Selected quad for the lemma: justice_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
justice_n	cause_n	court_n	king_n	3,548	5	4.0704	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A92854	The humbled sinner resolved what he should do to be saved. Or Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the only way of salvation for sensible sinners. Discovering the quality, object, acts, seat, subject, inseparable concomitants and degrees of justifying faith. The agreement and difference of a strong and weak faith; the difficulty of beleeving, the facility of mistake about it, and the misery of unbelief. The nature of living by faith, and the improvement of it to a full assurance. Wherein several cases are resolved, and objections answered. / By Obadiah Sedgwick, Batchelour in Divinity and late minister of the Gospel in Covent Garden.	Sedgwick, Obadiah, 1600?-1658.	1657 (1657)	Wing S2375; Thomason E900_1; ESTC R203520	234,690	315

Salvation for a sinner Secondly that there is a way tending thereto as a meritorious 5. Arguments cause of it Thirdly that every man is a sinner for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God Rom. 3. 22. Now then know that there are but two wayes of life according Two wayes of life to which there is a double Covenant First one Legal Secondly the other Evangelical The Legal Covenant is do this and live the Evangelical Covenant is believe and live The Legal Covenant grounds salvation in our own persons and the Evangelical in the righteousnesse of another person And these Covenants are opposite that one cannot consist with the other For and mark this though the Law and the Gospel may and do and shall consist as the Law is a word of rule for obedience yet they cannot possibly consist is the Covenant of justification and salvation that is whosoever will stand to the Covenant of works to be justified by it he rejects the Covenant of grace and so Econtra Well then this being true that our life is to be had by the Covenant of Works or of Grace I will briefly shew unto you that we sinners can never be justified and saved by the Legal Covenant which if I clear then it will be evident that our salvation is only by faith in Jesus Christ Thus then all the possibility to be justified and saved by the Legall Covenant ariseth from one of these grounds viz either because That there is a fulnesse and exactnesse in inherent holinesse 3. Things That there is a dignity and efficacy in actual obedience which they call good works That there is a latitude or sufficiency of duty to fulfil the Law which may be conceived to be in a regenerate person but none of these can justifie and save Ergo For the first viz inherent holinesse this holinesse is that 1. Inherent holinesse which is wrought in our whole soul by the Spirit of God whereby of wicked he makes us good and of unholy he makes us holy and according to the severall degrees of it is the person lesse or more holy Now this we say that though the justified person hath this infused inherent holinesse Yet this is not that which Cannot justifie and save can justifie him before God that is for the dignity of which he can stand so before the judgement of God as to be pronounced just and righteous and so acquitted which I prove thus 1. That can never be the cause of our justification which is defective and imperfect and leaves yet the person in some measure sinful I 4. Reasons of it cannot in the Court of Justice be pronounced perfectly just for that righteousnesse which is imperfectly just no more then he can in a strict court be reputed to make full satisfaction who hath not paid halfe his debt or to be throughly well who is scarse able to walk three turnes in the Chamber But that holiness which is in us inherent holinesse is very imperfect I speak of that which is in us here on earth it is not adequate or parallel to the whole will of God which requires perfection of degrees as well as of parts That it is imperfect is as cleare as day First it is at combate with sin Ergo it is not perfect the argument is good for whiles one contrary is mixed with the other there is still imperfection Sinne and Grace are contrary and conflictings shew imperfection as victory notes perfection Secondly that which may be encreased is not perfect but our inherent holinesse may receive more encrease Hence those many exhortations to perfect holiness 2 Cor. 7 1. and to labor after perfection 2 Cor. 1. 3. Thirdly all the parts of holinesse are imperfect Faith is not so clear an eye nor Hope so fixed an Anchor nor Love so pure a streame but that each of them need additions of degrees of strength of help the Moon when it draweth into nearest conjunction with the Sun and is filled with the longest beames of communicated light it hath yet her spots which like so many reproaches stick in the heart of her so is it with the holiest person on earth with the largest measures of inherent graces he hath yet great measures of sinne which like so many spots do blemish and disable the soul to stand perfectly pure and just before the eyes of God That righteousnesse by which we are justified is manifested without the Law See Rom. 3. 21. and what that righteousnesse is he expresseth in ver 22. even the righteousnesse of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe But inherent righteousnesse is not manifested without the Law Why because the Law commands this inherent righteousnesse viz. To love the Lord our God with all our hearts c. That cannot be the cause of our justification and salvation upon which the conscience dares not to rest in the secret agonies of conflict or in the eminent houres of death when the soul is to enter conflict with the wrath of God being wounded with the sense of sinne and cited as it were before the tribunal of Gods holy and strict justice dares it then to put it self seriously and in good earnest upon its own holinesse to make its peace to be its propitiation to satisfie the trials and demands of Gods justice One Chemnitius well observeth of the Papists that when they are to dispute with men they will plead for inherent holinesse but when they are to contend with God they will flie only to Christ tutissimum est said Bellarmine It was no ill meditation that of Anselme Conscientia mea meruit damnationem Paenitentia mea non sufficit ad Anselme satisfactionem sed certum est quod miserecordia tua superat omnem offensionem that is O Lord my conscience tells me I have deserved damnation all the repentance that I have or can perform comes short of satisfaction but thy mercy even thy mercy only can pardon and so exceed all my transgressions The most holy persons do every day sin and need daily pardon and daily mercy how then can we be justified or saved for the merit or dignity of any holinesse in our selves How ridiculous were it that he should think himself to stand in great favour and acceptation before his Prince for the singularity of his continued vertues and performances who every day breaks out into such acts which need the Kings gracious mercy and pardon There is no dignity or meritorious efficacy in actual holinesse or 2. Actual holiness or good works cannot justifie 2. Reasons of it in good works by reason whereof we can be justified and saved I know this fields is very large I will not expatiate but speak in a word of it with a proper respect to the thing in hand I prove the thing thus 1. No man since Adams fall can performe works in that perfection which

be Prophets but neither to be Kings nor Priests Againe we read of some who were to be Kings and Priests as Melchisedek others to be Prophets and Kings as David some to be Priests and Prophets but not any one was anointed a King and a Priest and a Prophet conjunctively Now here is the excellency and the eminence of Christs anointing He was anointed to all those three offices not only to be a Priest but also a Prophet not onely to be a Prophet but also to be a King Had he been a Priest only he might have offered sacrifice for our sinful gilt But who should have then been the Prophet to have opened the eyes of the blind and to give the ignorant knowledge Had he been a Priest to suffer and a Prophet to instruct only who should then have been a King to have abolished the confusions of the Heart and Life and to have subdued our sinnes and so to lead captivity captive Nay that he might be a compleat Saviour and Mediator He was anointed to be Priest Prophet and King I will open something in every one of these He was anointed to be a Priest Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedek Psal 110. 4. so Heb. 3. 1. Jesus Christ is called the Apostle and High Priest of our profession ver 2. He was faithful to him that appointed him see Heb 4. 10. 7. 26. There are these things implyed in his anointing to be our Priest .. 1. That he was designed perfectly to fulfil the Law of God for us He was a satisfactory Priest there was the ceremonial Law which he fulfilled by abrogation and there was the Morall Law which he fulfilled by obedience Whatsoever the Law of God could require either for the holinesse of nature or of life that was to be found in Christ And such a high Priest became us who is holy harmelesse undefiled seperate from sinners c. Heb. 7. 26. Hence is he often called the holy and just one Act. 3. 14. and Chap. 4. 27 30. and is said to be without sin He had no sinne at all of which he was personally gilty but he was every way a righteous person and fulfilled all righteousness I say fulfilled it not for himself only but for us so that if you would now look for a righteousnesse which can every way satisfie and which is every way punctually exact and unblameable you must look out of your selves unto the righteousnesse of Christ as Paul did Phil. 3. and therefore he saith that Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness unto every one that believeth Rom. 10. 4. To make expiation for sinnes He was an expiatory Priest There was in the Law sacrifices offered by the Priest of which some were Gratulatory wherin God was praised and others were Expiatory wherein God was appeased as in the oblations of the Lamb c. thus it stands with us As we are creatures we are bound to obey God as rational and righteous creatures we were bound to obey the Morall Law of God and now as sinful creatures we are bound to answer the transgressions of that Law by exposing our persons to the endurance of the great curse of that Law and the wrath of God The Law is broken by us Gods justice is wronged his indignation moved and our own gilt like so many cords hold us fast and deliver us bound hand and foot to the vengeance and punishment of Gods pure and righteous justice Now suppose you saw a number of Malefactors going to execution the Kings Son meets them they are heavy weeping and sobbing because death is approaching Why saith the Kings Son weep not you have provoked my father and have deserved death but fear you not I will take a course to preserve your lives How so Thus I will lay down my own life for you I will dye for you to deliver you It is even thus betwixt Christ and us we all have sinned and by reason of sinne are bound over to death and hell how now shall we escape Thus God did give his own Son and he did take our sins on him and did dye and shed his blood to expiate our gilt and procure our pardon Hence is he called a sacrifice for sin and he is 2 Cor. 3. 1 Pet. 2. Esay 53. Rom. 4. said to be made sin for us And to beare our sins in his own body on the tree and that our iniquities was laid on him and that the chastisement of our peace was upon him and to be delivered to death for our sinnes and that Christ our Passeover was sacrificed for us 1 Cor. 5. 7. And observe the phrase Christ our Passeover c. You know that the Passeover had a Lamb and the Lamb lost his life and blood and that blood was sprinkled upon the doors of the Children of Israel and the destroying Angel did pass by the doors where it was sprinkled and their lives were preserved so it is here we should have been destroyed but Jesus Christ our Passeover was sacrificed for us i. e. he did poure out his own blood which did answer for our gilt and so preserved our souls Now concerning his Priestly expiation of our sinnes observe First the Priest who did offer this expiatory sacrifice Secondly the sacrifice it self Thirdly the Altar upon which it was offered Fourthly The dignity and efficacy thereof The Priest was Jesus Christ as God and man as our Mediator for that did belong to the Priest who was to offer sacrifice to be a middle person Aaron was to bear upon him the sinnes of the people and to offer for them so Jesus Christ as God and man was he who did offer up that sacrifice which did expiate our sinnes Heb. 5. 5. He that said unto him thou art my Sonne to day have I begotten thee vers 6. He saith also in another place Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck The sacrifice it self was Christ as consisting of soul and body by reason of our sins we had forfeited both our souls and bodyes to the curse of the Law and to the wrath of God The arrest and attachment was out against both but now Jesus Christ became our Priest and offered his soul and body to quit and release ours Therefore it is said that he made his soul an offering for sint Isai 53. 10. And that his soul was exceeding sorrowful even to death Mat. 26. 38. In it he felt the bitter anguish and wrath which made him to sweat even drops of blood And as for his body that was prepared for him to suffer for us hence it is said that he bore our sins on his own body on the tree 1 Pet. 2. 24. It is very true that the Godhead formally was not the sacrifice that could neither suffer nor be afflicted only it did aid and assist the humane nature which was offered up as a sacrifice The Altar on which this sacrifice was offered which did

bountifulnesse of its own nature is the reason of its gifts and acts Suppose that a King executes a malefactor this is an act of justice and findes cause in the rebellion of the offendor Suppose that a King pardons a malefactor this is an act of graciousnesse and findes its reason only in the breast of the King and not in the worthinesse of the delinquent Thou stand'st upon thy worthinesse O if I were worthy of Christ why but is not Christ a gift he is often said to be given yea but is he not a gracious gift See Ephes 2. 7. God did shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindnesse towards us through Jesus Christ As if he should say if ever there were a gift free-given it is Christ If Christ be a gracious gift then he is not bestowed on the worthy but on the unworthy not on him who can challenge and say Lord there is good reason why I should have Christ and thou shouldest do me wrong if I have him not O no but he is a gracious gift and therefore the broken sinner may come in and say O Lord though I am unworthy yet give me Christ graciousnesse doth not expect any motion out of it self and therefore though in respect of my desert shame and confusion be my portion yet thy gifts of grace are free for thy exceeding riches of grace and mercy and love give me thy Christ If I meet an old decrepit poor beggar and seeing misery and poverty in his face I freely draw my purse and say there is a shilling for thee O no saith he Sir I am not worthy I am a poor man and ready to starve give it to that Gentleman yonder who is in gay cloathing and hath thousands in his chests for he is worthy what a proud folly were th●s why my almes was a gracious dole and if any man in the world had it he had who doth need but doth not deserve it So c. 6. Christ is worthy your taking though thou be unworthy of receiving 1 Tim. 1. 15. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief As if he should say this is so necessary a thing so good a thing so admirable a thing for a sinner so meet for him to hearken unto and to embrace What if the choisest Prince in the world should this day present himself to the foulest ill-favoure'dst neglected woman one without all beauty without all parts without all estate and assure her if she will consent to his termes he will bestow himself upon her Though she be totally unworthy to heare of such a thing yet the person is worthy and the acceptance of the motion is worthy all the world sees reason enough that she should hearken So it is Jesus Christ the Prince of peace the Lord of life the Authour of salvation comes to a sinful soul utterly naked and void of spiritual excellencies over-runne with all the spots of inglorious deformities exposed to all kindes and degrees of present and future miseries calls and invites that soule to accept of him upon his own termes yet that soul stands off and excep●s I am not worthy Thou wor●hy saith Christ what do I esteem of thy worthinesse Not for thy sake be it known unto thee is it that I offer my self unto thee not for any beautiful or ingratiating ornaments and gifts is this but for my own sake Am I worthy the receiving if so then accept of me Christ hath worthinesse enough and as our helps in the promises draw us thither so the treasures in Christ should do Obj. But you will say Christ hath let fall a word which tels me that there must be a subjective worthinesse as well as an objective worthinesse in me as well as a worthinesse in him Matthew 10. 13. If the house be worthy let your peace come upon it Sol. I answer that there is indeed a double worthinesse First one of the object when it is so every way excellent and necessary and sutable to the exigencies of a person so Christ worthy Secondly another of the subject which to restraine it now to the place alledged is a worthinesse of judgement and affection not a worthinesse of qualities and action Then a man is said to be worthy in reference to Christ not because he hath any taking and inviting qualities but when he judgeth worthily of the Lord Jesus and his affections draw after him as most worthy of all acceptation Lastly what is that which makes thee unworthy It is nothing in the world but sinne all the debasings of the soul are our sinnes and so there is a twofold unworthinesse 1. Meritorious 2. Excluding But then mark two things could never be if meer sinnings did effectually prejudice the soul with an excluding unworthinesse one is That Christ could never have been a worthy gift Another is That faith could never have beleeved truths in Christ It could never take Christ as a Saviour nor beleeve in him for the sure pardon of sins if that sinnes absolutely did involve the soul with such an unworthinesse as should for ever exclude it from partaking of Christ O no Though sinnes make unworthy yet Christ came to call sinners and though ungodlinesse makes unworthy yet Christ justifies the ungodly 4. Obj. But I am not sure that Christ is willing to bestow himself on me or that I should lay hold on him else I should I think be able to beleeve Sol. To this I will returne two things 1. One is clearing Christs willingnesse 2. The order of a Christians assurance First That Christ is willing I shall but light a candle to the Sunne in endeavouring to manifest the willingnesse of Christ to accept of sinners Why 8. Things what can possibly expresse a willingnesse which is not espiable in Christ First when thou wert a sinner and an enemy yet then did Christ shed his blood and die for thee Rom 5. 8 10. Nay he did not do this through constraint but through consent it was a free-will offering therefore is he said to offer himself and lo I come and to give himself and to lay down his life and to pay a price nay to be straitned till it were accomplished Luke 12 50. His death was the putting of the seal to the bond It ratified all the Covenant which it had not done had not Christ been willing Why he knew thee long before and saw thee in thy blood before he shed his own and had he been unwilling to have done thee any good or that thou shouldest have received any good from him he would never have cloathed himself with such a nature as he did assume neither would he have anguished his righteous soul nor have suffered such a tormenting and accursed death Verily if I would lay down my life for a person this would sufficiently argue and declare that I were willing to bestow my self on the perso

find eternal life So that you may from this take notice of three things One That to be assured of Christ as mine is no ground for to move a man to believe but it is a consequent of it Another that to be assured that Christ is willing and ready to be mine and to accept of me this is a sweet motive and an encouraging ground for the soul to believe A third there is no better way to feel the sweetnesse of Christs being willing to bestow himself upon a man then by believing first on him for it is faith in Christ which opens to a man all his interests in Christ And if this be sure that Christs willingnesse prevents thine if therefore thou be willing to accept the very nature of the treaty and match assures thee sufficiently that Christ was ready long ago 5. Obj. But then saith the sensible sinner I am not prepared and humble enough Christ is to binde up the broken hearted but my heart is still hard and Christ is to open the prison for them that are bound but I am not at least in sufficient bondage and he is to give the oile of joy for mourning but I have no melting nor mourning spirit and therefore I may not believe on him nor take him for I am distinguished Sol. I shall not need to say much to this because I have touched heretofore upon in the Exposition of Mal. 1. 1. yet I will touch a little at this time 1. There is a twofold humbling according to a double cause of it One is in the exceedings beating of the conscience with inward terrors and feares springing from the Power of the Law which quickens the conscience and wounds it with the expresse sense of former guilt and which presents God in all the glories and terrors of his justice and as the great and sure avenger of an unrighteous person When the soul is in this kinde of humbling it is filled with exquisite sense and exquisite torment like a man with a burning arrow in his thigh or like a thief hearing the sentence of death pronounced upon him by the judge Now this kinde of humbling though sometimes it may be an antecedent to faith in Christ for God doth many times bring a man to heaven by the gates of hell he doth bruise and wound and even kill him by the terrors of the Law and then revive him with the workings and tender goodnesse of the Gospel yet it may be possibly without any future accesse of the soul to Chr●st For this mark that though God doth many times graciously superad another work of conversion to this of legall affliction yet he may and doth many times distribute these sorrows in wrath and they are but the testimonies of his pure and displeased justice even in this life to begin an hell of anguish in the conscience of a proud and daring sinner Another is in the tender abasings and sweet bathings or mournings of the affections when there is a fountaine of sorrow set open within the soul giving out it self in severall streames of melting because of sin and transgression Now this latter is not an antecedent but a consequent of faith in Christ as you shall hear presently A man cannot rightly judge of his fitnesse to lay hold on Christ by the meer strength or measure of any legall humbling but by the Issue and event of them If instead of one item from conscience thou shouldest now heare an hundred and instead of one lash from conscience thou shouldst now feel a thousand though thy heart were broken into as many pieces as the glasse which is dashed against the wall though thy spirits did even fry within thee for the heat of horror and that thou didst roare day and night for the disquietment of thy guilty conscience yet couldst thou not confidently affirme by all this I am now for Christ and Christ will assuredly accept of me I shall not misse of him Reasons whereof are these 1. Because these may be Gods tokens of just vengeance on thee meer punishments and judicial acts 2. The soul under these may be rather taken up with the stinging guilt and feares of sin then with the foul vilenesse and base nature and acts thereof standing in contrariety to the holy and good will of a gracious God 3. The thus afflicted soul may cry out for Christ meerly out of self-love to ease the burden but not to cure the nature to deliver it from paine but not to heal it of the sinfull inclination Therefore this I would say to any legall broken spirit do not judge of fitnesse meerly by the strength or depth of teares there is a threefold enough 1. Intensive for the degree 2. Extensive for the time 3. Dispositive for the efficacy therefore do but observe what disposition attends and follows these There be five things which if they follow upon legall humblings may be subordinate encouragements to the heart to put it self upon Christ First if quite driven out of ones self Secondly if sin comes to be felt as the basest evil as the guilt of it hath been found the sorest paine A third is if the heart finds it self any way loosened from the league of iniquity yea and that a secret war is begun now 'twixt the soul and the sinner Fourthly an high estimate and valuation of Christ as the only and choisest good of my soul and hope c. An active and fervent desire to put the soul under the Government of the Lord Iesus Whether thy legall humblings be great or small long or short more or lesse that 's not the thing but if they be thus attended thou mayest safely venture thy soul upon the Lord Jesus thou mayest believe and he will in no wise refuse thee 3. Faith in Christ will not hinder the humblings or meltings of thy soul I observe when there is a Thunder-clap then there is such a hurry in the cloud that fire flasheth out and the cloud is brust insunder and a mighty deluge of water is thrown down and you may likewise observe that the Sun doth though there be no storme draw up and sweetly open and pierce the clouds which thereby give down the most seasonable and refreshing showres of rain The Law is like a Thunder-clap it doth many times so tosse and hurry and vex the conscience that infinite sighes and feares and teares gush out But then faith makes the Sun of righteousnesse to arise within the soul and nohing melts the heart more then Christ apprehended by faith Zach. 12. 10. They shall look upon him whom they pierced and they shall mourne for him as one mourneth for his onely son and they shall be in bitternesse for him as one that is in bitternesse for his first-born For faith First sees the greatest love the sweetest kindnesse the freest pardons 3. Reasons of it the readiest acceptations all which do even me it the heart into a river and works the greatest mournings I doubt not but

us p. 153 God The actions of God of several sorts p. 72 How many things in God encourage to live by faith as Gods alsufficiency p. 231 Gods command p. 232 Gods promises p. 233 Gods power p. 234 Gods truth and fidelity p. 236 Gods performance to them that have lived by faith p. 237 Goodness Hatred of goodnesse precipitates evil men to acts of injustice p. 2 Gospel The preaching of the Gospel is of necessary and singular consequence p. 65 Ghost Holy Ghost how he may be said to justifie p. 71 Grace Salvation is only by grace p. 63 The best graces are but imperfect excellencies p. 113 H Habits Two sorts of habits acquired and infused p. 33 Hasty A soul hasty to be answered is weak in faith p. 132 Heart Heart or will the seat of faith p. 35 Hearing Meer hearing of Christ and his Doctrine will not save p. 66 Divers sorts of hearing Ib. Historical vid. Faith Holinesse Inherent holinesse cannot justifie and save p. 56 Inherent holiness is defective and imperfect p. 57 The conscience dares not rest upon it p. 58 Actual holinesse no meritorious efficacy in it p. 58 Humble humbled Faith makes the heart humble p. 103 A soul that thinks himself not humbled enough answered p. 197 A twofold humbling according to a double cause of it and the workings of each p. 197 198 Fitnesse for Christ not to be judged by the measure and strength of legal humblings the reasons of it p. 198 Some things which if they follow upon legal humblings may be subordinate encouragements to the heart to put it selfe upon Christ p. 199 Humblings and meltings of soul not hindred by faith Ibid But furthered by it p. 200 I James James what kind of faith he speaks of p. 104 105 Ignorance Grosse ignorance an impediment to getting faith p. 169 170 Ignorance of our sinful condition of Gods justice and of the excellency of Christ impediments to getting faith p. 170 Imputed vid. Righteousness Infidelity The dangerous state of positive infidelity p. 158 The degrees of positive infidelity p. 159 Intercession vid. Priest A twofold intercession p. 24 25 Christs intercession what is meant by it p. 25. Inherent Inherent qualities and abilities insisted on as means of perswasion argues weaknesse of faith p. 134 Joy Spiritual joy the sole fruit of faith p. 92 Several sorts of joy whence they spring p. 92 Joy an inseparable fruit of faith p. 92 Joy three wayes considered p. 146 147 Justifie Justification There is not a co-operation of faith and other graces to justifie yet there is a co-existence of them in the person justified p. 55 Justification only in Jesus Christ p. 68 Justification the word opened p. 69 The nature of it designed p. 70 Justification an action in God p. 71 The kinde of this action p. 72 The meritorious cause of it p. 71 The applying cause of it p. 71 Whether Justification be before faith p. 73 Justification not a divided act p. 75 Whether it be one transient act or one continued act p. 75 Justification of a sinner a gracious and just action p. 78 Justification by imputed righteousnesse all beleevers have an equal interest in it p. 142 Justice Gods Justice should constraine us to believe p. 187 K King Christ ancinted to be a King p. 27 His Kingly office what it imports Ib. Knowledge Knowledge how one beleever differs from another therein p. 121 L Law No ability to keep the whole Law wholly Reasons of it p. 60 Life Living A heart inclined to the life of sense is weak in faith p. 133 Of living by faith p. 216 What it is in general to live by faith p. 218 To live by faith is to commit all to God Ibid To live by faith is to depend upon God for all p. 219 Living by faith extends to two sorts of life p. 220 To live by faith on Christ described p. 221 The several exigencies and conditions of soule in which we had need to live by faith p. 221 222 Encouragements from Christs fulnesse to live by faith in those exigencies p. 223 224 The conjunction of our own exigencies and Christs fulnesse is the very living by faith upon Christ p. 225 To live by faith on Christ is more then a meer complaining of our wants or an acknowledging of his fulnesse p. 226 To live by faith on Christ is more then a meer going to Christ p. 227 To live by faith on Christ is not only to trust on Christ for supply but to expect performance p. 227 To live by faith on Christ is an extensive work p. 228 Arguments to perswade to live by faith p. 229 The life of faith is congruous to our condition p. 229 The necessity of living by faith in all sensible sequestrations p. 231 Six arguments from God himself to perswade to live by faith p. 231 The life of faith is the only Christian life p. 238 The life of faith is the only comfortable life p. 240 What things make the life uncomfortable and what makes it comfortable p. 241 The life of faith easeth of all burdens and secures against all prejudices p. 240 The life of faith makes the present condition good enough and assures of universal and reasonable supplies p. 244 The life of faith is the only getting and thriving life p. 245 The Reasons of it p. 247 Divers arguments from Jesus Christ himself to perswade us to live by faith on him p. 248 Vid. Christ Lord. True faith takes Christ only to be its Lord. p. 101 No unbeleever can accept of Christ to be his Lord only Reasons of it p. 191 Every beleever admits of Christ to be his Lord Reasons of it p. 102 How to know whether Christ or sin be our Lord. p. 103 Weak faith will honour Christ as a Lord though it be not sure that he is its Saviour p. 136 Love True love of Christ an infallible evidence of true faith p. 96 Love is not separated from faith p. 96 Reasons of it p. 97 True love to Christ three tryals of it p. 98 Every beleever hath an equal interest in Gods special love p. 145 The love of God in giving Christ and the love of Christ in giving of himself p. 161 M Ministers Ministery The best Ministers do most good and finde most affliction p. 1 Good Ministers and covetous hearts cannot agree p. 2 Ministers better esteemed when the heart is changed p. 5 Ministers must forget personal injuries when they deal with sensible sinners p. 10 How Ministers must deal with stout and resolute and how with bleeding and afflicted sinners p. 11 How preciously dear the Ministery of the Gospel should be unto us p. 68 Miracles vid. Faith N Natural No natural principle of justifying faith now in a man p. 79 80 A natural principle of unbeliefe and infidelity in every mans heart p. 80 There is a natural opposition in the heart against Christ. p. 81 Natural condition throughly studyed a way to get a beleeving

in thy stead and answered Justice for all thy sins 3. Divine justice will not desire a double satisfaction It will not require satisfaction from thee and from thy surety too The quarrel ceaseth 'twixt thee and God for Christ hath by his own blood taken that up As Elihu spake of uprightnesse that I say of believing in the Lord Jesus if thou doest then the Lord will be gracious unto thee and will say deliver him from going down to the pit for I have found a ransome Job 33. 23 24. Obj. But I who am I so totally unworthy there is nothing in me to move Christ to engratiate me he will never bestow himself on such an one as I am will ever Christ look on such a dead dog as I am I answer to this 1. Personal unworthinesse it is no prejudice You read in Mat. 7. Things 8. 8. that the Centurion came to Christ for his servant and believed on him and sped well Yea will you say but he was worthy nay he professeth the Obj. contrary Lord I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof Sol. as if he should say I have nothing in me to demerit and challenge this gracious act of thine nothing and yet I believe that thou canst and wilt heal my servant so the Prodigal I am not worthy to be c. 2. Nay the humble sense of our unworthinesse it is a furtherance Christ doth not expect any excellencies and meritorious motives from thee thou must come unto him as an empty vessel the full soul and the sound spirit is not for him bring a soul to Christ which is spread all over with misery and need why such a soul is a proper object for mercy to deal with bring a soul to Christ which is all over with lostnesse with poverty with sicknesse with unworthinesse why this is the soul upon which Christ will look It s never well with a man untill he can take Christ upon his knee upon a bare knee with an empty hand that is till he be brought to be poor in spirit that he is nothing and deserves nothing and begs of Christ to accept of him even for Christs sake The Lord be merciful to me a sinner went home justified when the thank God I am not as other men returned as he came a proud Pharisee You shall finde it thus that God looks most on him who looks least on himself The humble and contrite spirits which are broken out of themselves and can cry out O Lord I am really vile and mostly unworthy These the high God who inhabits the lofty places doth behold And Christ is ready to take him by the hand who thinks himself unworthy to touch his feet There are two tempers which like Christ well one is a beleeving heart and another an humble soul 3. Personal worthinesse is not the motive nor designed ground for faith in Christ The ground of belief that which invites the soul to draw on it self to Christ is no deserving or eminent quality in our selves but the goodnesse and fidelity of the promise and the gracious offer of Christ himself to the soul Behold he calls thee why this is enough if thou canst finde God holding forth the golden Scepter offering Christ unto thee upon such and such termes and thou consent unto them with all thy heart thou mayest confidently close and lay hold on Christ by faith This is the wise skill of a Christian truly to observe the proper rise of faith When God promised Abraham a son the text saith he did not consider his own body Rom. 4 19. that is he did not consult with the strength of his own nature what an able principle there was in himself to compass such an effect but he was fully perswaded that what God had promised that he was able to performe The ability and fidelity of Gods promise exceedingly enclined his heart to believe So is it here about faith in Christ if thou doest consider thy own body thy own deserts thy own excellencies thou shalt never beleeve for faith can finde no ground in these to encourage the soul but the ground of faith is without our selves Why God offers me Christ and Christ calls me unto him being heavy laden and he saith that he who beleeves in him shall have eternal life Now this is a word of truth and this word of his is worthy of all acceptation I will venture my soul upon it It is with faith as with a bird cast him into the water he cannot flie that element is too grosse for him he cannot gather and beat his wings there and therefore is kept down but cast him into the aire which is a more pure element then he can clap and ●pread the wings and mount why faith is the wing of the soul and the promise is that spiritual element that aire which breaths a life and motion to faith faith is raised by it alone and it is checked and hindered whiles the soul would force it to act it self upon those poor and grosse excellencies in our selves Faith desires no better object then Christ nor su●●r pawnes then Gods prom●se Fourthly to receive Christ by faith it is not a matter of merit but a point of duty When God commands a sinner to repent and to forsake his sinnes and take him he shall have mercy i●●e will do it This may not now be said O Lord I am not worthy to obey thee in this duty if I were worthy to repe●t I would repent nay but O man divine commands are to be obeyed it is thy duty to repent So God commands the soul to beleeve in Christ to accept of him The soul now looks on the excellencies of the gift but forgets the obligation of duty It s true Christ is a most excellent gift and blessing there is not such a thing in all the world for a poore sinner as Christ but then know that his excellencies may not take thee off from thy duty This is his Commandment that we beleeve on the Name of his Sonne Brethren you are mistaken to beleeve in Christ being proposed unto us in the Gospel it is not a matter of indifferency I may or I may not nor is it a matter of curtesie as if we did a work of supererogation more then God requires nay but it is a matter of conscience a man sinnes he violates a command an evangelical precept if he doth not beleeve It is not a dispute of worthinesse or unworthinesse but it is obedience to the Command which thou art to look upon 5. Christ is given out of rich grace and mercy and love and therefore none can receive him but the unworthy There is this difference 'twixt the reward of Justice and the gift of graciousnesse Justice hath an eye upon the disposition and acts of the person and according unto their qualities and degrees doth it commensurate reward or punishment But graciousnesse hath an eye only upon it self the free