Selected quad for the lemma: duty_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
duty_n	child_n	family_n	parent_n	3,006	5	8.2083	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A77357	The vvorks of William Bridge, sometime fellow of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge: now preacher of the Word of God at Yarmouth. The second volumn. [sic] Viz. 1. Grace for grace; or, The overflowing of Christs fulness received by all saints. II. The spiritual actings of faith through natural impossibilities. III. Evangelical repentance.	Bridge, William, 1600?-1670.; Yates, John, d. ca. 1660.; Greenhill, William, 1591-1671.; Adderley, William.	1649 (1649)	Wing B4446; Thomason E471_2; ESTC R205749; ESTC R24233	190,835	267

when as the Lord does thus prevent us with his grace and is at our bed-side with his grace when we lie sleeping and never think of mercy and grace an ingenious soul should say thus What is all this but a plain rebuke to the slothfulness of my duty Come up prayer up duty oh my soul be up sooner Yea through the Lords grace I will be up sooner at Heaven gate in duty than ever I was before His preventing grace teaches me thus much that I am not soon enough at Heaven gate with my duty Again 2. Duty Hath the Lord prevented any of you with grace and caused the Kingdom of Heaven to draw neer to you before you drew neer to it Do you do the like labour in your love to be like to Christ to be like to God We stand upon our terms when we have to deal with men upon our terms of State had Jesus Christ stood upon terms of State when he came to save sinners what had become of us We say we will forgive such a man for wrong done to us upon his acknowledgement Oh! but did Christ do so Did not Christ prevent us Beloved ye see how 't is with the water it moves downward but if the fire get into it if there be water in a pot upon the fire and fire get into the water the fire makes it move upward it moves according to the nature of the fire then So now if the love of Jesus Christ get into our hearts it will make us move like unto Christ How does the love of Jesus Christ move Oh saies Christ Father forgive them they know not what they do Luke 23.34 Christ did not stay for acknowledgement a poor and a low thing for a Christian Enough for a Heathen to say so I will forgive such a man for wrong done to me upon his acknowledgment Let our love be like unto Christs and labour to prevent others with our love as Jesus Christ hath prevented us Thirdly Then let all men waith upon others 3 Duty with all longsufforing and patience for their Conversion and the revelation of truth unto them Thou art a Parent and desirest thy Child may be Converted and hast taken a great deal of pains with him for his Conversion and yet it will not be Thou art a governour of a family and would'st fain have such a servant converted to Christ and hast taken a great deal of pains and yet it won't be A friend you have and you would fain that he knew such a Truth and much pains you have taken to beat such a Truth into him and he don't take it and you are ready to be angry but remember this The Kingdom of Heaven draws neer to us before we draw neer to it Grace must come to thy Childs soul first before it does come to Christ Mercy must come to the soul and the Lord must come and bring truths unto the soul What is then to be done Then be not angry with him wait with all long suffering and all patience and go to God go to God for thy Child go to God for thy friend go to God for thy servant upon this ground Because the Kingdom of Heaven must come to us first before we can come to it But Especially 4. Duty and Fourthly Trust in the Lord for ever Oh! all you that are the servants of the Lord upon this ground Trust in the Lord for ever Does the kingdom of Heaven approach and draw neer to us before we draw neer unto it Then say within your souls Doubting shall be no more Some there are that doubt of their salvation because of the lgnorance that is in them darkness causes fear they don't know the mercifull disposition of Jesus Christ and so they doubt of his love The Devil as he labours to change himself into an angel of light so he labours to change Christ into an angel of darkness But beloved ye have heard of the merciful sweet disposition of Jesus Christ he is willing to save sinners and the greatest sinners brings neer the Kingdom of Heaven to us before we draw neer to it Oh! wilt thou doubt again poor Christian wilt thou doubt again Some there are that doubt of their salvation because they are afraid their duties shall not be accepted prayers shall not be accepted Oh! if I could but be perswaded saies one that the Lord would hear my prayer and accept of my duty then I should know indeed I should be saved but I am afraid the Lord doth not hear my prayers and accept of my duties and therefore I fear I shall not be saved Man or woman where ever thou standst or art hear the Word of the Lord. Does the Lord cause the Kingdom of Heaven to approach and draw neer to us before we draw neer to it will the Lord be found of those that seek him not and will he not be found of you that do seek him Will the Lord come with his grace and make an offer of grace and mercy to a sinner and a great sinner and will not the Lord receive you when you do come unto him Think of this and surely then you will say Doubting shall be no more Some there are that doubt of their salveation because they cannot pray their hearts are dead pray I cannot and hear I cannot and reade I cannot performe duty I cannot and therefore I have cause to fear I shall never come to Heaven Well but though you cannot Man or Woman Christian pray as thou art able and hear as thou art able and reade as thou art able the Lord Christ is of this sweet disposition That he does canse the Kingdom of Heaven to draw neer to us before we draw neer to it Oh! therefore you that are the servants of the Lord Trust in the Lord for ever for ever trust in the Lord and let doubting be no more I conclude all with one word of Exhortation Applic. 2 and it is unto those that have not yet submitted unto this Kingdom of Heaven this Kingdom of Grace Is there a truth in this Doctrine That the Kingdom of Heaven grace mercy and free remission does approach unto us before we draw neer unto it and that because indeed we are not able to draw neer to it before it draws neer unto us Then all you that have not yet submitted unto this Kingdom of grace and the offer of grace and mercy in the Gospel when ever any offer shall be made unto ye take heed that ye neglect not so great salvation You see how 't is with the sea-man because the sea-man is not able to raise a wind or turn the wind when 't is raised he lies upon the sea-coast ready waiting upon the wind and when the wind turns then he hoists up his sailes for saies he now the wind is come about and if I lose this gale I am likely to lose my voyage I cannot turn the wind I cannot make the wind So

this than with the other And I pray what then Do but observe Paul who gracious he is how humble he is how thankful he is how ready to serve Christ how ready to serve the Churches for Christ how ready to suffer for Christ upon all occasions Oh! how gracious did this make him Thus 't is with a poor soul that hath tasted of the free-grace of God in Christ the heart is more taken herewithal than with the thoughts of Heaven Ah saies a poor soul I was going on in such a sinful way or I lay sleeping and snorting in my sins and I know not how before ever I was aware the Kingdom of Heaven did approach unto me and the Lord in his free-grace showed mercy to my family and to my poor soul Oh! therefore any thing for Jesus Christ Oh! I will spend and be spent Oh! any thing for Jesus Christ The sight of Gods grace does make one gracious and therefore Christ does take this way Causing the Kingdom of Heaven grace and free remission to approach first unto us before we do draw neer to it There is one Reason more I will but name it Christ does so order things in the dispensations of his grace that no flesh might glory in it selfe or in any thing that it hath or doth that no flesh might rest in any duty in any service in any suffering but only upon grace upon Christ alone Beloved we are very unwilling to come unto any duty and when we have done we are then as apt to rest upon it as ever we were unwilling to come unto it But what 's the reason that men are so apt to rest upon their duties but because there are these secret thoughts that they come to Christ before he does come to them Let the heart be possest with this truth That Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven and of free-grace does approach unto us and come neer to us before we draw neer to it And then he will not rest so much upon what he is doth or suffereth A man in this case is like unto a Silk-worme you know how 't is with that worme it makes a fine web a fine work and when it hath done it dies in it afterward it eats a hole through the work and it comes out with wings a quite other creature than it went into it So it is with a poor Christian he makes a fine work of duty and then he dies in it but through the manifestations of Gods free grace he does as it were eat a hole through all and he comes out with wings flying away from his duties not so as to neglect the performance of them but so as not to rest upon them flyes away from in regard of resting upon any duty and only upon this ground because saies he God did draw neer to me grace did draw neer to me mercy did draw neer to me before ever I drew neer to it and therefore why should I rest upon any duty performe it I will but through grace I will not rest upon it By way of Application Applic. 1 Let us I pray consider with our selves whether God hath dealt thus by our souls or no Hath the Kingdom of Heaven approch't and drawn neer unto us before we drew neer to it if not truly for ought that I know we are yet under the Law and all our mournings and walkings Heaven-ward they are but Legal If God love you indeed He shews kindness and mercy to you before you do come to him 'T is with Gods darlings as 't is with the worlds-darlings You have some men take a great deal of pains rise early and go to bed late and yet the world does not smile upon them these are the world's enemies Some take pains and grow rich thereby these are the worlds friends Others there are again that before ever they take any pains the Lord is upon them with the worlds blessings these are the worlds darlings So I say God hath his darlings and if thou art one of Gods darlings He does cause the Kingdom of Heaven Grace and Free-remission to appear and draw neer unto thy soul even before thou dost draw neer to it Hath God dealt thus by any of you Oh! contemplate consider seriously the sweetness of this grace Beloved preventing grace is sweet grace The Lord gave a Grown a Kingdom to David but the best Pearle in all the Crown that his eye was most upon was Gods preventing mercy Psa 21.3 Lord saies he thou hast prevented me with the goodness of thy blessing As if he had said thus Lord thou hast not only given me a kingdom made me a King over thy people but when I was a poor Shepheard keeping my fathers sheep thou diddest prevent me with thy love So may a poor soul say Ah Lord thou hast not only given me a kingdom but thou hast prevented me with thy love 'T is a great matter that the great God of Heaven and Earth should answer our prayers give us any mercy upon our request I but that the Lord should give us the greatest mercie before we come for it Pray good people mark it a little Ye shall observe that the greatest mercies that ye have ye have them and they are given unto you before you come for them There are some great mercies that a Christian hath as Conversion of his soul Justification Remission of sin Some lesser mercies as comfort and peace and outward plenty As for these lesser mercies God gives them when we do come for them but as for the great Mercies Remission of sin Justification of our persons Conversion of our souls God is upon us with these mercies before we come for them Oh! what grace is here Oh! what glorious rich grace is here What! shall be not stand and admire at the glory of this free grace of God in Jesus Christ You will say unto me Quest But suppose this that the Lord hath brought the Kingdom of Heaven neer to me and my family before I did come to it for I must confess that I have tasted and drunk deeply of Gods preventing love Oh! how graciously hath God dealt by our poor family wee were a poor ignorant family and the Lord shewed mercy to our family when we little thought of it to such a Child to such a Servant to such a Friend to mine own soul Indeed this is true That the Kingdom of Heaven hath approch't unto me drawn neer unto me before I drew neer to it Oh! what is my duty now that does flow from hence Let me tell you Ans 1 Duty First of all Be sooner at Heaven gate with your duties hereafter than ever you were before When as a Master comes into his servants Chamber in the morning and takes him abed if the servant have any ingenuity the servant saies this my Masters coming thus early is plainly a rebuke to my sloth and therfore God willing I will be up sooner another day So now

Answ That mercy may be sure unto all His servants which they would soon spend if it were in their own keeping Mark I pray There are these Two or Three Reasons of Gods Proceeding this way That all Grace should be in a way of Receiving And the First is That all Boasting rejoycing 1. Rea. confidence in ones self may be taken away If Abraham saies Paul in the 4. of the Romans were justified by works he hath whereof to glory though not before God He hath whereof to glory But now when all is in a way of Receiving there 's no room for Boasting Mark therefore what is said in the 1 Cor. 4.7 Who maketh thee to differ from another and what hast thou that thou didst not receive Now if thou didst receive it why doest thou glory as if thou hadst not received it God cannot indure Boasting cannot indure Self-confidence God cannot indure that a man should glory in any thing in himself therefore all all is in a way of Receiving This is Gods Reasoning Again 2. Rea. God hath so ordered things in the dispensations of His Grace under the Gospel That Jesus Christ may be fully Honored Exalted No such way to Honor Christ as this that all should come out of His hands to be received from Him Pray Was it not a great Honor to Joseph in the time of the famine in Egypt that no bread but should come through his hands not a corn of grain but should come through his hands So here when no grace no strength no aid no assistance no supplies but all through the hand of Christ all in a way of Receiving does not this glorify Christ much What is it I pray that makes the Sun so glorious a creature above all the creatures in the world but this That all the creatures depend upon him for light and for warmth This is that that makes the Lord Jesus Christ glorious That all must be in a way of Receiving from Jesus Christ Thirdly 3. Rea. God hath so ordered things in the dispensations of His Grace under the Gospel That the Saints and Children of God may live by faith Good people mark it Some there are some creatures in the world that do live by Sence as the beasts and beastly men Some creatures there are that do live by Reason moral men But the Lord would have His Children to live by Faith That as the men of the world do live by Sence and Reason So the Lord would have all His Children to live by Faith What way or means to bring a soul off for to live by Faith Establish this Doctrine let this be a Statute made in the Churches All in a way of Receiving I saies a poor soul is it so indeed What all in a way of Receiving Then I fee a necessity of living by Faith Oh! Lord teach me now for to live by Faith Thus you see the Doctrine clearly proved by Reason to you I shall not be able to reach the Use of the point so as I intended The Doctrine is exceeding Useful ful of Spiritual Use yet though I shall not be able to do what I would give me leave for to make some Application of the point and so I will winde up all Is this Doctrine true 1 Applic. That all all is in a way of Receiving Then behold what infinite care the great God of Heaven and Earth hath of Beleevers of every beleeving soul though he be never so mean would you not think that if a mother were so tender of her child that she would not let her child eat a bit of bread but it should be of her own cutting that she would not let it drink a drop of drink but it should be of her own drawing would you not think this mother this woman were very careful of her child Beloved thus the case stands No Grace no Assistance no Help for duty no Help against sin but the Lord Jesus Christ Himself will have the cutting of it the Lord Jesus Christ will have the giving of it out He will have the drawing of it all all in a way of Receiving Oh! what care Oh! what infinite care hath God of poor Beleevers When the Lord would commend His care of the Children of Israel unto them pray mark what an argument he uses in Deut. 11.10 11 12. For the Land whether thou goest in to possess it is not as the Land of Egypt from whence ye came out where thou sowedst thy seed and wateredst it with thy foot as a garden of herbs They fetch 't water out of the River Nilus and so they watered the Land of Egypt with their feet But saies he at the 11. verse the Land whither ye go to possess it is a Land of hills and valleys and drinketh water of the rain of Heaven Not taken out of the River and watered by mens feet as Egypt was A Land saies the Lord which the Lord thy God Careth for A Land which the Lord thy God Careth for He Cared not for Egypt How does he prove that the Lord Cared for it The eyes of the Lord thy God are alwaies on it from the begining of the yeer even unto the end of the yeer He giveth rain from Heaven and when your Land wants water 't is given from Heaven 't is not watered by mens feet 't is not watered as Egypt was watered which Land God Cared not for So now there are some people in the world that water themselves that go forth in their own strength that have moral vertues and they water their hearts with their own feet as I may say the Lord Cares not for those the Lord Cares not for such Oh! but give me a soul that hath rain from Heaven that lives in continual dependance that acknowledges that all is Received that lives upon Heaven the Lord Cares for such a soul Now this is the condition of all the Saints of every Beleever he hath all in a way of Receiving Oh! the infinite care that the Lord hath of every Beleever though he be never so mean Secondly Appli 2. Is this Doctrine true All in a way of Receiving Then behold what sweet and comfortable and pleasant lives the Saints live Beleevers have When you look upon a Godly man and consider what great works he does and what hard things he bears what great Afflictions he goes thorow You say Good Lord how is a man able to do or bear all this Paul and Silas ●●nging in the stocks when they were whipt and scourg'd the blood running down their shoulders and yet singing How how are they able to do all to bear all To here here is the reason They have all in a way of Receiving When you see the little Child run by the father in his hand in a green meadow you say the Child hath a ●●ne and a sweet time but when you see the Child coming at a high gate or stile to get over or dirty lane to passe

that he beleeved more plainly expressed in the 18. v. Who aginst hope beleeved in hope that he should become the father of many Nations according to that which was spoken so shall thy seed be Aggravated and inlarged in this 19. verse The Matter that he beleeved was inclosed with many difficulties he beleeved that he should be the father of many Nations and that in his seed all the Nations of the world should be blessed herein he had an eye unto Jesus Christ but now his owne body was dead being about an hundred years old and Sarahs wombe dead yet notwithstanding sayes the text Being not weak in the faith he considered not his own body now dead nor yet the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe You will say Obj. How can this be tht the Apostle here sayes Abraham considered not his own body being now dead when we read in the 17. Chapter of Genesis and vers 17. unto which Story this Chapter relates it is said That Abraham fell upon his face and laught in his heart and said Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred yeares old and shall Sarah that is ninety yeares old beare Did not Abraham here consider the deadnesse of his own body and the deadness of Sarahs wombe why does the Apostle say thus then Some answer it thus Answ That the Apostle here speakes of the first giving out of the promise unto Abraham which we read of in the 12. of Genesis but that cannot be he was not then an hundred years old He considered not his own body now dead when he was about an hundred years old and so t' is said he was an hundred years old in the 17. Chapter of Genesis and the 17. verse therefore it must relate unto that Others they answer it thus That Abraham hideed at the first did consider his owne body and did doubt through unbeliefe but afterwards Abraham recollected himself and got over that unbeliefe but the Apostle he speakes the contrary in the 20. verse He staggered not at the promise through unbeliefe Others they answer it by labouring to sind out some mysticall interpretation of those words Shall a child be brone unto him that is an hundred years old and shall Sarah that is ninety years old beare as if Abraham say they had said thus Lord thou hast some secret meaning in these words I pray thee speak it out unto me and tell me plainly thy meaning and therefore say they God answered to that purpose in the 19. verse And God said Sarah thy wife shall beare thee a son indeed I meane according to my words Sarah shall beare thee a Son indeed But we need not straine for any mysticall interpretation or expression when Abraham sayes Shall a child be bron unto him that is an hundred years old In that seventeenth of Genesis and the seventeenth they are words not of Doubting but words of Inquiring Abraham desiring to be further satisfied and rightly to understand the meaning of the promise and rightly understanding the meaning of the promise sayes the Apostle He did not much mind he did not throughly mind he did not stand poring upon or considering the deadnesse of his own body or the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe There are three things especially considerable in these words Frist of all That Abrahams body and Sarahs body are dead after God gives out a promise of a great seed of his Secondly That notwithstanding this yet Abraham beleeved is commended for it He being not weak in the faith considered not his own body being now dead And thirdly That in all this he had an eye unto Jesus Christ as I shall shew you afterward Accordingly I would take up three observations thus First When God intends to fulfill his promise by giving any speciall blessing to the children of Abraham he does first of all put the sentence of death upon the blessing and upon all the means that do lead unto it Secondly That then and then especially it is the duty of all the children of Abraham to trust in God And thirdly That no difficulty can stand before faith true saving justifying faith carries the soule through all difficulties discouragements and naturall impossibilities to Jesus Christ I begin with the first at this time When God intends to fulfill his promise by giving any speciall blessing to the children of Abraham Doct. to beleevers he does first put the sentence of deathupon it and upon all the means that do lead unto it A promise of a great seed like the starres of heaven and the sand upon the sea-shore is given to Abraham but before it is fulfilled Abrahams body is dead and Sarahs wombe dead the sentence of death put upon the mercy and the means that do lead unto it and herein Abraham is held forth for our example it was written not for his sake alone at the 23. verse but for us also to whom it shall be imputed at the 24. verse And as thus it fell out with Abraham so it falls out with all the children of Abraham with all beleevers when God intends to give any speciall or great mercy by fulfilling his promise he does first of all write down the sentence of death upon the mercy and upon the means that do tend unto it The Saints and People of God lsa 62 12. they are called the Redeemed of the Lord not onely because they are redeemed from hell and from wrath but because that they have their mercies and blessings in a way of Redemption there is a line of that great mercy of Redemption that runnes through all the mercies which they have they have Health redeemed our of the hand of Sicknesse they have Liberty redeemed out of the hand of Straitnesse they have peace redeemed out of the hand of Warre they have Assurance redeemed out of the hand of Doubting and Vnbeliefe they have Mercy redeemed out of the hand of Misery they have Joyes and Comforts redeemed out of the hand of Griefe they are the redeemed of the Lord whatsoever great Mercy or Blessing they have they have it in a way of Redemption Thus it was with Abraham And was it not thus with Joseph I shall not have time to speake of the Patriarchs all of them Joseph you know had a promise by way of vision Gen. 37. That his sheafe should be higher then all the sheaves and all the sheaves of his Brethren should bow down to his the Sunne and the Moone should bow down before him his Father and mother this promise was afterward fulfilled when his Brethren went down into Egypt and bowed before him there and his Father went down into Egypt but first of all Joseph is sould into Egypt the sentence of death put upon the Mercy the promise did bring forth but it had a sore and a hard labour first And was it not thus with the People of Israel they had a promise of great increase like the sands upon the sea and that they should be brought

that are given to worldlinesse So the sight and beholding of the deadnesse of the meanes is a great snare and temptation to those that are given to doubting and those that are given to unbeliefe Does the meanes therefore lie dead before thee at any time Soule man or woman go to the Lord and say thus Ah! Lord turne away mine eyes from beholding this same dead meanes away away to the promise when all meanes faile now beare thy selfe at length upon the promise go unto Jesus Christ throw thy self now at his feete and say Lord though thou kill me yet will I trust in thee if I perish I will perish here Do this and live And thus I have done with the Second Proposition And so much for this time Rom. 4. vers 19. And being not weak or weakned in faith he confidered not his own body now dead when he was about an hundred years old neither yet the deadnesse of Sarahs wombe THe words are spoken of Abraham and they hold forth Three great Truths as yee have heard First That when God intends any great mercy or blessing to the children of Abraham he does first put the Sentence of death upon the blessing or mercy and upon all the meanes that do lead unto it Secondly That then and then especially 't is the duty of all the children of Abraham of all beleevers then for to trust in God Thirdly That no difficulties can stand before Faith true saving justifying faith carries the soule through all difficulties discouragements and naturall impossibilities to Jesus Christ I have done with the two former and am now to speake unto the third No difficulties can stand before Faith Doct. 3 True saving justifying Faith carries the soule through all difficulties discouragements and naturall impossibilities to Jesus Christ Abraham had a promise given him that his seed should be as the starres of Heaven and that in his seed all the Nations of the world should be blest Upon this promise Abrahams body is dead and Sarahs body is dead Now Abraham beleeves Being not weake in Faith he considered not the deadnesse of his own body And in this he had an eye unto Jesus Christ for this was imputed to him for righteousnesse and herein he is held forth as an example to us that beleeve with a justifying faith in this chapter So that where ever there is true saving justifying faith it carries a man through all difficulties through all naturall discouragements For the clearing whereof I shall deliver my selfe in these foure things First I will shew you That the way to Jesus Christ is clogged with many difficulties and naturall discouragements this as a rice unto all the rest Secondly That true saving faith will carry one through all these Thirdly That nothing else can do it And Fourthly What it is in true saving justifying Faith that does is How this Faith comes to do it First The way to Jesus Christ is clogged with many difficulties or naturall discouragements No sooner does a man begin to looke after Christ but difficulties and naturall discouragements do arise and they are prest by Satan with much violence When the children of Israel began to make out of Egypt Pharoah doubles their taske and labours to make their way grievous and troublous And so soone as a soule begins to look after Christ Satan and the world labours to make his way troublous The Devill is the great hunter of Soules So long as the Game goes well with the hunter and he is going into his snare he makes no noise but if once the Hare or the Game begin to decline the snare and go another way then he hoopes and he hollowes and he makes a noise that he may scare it into the snare againe And so as long as men are going into the Devils snare he makes no noise but if once they begin to turne aside from his snare then he raises Town Country and a great noise is made to scare the soule in againe He knowes that a candle may be easily blown into light when 't is new put out Paul met with no buffetings of Satan till he had been taken up into the third heavens and seene the glory there So long as Paul went on in his Pharasaicall way he met with no opposition and so long as a man goes on in the way of the world or in some Pharasaicall Devotionall-way that is not the way of the Gospell he meetes with no opposition but when once the Lord takes him as it were into the third heavens and shews him the glory of Christ then Satan begins to buffer him Nature within us that stands and saies Will you go to Christ 't is impossible that ever you should get him And the world without Will you go to Christ you will lose all your friends Will you become a foole too What with the world and what with the flesh and what with the Devill the way to Jesus Christ is clogged with many difficulties And this will appeare yet further if you consider the Nature of Faith and the worth of it 'T is a grace a Gospel grace a precious grace whereby we do come to Christ I say 'T is a grace Nulla Virtus sine lapide When our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified they rould a stone over his sepulcher and when the Disciples came they said Who shall roule away the stone Mark 16 3 And as our Lord himselfe had a stone roul'd upon him so the more of Christ is in any vertue the greater stone and the greater difficulty is rould upon it every vertue and every grace hath one stone or other that is roul'd upon it but the more of Christ in any thing the more the greater is the stone that is roul'd upon it Faith is an excellent grace 1 Pet. 1.7 The triall of your Faith is more precious then gold sayes the Apostle what is Faith it selfe then It is the Intelligencer of the Soule the directrix or Queene-regent of all the graces it sits at the sterne and guides the whole Vessel 'T is that grace that gives a Being unto a Christian other graces the Well-being It is that grace that brings Christ and the Soule together It is that grace that covers the defects of all other graces Ephes 6.16 'T is called the shield a shield does not only cover the body but the rest of the armour Faith does not onely cover the Soule but the defects of all other graces There is an excellency in grace excellent things and jewels they are hard to come by Therefore by it we come unto Christ He that comes over the River must come from that side of the water if he will come to this And he that comes to Christ he must come from his old Customes and his own Engagements and his own Righteousnesse this is a hard thing I may say in some respects 't is harder to beleeve then to keepe the ten Commandements because there is something in nature towards