Selected quad for the lemma: world_n
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A32746
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A conference of faith written in Latin by Sebastianus Castellio ; now translated into English.; De fide. English
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Castellion, Sébastien, 1515-1563.
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1679
(1679)
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Wing C3731; ESTC R11201
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20,516
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79
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believe him and believing come into the rest of Canaan But they came not all thither though that was the mind of God for some of them hardened their hearts Which I would it were not so in Christ We see it is so and that it may not be so the Author of the Epistle to the Heb. admonisheth citing that of the Psalm To day if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts as your Fathers viz. hardned their hearts Therefore to return to our purpose whereas those things are by them so studiously selected to believe which God is to do and those refused which belong to the Duty of man I pray what a thing is this The beneficence and grace of God which bringeth salvation to all men hath appeared How gladly is this received But that which follows teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly righteously and Godly in this present world how few do embrace this Most men believe this is so performed by Christ that it is unnecessary for us to perform it Again Blessed is the man to whom the Lord doth not impute sin This all men easily believe But that which is subjoined and in whose Spirit there is no guile this they believe is not possible to be attained Again there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus This is pronounced with full mouth for 't is a most sweet sentence But that who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit is bitter and believed by very few Briefly men easily believe we shall mow with joy but if you say we most sow in tears this part they cast upon Christ Hence it is that false Prophets because they preach pleasing things and either feign pleasing promises of God or apply them to such to whom they do not belong easily find credit When the true Prophets because they urge the threats of God and teach the truth severely have place among the fewest as Esay exclaims Lord who hath believed our speech These things being so it is manifest Ludovic that men are hindred from believing the truth by the love of themselves But if selflove were quitted they would believe nothing so easily as Truth being naturally enclined to truth and owning it presently as our ally if there be no impediment Wherefore 't is necessary Ludovic if you are willing truly to believe truth that is God you must lay aside self love or rather conceive the hatred of your self Lud. O Federic you perswade me thus but 't is no small matter to hate one self nor do I see the way to atain unto it nor know whether I can do it so much do I love my self Fed. I know Ludovic it is a very difficult matter and above humane strength but here we ought to remember what the Lord said of Sarah when she could not believe she should be great with Child is any thing to hard for the Lord What is impossible to man is possible to God and under his conduct nothing is to be dispaired of Lud. I beseech you therefore shew me the way whereby I may attain unto it Fed. I will do so if God please Lend me your ear If I had a servant most pleasant kind and officious and one who provided dainties for my pallate but mixed with poyson to take away my life and you knew it Ludovic who love me what would you do Lud. Verily I would with all speed and diligence advice you to take heed of tasting those dainties or loving that servant for he would secretly take away your life Fed. What if I should say I am delighted with the obsequiousness of my servant and the daintiness of the dish Lud. I would admonish you not to value so much the present pleasure as to loose your life for it Fed. What if your friend were in love with a flattering and painted harlot one infected with the French disease and you knew it what would you do Lud. I would tell him of the disease and as much as I am able dehort him from her company Fed. What if he said I am delighted with her Lud. I would answer Fishes also are delighted with the bait But 't is a folly to buy so little pleasure with so great pain or rather with death Fed. What if he say I cannot chuse but desire the pleasure Lud. I would admonish him that if he cannot as yet quench his lust he would at least resist it and not obey it Fed. What if he obeyed it Lud. Then truly I should think him more foolish then the bruits and worthy of any Evil. For Fishes Wolves Foxes Kites though very hungry yet if they either see or suspect a hook a snare a trap they abstain from the prey Fed. You say well Ludovic Thus then Every mans flesh is as it were a harlot and that painted which allures and delights him with her enticements and flatteries drives him to sin and detains him in sin and at last casts him headlong into the death of his soul Now man ignorant of the poyson embraceth pleasures and gives himself to them Then there comes upon him his friend truth minding him that the wages of sin is death and demonstrates the flesh which the man took for his friend to be his capital enemy Wherefore if you desire to be saved you must believe that you have no enemy so pern cious as your self that is your flesh which hitherto because pleasing you have favoured and obeyed you must henceforth because noxious and deadly hate and resist Now if you cannot presently drive away the enticements of it as indeed you cannot for they cleave fast truth says to you as of old to Moses Go into Egypt for thou canst I will be with thy mouth I wili enable thee to do what thou canst not So truth speaks now to you Ludovic do what you are able God will make thee do more then thou art able For example Thou sittest at a full Table and hast eaten enough to renew thy strength and to satisfie thy hunger Then comes in some dish more delicate made to provoke the appetite Here thy flesh instantly riseth up and suggesteth to thee such a thought It is a delicate mess if thou eat of it it will be pleasant But the Spirit opposes the Flesh and thus admonisheth Take heed Ludovic of indulging thy pleasure there is poyson in it For first it calleth off thy mind from God then which evil no evil can be greater for whereas no man can serve two Masters thou canst not serve God and pleasure because pleasure oppresseth the soul and draws it down to the Earth and separates it from God Next intemperance hurts the body so that if thou hadst no soul thou oughtest even for thy bodies sake to abstain from immoderate eating I do not now require thee not to be tempted with the allurements of the Flesh but not to obey them But if you deny your self to have power not to obey them you shall easily be