8. Eccl. 7.27 Basting cat p. 9. Vrsin cat p. 517. Calv inst p. 190. Col. 3.10 Eph. 4.34 Treat of effectuall Cal. p. 20. or thereabouts Hugo Gr●● defens fid p. 71. Lightfoot miscela p. 282. Reynolds on Ps. ●● p. 403. Reynolds on Psal. 110. p. 405 ●ibbens on Gen. p. 77. Bal on the Cov. p. 11. Reyn. on Psal. 110. ● 406. Ps. 16.11 Walker on the Covenant p. 89. M. Slat on the 2● Cov. Deut Pathw p. 304. Reynolds on Psal. 110. pag. 406. C●l Instit. p. 81. Reynolds on Ps. 110 p. 406. Rom. 5.12 Cal. Iustit p. 106 107 Goodwin Trium Faith p. 85 Pemble vind fid p. 99. Seven gold cand p. 3. Basting Cat. p. 10. Vrban Reg. in ch ser. to Ema●s p. 12. Chos Ser. p. 9. Com. pla p. 14. Reynolds on Ps. 110 p. 407. Lightfoot miscela p. 183. Ibid. Com. pla p. 13. Hos. 13.9 Bolton true boun p. 135. Vrsin cat p. 112. Vrsin cat p. 112. Cal. Instit. p. 117. Bolton true boun p. 133. Rom. 5.6 Rom. 8.2 Lightfoot miscela p. 282. Tindal path to holy scrip p. 378. 2 Tim. 1.9 Eph. 3 11. Rom. 1.2 Gal. 4.4 Reynolds on Ps. 110. p. 407 408 Williams 7 gold can p. 319. Hooker ●ouls just p. 177. Cal. Instit. p. 117. Reynolds Psal. 110. p. 408. Ibid. Ames med p. 74. Th. Goodw. Christ set forth p. 75 Ainsworth on the text Goodw. Christ set forth p. 75 Ps. 40.7 8 Cal. Instit. p. 117. Hookers souls just p. 174 Goodwin Christ set forth p. 83 84. 1 Cor. 15 47. 1 Cor. 15.58 Bal of the cov p. 289 Ibid. p. 287 208. Gen. 3 1● vers 15. Vrban Reg. on Christs sermon to Ema●● Ainsworth Lightfoot miscela p. 186. V●ug meth on Bib p. 15 Walker on Cov. p. 59. Gibben●

believer and creates and infuseth into him new principles of actions so that what a treasure of all graces Christ hath stored up in him faith dreyneth and draweth them out to the use of a believer being as a conduite cocke that watereth all the herbs in the garden yea faith doth apply the bloud of Christ to a believers heart and the bloud of Christ hath in it not onely a power to wash from the guilt of sin but to clense and purge likewise from the power and stain of sin and therefore sayth godly Hooker if you would have grace you must first of all get faith and that will bring all the rest let faith goe to Christ and there is meeknesse patience humility and wisdome and faith will fetch all them to the soule therefore sayth he you must not look for sanctification till you come to Christ in vocation Nom. Truly Sir I doe now plainly see that I have been deceived and have gone a wrong way to worke for I verily thought that holinesse of life must goe before faith and so be the ground of it and produce and bring it forth whereas I doe now plainly see that faith must goe before and so produce and bring forth holinesse of life Evan. I remember a man who was much enlightened in the knowledge of the Gospell sayth there be many that thinke that as a man chooseth to serve a Prince so men choose to serve God so likewise they think that as those who doe best service do obtain most favour of their Lord and as those that have lost it the more they humble themselves the sooner they recover it even so they think the case stands betwixt God and them whereas sayth hee it is not so but clean contrary for hee himselfe sayth Yee have not chosen me but I have chosen you and not for that we repent and humble our selves and doe good works hee giveth us his grace therefore wee repent humble our selves doe good works and become holy the good thief on rhe crosse was not illuminated because hee did confesse Christ but he did confesse Christ because hee was illuminated for sayth Luther the tree must first be and then the fruit for the apples make not the tree but the tree maketh the apples so faith first maketh the person which afterwards bringeth forth works therefore to doe the Law without faith is to make the apples of wood and earth without the tree which is not to make apples but meer fantacies wherfore neighbour Nomista let me intreat you that whereas before you have reformed your life that you might believe why now believe that you may reform your life and doe not any longer worke to get an interest in Christ but believe your interest in Christ that so you may work and then you will not make the change of your life the ground of your faith as you have done and as Master Culverwell sayth many doe who being asked what caused them to believe they answer because they have truly repented and changed their course of life Ant Sir What thinke you of a Preacher that in my hearing said he durst not exhort nor perswade sinners to believe their sinnes were pardoned before he saw their lives reformed for feare they should take more liberty to sin Evan. Why what should I say but that I think that Preacher was ignorant of the mystery of faith for it is of the nature of soveraign waters which so wash off the corruption of the ulcer that they coole the heat and stay the spreading of the infection and so by degrees heale the same neither did he know that it is of the nature of cordials which so comfort the heart and ease it that they also expell the noxious humours and strengthen nature against them Ant. And I am acquainted with a professor though God knows a very weak one that sayth if he should believe before his life be reformed then he might believe and yet walk on in his sins I pray you Sir what would you say to such a man Evan. Why I would say with Doctor Preston let him if he can believe truly and doe this but it is impossible let him believe and the other will follow truth of beliefe will bring forth truth of holinesse for who if he ponder it well can feare a fleshly licentiousnesse where the believing soule is united and maryed to Christ the law as it is the covenant of works and Christ are set in opposition as two husbands to one wife successively whilst the Law was alive in the conscience all the fruits were deadly Rom. 7 5. but Christ taking the same spouse to himselfe the law being dead by his quickning spirit doth make her fruitfull to God and so raiseth up seed to the former husband for materially these are the works of the Law though produced by the Spirit of Christ in the Gospell Ant. And yet Sir I am verily perswaded that there be many both Preachers and professors in this City of the very same opinion that these two are of Evan. The truth is many Preachers stand upon the prayse of some morall vertue and doe invaigh against some vice of the times more then upon pressing men to believe but sayth a learned writer it will bee our condemnation if we love darknesse rather then light and desire still to be groping in the twy-light of morality the precepts of morall men then to walke in the true light of divinity which is the doctrine of Jesus Christ and I pitie the prepostrous care and unhappy travail of many well affected who study the practice of this and that vertue neglecting this cardinall and radicall vertue as if a man should water all the tree and not the root faine would they shine in patience meeknesse and zeal and yet are not carefull to stablish root themselves in faith which should maintain all the rest and therefore all their labour hath been in vain and to no purpose Nom. Indeed Sir this which you have now sayd I have found true by mine own experience for I have laboured and endevoured to get victory over some corruptions as to overcome my dulnesse and to performe duties with cheerfulnesse and all in vain Evan. And no marvell for to pray to meditate to keep a Sabbath cheerfully to have your conversation in Heaven is as possible for you your selfe to doe as for Iron to swim or for stones to ascend upwards but yet nothing is impossible to faith it can naturalize these things unto you it can make a mole of the earth a soule of Heaven wherefore though you have tryed all morall conclusions of proposing promising resolving vowing fasting watching and self-revenge yet get you to Christ and with the finger of faith touch but the hem of his garment and you shall feele vertue come from him for the curing of all your diseases Wherefore I beseech you come out of your self unto Jesus Christ

they will bee guided by the word of truth and all seeme to bring Scripture which indeed is but one as God is but one yet by reason of their severall constructions and interpretations of Scripture and conceits of their own humane wisdome they are many And are there not others of this sort of men that are readie to embrace any new way of worship especially if it come under the cloake of Scripture learning and have a shew of truth founded upon the letter of the Bible and seeme to bee more zealous and devout then their former way specially if the teacher of that new way can but frame a sad and demure countenance and with a grace lift up his head and his eyes towards heaven with some strong groane in declaring of his newly conceived opinion and that hee frequently use this phrase of the glory of GOD ô then these men are by and by of another opinion supposing to themselves that God hath made known some farther truth to them for by reason of the blindnesse of their understanding they are not able to reach any supernaturall truth although they doe by literall Learning and Clerklike cunning dive never so deepe into the Scriptures and therefore they are ready to entertaine any forme of Religious Exercise as shall bee suggested unto them And are there not a third sort much like to these men that are excessive and mutable in the performance of Religious Exercises Surely Saint PAUL did perceive that this was the very GOD of some men in his time and therefore hee willeth TIMOTHY to instruct others that bodily exercise profiteth little or as some read it nothing at all and doth oppose thereunto godlinesse as being another thing then bodily exercise and sayth that it is profitable c. And doe not you thinke there are some men at this day that know none other good then bodily exercise and can hardly distinguish betwixt it and godlinesse Now these bodily exercises are mutable and variable according to their conceits and opinions for all Sects have their severall services as they call them yet all bodily and for the most part onely bodily the which they performe to establish a rest to their soules because they want rest in God and hence it is that their peace and rest is up and down according to their working better or worse so many Chapters must be read and so many Sermons must bee heard and so many times must pray in one day and so many dayes in the weeke or in the yeare they must fast c. or else their soules can have no rest but mistake mee not I pray in imagining that I speake against the doing of these things for I doe them all my selfe but against resting in the doing of them the which I desire not to doe And thus you see that mans blinde understanding doth not onely present unto the sensuall appetite sensuall objects but also to the rationall appetites rationall objects so that mans poore soule is not onely kept from rest in God by means of sensuality but also by means of formality if Satan cannot keep us from seeking rest in God by feedeing our senses with our mother Evahs apple then he sets us to seeke him in away where wee shall never finde him if he cannot doe it more grosely then hee attempts to doe it more closely Nom. But Sir I am perswaded that many men that are so religiously exercised and doe performe such duties as you have mentioned doe finde true rest for their souls in God Evan. Ineeed I am perswaded there are some men that are carefull to performe such duties in obedience to the will of God in Christ as conceiving them to be the way wherein he is accustomed to meete his people and give them an extraordinary visit as also conceiving them to be the meanes whereby hee doth ordinarily beget and increase faith whereby they are enabled to draw neer to God in Christ and so to have peace and rest in him and therefore if they doe omit any of these duties when they conceive that God calls them thereunto they are troubled in their mindes and vexed at themselves for being disobedient to the will of God and for missing his kinde visit and omitting the meanes of increasing their faith now such men as these may and doubtlesse doe finde true rest to their soules in God in the performance of Religious Exercises But alas I feare me that the most part of such men as are so religiously exercised and are of such dispositions as I have shewed doe rather conceive that as they have offended and displeased God by their former disobedience so they must pacifie and please him by their future obedience and therefore they are carefull to exercise themselves in this way of duty and that way of worship and all to that end yea and they conceiving that they have corrupted defiled and polluted themselves by their falling into sin they must also purge clense and purifie themselves by rising out of sin and walking in new obedience and so all the good they doe and all the evill they eschew is to pacifie God and appease their own consciences and if they seeke rest to their soules this way why it is the way of the Covenant of works where they shall never be able to reach God nay it is the way to come to God out of Christ where they shall never be able to come neere him he being a consuming fire Neo. Then Sir it seemeth to me that God in Christ apprehended by faith is the onely true rest for mans soule Evan. I there is the true rest indeed there is that rest which David invites his soule unto when he sayth Returne unto thy rest ô my soule for we which have believed have entred into his rest saith the Authour to the Hebrews And come unto me sayth Christ all yee that labour and are heavie laden and I will give you rest And truly my neighbours and friends believe it wee shall never finde a hearts happinesse and a true soules rest untill we finde it here for howsoever a man may thinke if hee had this mans wit and that mans wealth this mans honour and that mans pleasure this wife or that husband such children and such servants his heart would be satisfied and his soule would be contented yet which of us hath not by our own experience found the contrary for not long after that we have obtained the thing we did so much desire and wherein we promised our selves so much happinesse rest and content we have found nothing but vanity and emptinesse in it Let a man but deale plainly with his own heart and hee shall finde that notwithstanding he hath many things yet there is ever one thing wanting for indeed mans soule cannot be satisfied with any creature no not with a world of creatures And the reason is because the desires of mans soule are infinite according to that infinite goodnesse which it once

of it or being at all affected with it so far are wee from comming out of it And if the Lord be pleased by any means to open our eyes to see our misery and we doe thereupon begin to step out of it yet alas wee are prone rather to goe backwards towards the first Adams pure estate in striving and strugling to leave sinne and performe duties and doe good works hoping thereby to make our selves so righteous and holy that God will let us into Paradise againe to eat of the tree of life and live for ever and this we do untill we see the flaming sword at Edens gate turning every way to keepe the way of the tree of life Is it not ordinary when the Lord convinceth a man of his sin eyther by means of his Word or his Rod to cry after this manner O I am a sinfull man for I have lived a very wicked life and therefore surely the Lord is angry with mee and will damne me in hell ô what shall I do to save my soule And is there not at hand some ignorant miserable comforter ready to say yet doe not despayre man but repent of your sins and aske God forgivenesse and reforme your life and doubt not but he will be mercifull unto you for hee hath promised you know that at what time soever a sinner repenteth of his sins hee will forgive him And doth hee not hereupon comfort himself and say in his heart at least ô if the Lord will but spare my life and lengthen out my days I will become a new man I am very sorry that I have lived such a sinfull life but I will never doe as I have done for all the world ô you shall see a great change in me believe it And hereupon he betakes himself to a new course of life and it may be becomes a zealous professour of Religion performing all Christian exercises both publike and private and leaves off his old companions and keeps company with religious men and so it may be goes on till his dying day and thinks himselfe sure of Heaven and eternall happines yet it maybe all this while is ignorant of Christ and his Righteousnes and therefore establisheth his own Where is the man or where is the woman that is truly come to Christ that hath not had some experience in themselves of such a disposition as this if there be any that have reformed their lives and are become Professours of Religion and have not taken notice of this in themselves more or lesse I wish they have gone beyond a legall Professour or one still under the covenant of works Nay where is the man or woman that is truly in Christ that findeth not in themselves an aptnes to withdraw their hearts from Christ and to put some confidence in their owne works and doings if there be any that do not find it I wish their hearts deceive them not Let me confesse ingeniously I was a professour of Religion at least a dozen yeeres before I knew any other way to eternall life then to be sorry for my sins and aske forgivenesse and strive and endeavour to fulfill the Law and keepe the Commandements according as Master Dod and other godly men had expounded them and truly I remember I was in hope I should at last attain to the perfect fulfilling of them and in the mean-time I conceived that God would accept the will for the deed or what I could not doe Christ had done for me And though at last by meanes of conferring with Master Thomas Hooker in private the Lord was pleased to convince me that I was yet but a proud Pharisee and to shew mee the way of faith and salvation by Christ alone and to give mee as I hope a heart in some measure to embrace it yet alas through the weaknesse of my faith I have been and am still apt to turne aside to the covenant of works and therefore have not attained to that joy and peace in believing nor that measure of love to Christ and man for Christs sake as I am confident many of Gods Saints do attain unto in the time of this life the Lord be mercifull unto mee and increase my faith And are there not other though I hope but few who being enlightned to see their misery by reason of the guilt of sin though not by reason of the filth of sinne And hearing of justification freely by grace through the redemption which is in Jesus Christ do applaud and magnifie that doctrine following them that doe most preach and presse the same seeming to be as it were ravished with the hearing thereof out of a conceit that they are by Christ freely justified from the guilt of sin though still they retain the filth of sin these are they that content themselves with a Gospel knowledge with meere notions in the head but not in the heart glorying and rejoycing in free grace and justification by faith alone professing faith in Christ and yet are not possessed of Christ these are they that can talke like believers and yet do not walke like believers these are they that have language like Saints and yet have conversations like Devils these are they that are not obedient to the Law of Christ and therefore are justly called Antinomians Now both these paths leading from Christ have been justly judged as erronious and to my knowledge not onely a matter of 18 or 20 years agoe but also within these three or foure years there hath been much a doe both by preaching writing and disputing both to reduce men out of them and to keep them from them and hot contentious have been on both sides and all I fear me to little purpose for hath not the strict professour according to the Law whilst he hath striven to reduce the loose professour according to the Gospel out of the Antinomian path intangled both himselfe and others the faster in the yoke of bondage and hath not the loose professour according to the Gospel whilst he hath striven to reduce the strict professour according to the Law out of the legall path by promising liberty from the Law taught others and been himselfe the servant of corruption For this cause I though I be nothing have by the grace of God endeavoured in this Dialogue to walk as a middle-man betwixt them both in shewing to each of them his erronious path with the middle path which is Jesus Christ received truly and walked in answerably as a means to bring them both unto him and make them both one in him And oh that the Lord would be pleased so to blesse it to them that it might be a means to produce that effect I have as you may see gathered much of it out of known and approved Authours and yet have therein wronged no man for I have restored it to the right owner again in the margent some part of it my manuscripts have afforded me and of the rest I hope