Selected quad for the lemma: work_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
work_n	justify_v	law_n	moral_a	5,360	5	10.3036	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A29526	The spirituall vertigo, or, Turning sickensse of soul-unsettlednesse in matters of religious concernment the nature of it opened, the causes assigned, the danger discovered, and remedy prescribed ... / by John Brinsley.	Brinsley, John, fl. 1581-1624.	1655 (1655)	Wing B4723; ESTC R25297	104,504	248

〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In this way they did not profit them under the Law Much lesse can they or any of the like nature now profit Christians under the Gospel Feathers and Thistledown may as soon ballast a Ship as Ceremonial observances establish the heart This cannot the Ceremoniall Law do No nor yet the Morall For that the Apostle is no lesse expresse Rom. 8. 3. where speaking of the Christians liberty which he hath by Grace his being made free from the Law of sinne and death he sheweth this to be a thing which the Law cannot do for him giving this as a Reason of it In that it was weak through the flesh Time was indeed when the Law was able to Iustifie and save viz. when it was given to Adam in his state of Integrity because then he was able to have fulfilled it But so it is not now Man being fallen from that state is grown impotent unable to fulfill the Law Nay through the Corruption of his Nature averse to it So as by this meanes the Law is as it were enervated it hath no such power as sometime it had no possibility of Justifying and saving of a man And consequently it cannot be of use in this way as a foundation for a Christian to ground and build his confidence upon and so to establish his heart No this is but a tottering foundation So much that great Cardinal Bellarmine however he was no great friend to free Grace yet was inforced to acknowledge Propter incertitudinem propriae justitiae etc. A mans own Righteousnesse saith he is an uncertain thing a man may easily be deceived in it And therefore it cannot be safe to put any confidence in it So far he Which we accept especially coming from an Adversary owning it for a Truth though not the whole truth Advance we a step further A mans own righteousnesse is uncertain Nay it is certain being certainly defective and imperfect Such are the best duties and services of the most sanctified persons upon earth being clogged with many weaknesses and imperfections which though they do not render and denominate them peceata Sins yet peccaminosa sinful This is the Churches Confession Isai. 64. 6. All our Righteousnesses are as filthy rags Not onely their Ceremoniall services but even their morall performances they were all mixed with Hypocrisie Vain-glory or some such like tincture of Corruption as rendred them loathsome in the sight and presence of God And truly the like may we say of the best actions and services of the best of men and in the best manner performed yet still they are contaminated and defiled with some imperfections which might deservedly make them as filthy rags odious and abominable in the sight of God should he look narrowly into them with an eye of Justice and judge of them according to the exact tenour and Rigour of his Law Such an influence hath Corruption upon the best of men and the best of duties This is that which regenerate Paul complaines of in himself that when he would do good evill was present with him Rom. 7. 21. Evil 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sinful Corruption either hindering him from doing it at all or else in the manner of performance from doing it in such a manner as he both ought and desired to have done And if so here can be no establishment for the heart in this way In thy sight saith the Psalmist speaking unto God Psal. 143. 2. shall no man living be Iustified that is by the deeds of the Law So the Apostle expounds it Rom. 3. 20. Therefore by the deeds of the Law shall no flesh be justified in his sight For which he giveth a Reason in the words following For by the Law is the knowledge of sin This is the proper work of the Law to discover sin and wrath sealing up condemnation unto the sinner but Iustifie it cannot And if not justifie the sinner then not satisfie the soul not quiet the Conscience Disquiet and unsettle nay torment and excruciate it with the terrours of it it may But in this way to settle and establish the heart it can never do No this is a gospell-Gospell-work the fruit of Grace issuing from the Doctrine of Gods free Grace in Christ rightly apprehended and firmly believed This it is and onely this that establisheth the heart And this can do it And how so Because this is like unto the Authour of it the God of all Grace He is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 All-sufficient And such is his Grace This is that which the Lord from heaven tells Paul when he was conflicting with that thorn in the flesh some violent Temptation or other as is most probably conjectured My grace saith he is sufficient for thee 2 Cor. 12. 9. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sufficit or Sufficiat It is sufficient in it self for thee and so let it be unto thee for the quieting settling establishing of thy heart and spirit And so may it well be to every true believer It is that which the Preacher saith of Money Eccl. 10. 19. Money answereth all things What ever it is that a man desireth if it be to be got Money will procure it for him And we may truly say the like of Grace Grace answereth all things What winds are there that can arise in the heart of a Christian which this one word Grace is not able to lay What doubts which it cannot resolve Are his sinnes many and great this is sufficient to pardon them are his Infirmities many this is sufficient to heal them are his wants many this is sufficient to supply them Thus is Grace this Grace of God in Christ sufficient All-sufficient And being so well may this be attributed to it as the proper effect of it to satisfie settle and establish the heart of Man What then remaines to make Application of this Branch but that all of us who desire to be made partakers of this choice blessing declining all other wayes put our soules upon this way of obtaining it 1. Decline all other wayes Not hearkening to any other Doctrines which hold forth to us Iustification and Salvation by any other way and means This is that which the Apostle here driveth at in the Text to take off his Hebrewes from being carried about with any of those divers and strange doctrines which were held forth to them by the false Apostles and seducers of those Times whose design was to remove them from their Gospel-foundation directing them to the Law and that to the Ceremonial part of it promising to them great matters from those external observances But the Apostle would have them to turn away their eyes from them as being things which were not able to profit them in that way And truly so is it with all things besides Iesus Christ and the free Grace of God in him They can do nothing to the true establishing of the soul. Disquiet it they may as I said and trouble it Nay

just Judgment hath given them over to be deceived and seduced by them And thus I have also done with this third Direction which bids you take heed of coming in the winds way Take a fourth Would you not be thus carried about take heed of beginning to turn You know how it is with a wheel I have hinted it once and again Being set upon a declivity if once it begin to turn going down the hill now it turneth alone being carried about of it self by its own force Object True will some say so long as it is going down the Hill But that is not our case We are going up the Hill and therefore though we do begin to turn yet there is no such fear no such danger A. This is the common plea of all Sects and Secturies in the world They all think they are going up the Hill tending to an higher degree of perfection then those have attained to whom they leave behind them But we know how it fared with the Syrian Army which was sent to surprize the Prophet Elisha being smitten with blindnesse whilest they thought they were going to Dothan they march into the midst of Samaria 2 Kings 6. 19 20. And even so fareth it with those Armies of Sectaries that are in this Nation and elsewhere Being all of them Blinded blindfolded in some of the waies aforesaid they all think they are going up the Hill climbing towards perfection whilest in truth they are going downwards declining in their spirituall conditions That none of you may be taken with this not more common then dangerous fallacie let me subjoyn to this Generall direction 3. or 4. particular Caveats every of which will informe you when you are going down the Hill 1. Take heed of turning from Iesus Christ of not holding fast the head as Paul cautions his Colossians Col. 2. 19. Such is Iesus Christ the Head of the Body the mysticall Body the Church Col. 1. 18. The Head of the Corner as Saint Peter hath it 1. 2. 7. borrowing it from the Psalmist Ps. 118. 22. The Head-stone as the Foundation-stone so the Topstone And being so it necessarily followeth that whosoever turn from him which way soever they turn they are gowing downwards And this take you heed of as being at all turns most dangerous of turning from Iesus Christ to any thing else In particular of turning from Christ to Moses This was the case of many in the Apostles time who turned from the Gospell to the Law from the doctrine of free Grace in Christ to seek Justification in whole or in part by the works of the Law So did the Galatians some of them whom Paul tells that they were fallen from Grace Gal. 5. 4. from the doctrine of Gods free Grace in Christ. And so do they who ever shall seek Justification and Salvation by the works of the Low by any morall performances much more by Ceremoniall observances which was the case of those Galatians or any thing besides Christ in so doing they fall from Grace and they fall from Christ who by this meanes is made of none effect to them So unsound is that seemingly politick Maxime which is made use of by many in the Church of Rome viz. That a man standeth surer upon two boughs then upon one Not so say we if so be that by standing upon a bough that is rotten he fall from that which was sound Which is the very case of all those who trust to Christ and Moses to Gospell and Law for their Justification and Salvation By resting upon the one in part they fall wholly from the other Christ will either be a whole Saviour or no Saviour So as this is a declining a going down the Hill with a witnesse So Paul looked upon it in his Galatians and would have them so to judg of it Gala. 3. 3. where he parlies with them about it Are ye so foolish saith he having begun in the Spirit are ye now made perfect in the flesh Where by flesh we are to understand the Ceremonies of the Law which were no other but external and Carnall observances especially after that the figurative and Sacramentall use which whilest it continued was as the soul and spirit putting life into them was now ceased being taken away by the death of Christ Now they were no other but flesh flesh without spirit And being so the Apostle censureth it as no small degree of folly in them that they should fall off to them that having begun in the Spirit having imbraced the doctrine of the Gospell the commands whereof are Spirituall and having withall found the effectuall work of the Spirit in their heart working faith and Regeneration in them that they should once think of being made perfect in that way This indeed was that which the false Apostles promised them that they should by this means receive some addition of perfection Even as the Doctors of the Church of Rome at this day do to their disciples But this the Apostle justly censures as folly and that no small degree of it as in the Teachers so in the receivers of this Doctrine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Are ye so foolish And be you ware of falling under the like Censure A Caveat not unneedful this being a folly which some in this Nation at this day who pretend to the highest degree of perfection to be perfect as Adam nay for holinesse such is their Blasphemy perfect as God himself do openly proclaim whilest they professe to look for Justification and Salvation not by the Righteousnesse of Christ imputed to them but by the Righteousnesse of Christ inherent in them which is no other then inherent holinesse Now if this be not a falling from Christ and a falling from Grace surely we must conclude the Apostle in that Text forenamed Gal. 5. 4. to have been much mistaken Let this be a first Caveat under this Head Secondly whilest you thus hold fast the Head take heed of parting with the Body of falling off from the Church by severing and separating from it And that as from any part of it any particular Church which being sound in the faith wherein the Word is rightly preached and Sacraments duly administred though possibly labouring under some other imperfections and not so accomplished in respect of Order as it ought to be and some others are yet deserveth to be called and owned as a true Church so much more from the whole Body the whole Catholick visible Church This also is a Hill a Mountain Yea a Mountain paramount a Mountain established in the top of the Mountains So the Prophet Esay describeth the Church under the Gospel Isai. 2. 2. which in respect of spiritual glory is exalted far above all secular state and power And being so well may they who fall from it be said to go down the Hill And such a Declension such a Separation take heed of Such Separatists there