Selected quad for the lemma: mercy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
mercy_n	heart_n	lord_n	way_n	4,954	5	4.7237	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A07666	A mappe of mans mortalitie Clearely manifesting the originall of death, with the nature, fruits, and effects thereof, both to the vnregenerate, and elect children of God. Diuided into three bookes; and published for the furtherance of the wise in practise, the humbling of the strong in conceit, and for the comfort and confirmation of weake Christians, against the combat of death, that they may wisely and seasonably be prepared against the same. Whereunto are annexed two consolatory sermons, for afflicted Christians, in their greatest conflicts. By Iohn Moore, minister of the word of God, at Shearsbie in Leicester-shire.	Moore, John, d. 1619.	1617 (1617)	STC 18057; ESTC S112851	257,806	358

a very burden vnto it selfe loathing that at last which intermission of trouble would haue made full sweet Giue a free horse the full reynes and hee will soone be tyred Summer would be no summer if winter did not lead it in and follow it out Paine pleasure griefe sicknesse health with death it section 6 selfe be Gods Souldiers which Christ our Captaine hath vnder his gouernment if he bid them goe they goe if he bid them come againe they come if hee bid them doe this or that they performe it All euill and consequently death it selfe are profitable and medicinable to the children of God whither they be sicknesse of body pouerty worldly losses depriuation of friends c. which if they be vndergone as the fatherly chastisements of our good God for our reformation then are they wholesome remedies for our soules for with such easie and short receipts God doth heale the sores of sinne to spare our soules in the world to come He sends afflictions as preuentions of sinne as many be let blood before they be sicke for feare of sicknesse The superfluous sprigs of the Vine are pruned to make it more fruitfull God doth diet his children lest by riches they should grow proud by sinne become insolent by libertie waxe wanton c. All wicked instruments of our trials are but as Apothecaries to make drugs to heale our infirmities they are as Masons to smooth vs being as rough Stones for the building as furbushers to varnish vs from the rust and canker of our corruption as Scullions in the Kitchin to scoure vs and make vs bright vessels for the Lords owne Table Yea all the crosses of the faithfull are but as vnsauorie Physicke yet wholsome for the recouery of their sicke and sinfull soules A sound body saith one many times carrieth within it a sicke soule Some labour of the plurisie of pride some of the dropsie of couetousnesse some of the staggers of inconstancie some of the feuer of luxurie some of the lethergie of idlenes others of the phrensie of anger c. And it is a rare soule that hath not some sicknesse Now crosses and afflictions are ordained of God as his medicinable remedies What though they be vnpleasant they are Physick it is enough if they be wholesome not pleasant taste but secret vertue and operation commends the medicine If they cure thee they shall please in displeasing or else thou louest thy taste aboue thy soule section 7 Surely we men are very fooles in the estimation of our owne good Like children our choise is led altogether by shew no whit by substance Though thou knowest what dish is pleasant to the eye and taste yet thy Physitian knowes best what is wholesome Thou wouldest follow thy appetite too much and wouldest dig thine owne graue as it were with thy teeth but God ouer-sees thee and ouer-rules thee Wouldest thou then willingly goe to heauen what better guide canst thou haue then him that dwelleth there If he lead thee through the deepe sloughes and marish grounds brakes brambles or thornie thickets know thou that hee knoweth this to be the nearer way though more cumbersom Can there be in him any want of wisedome not to foresee the best can there be any want of power not to effect the best since what his power can doe and what his wisdome seeth should be done his loue no doubt hath done because all are infinite He willeth not things because they are good but they are good because he willeth them yea if ought had beene better this that befalleth thee had neuer beene God willeth that he doth and if thy will accord not with his whether wilt thou blame of imperfection If our affections might alwayes feed vpon Mannah we section 8 would loath it if our inheritance did stretch it selfe to the plaines of Iordane we would inlarge it and if our preheminence might reach to heauen yet would wee raise vp our hearts higher These were the itching humours of Euah who thought not Paradise spacious enough for her habitation nor the dainties of Eden sweet enough for her taste nor the presence of God good enough for her company But where the superscription of holinesse to the Lord is ingrauen on the head and the perswasion of godlinesse to be gaine is ingrafted in the heart there saith a learned man the lust of the world and the dust of the earth shall be shuffled together as payres and pearles of equall price accompt and continuance Therefore the Lord hath here choaked our fields with thistles and wrapped vp all the treasure of the world in rust that seeing the ground whereon we stand to be out of Paradise and the staffe whereon we leane to be but rotten wood wee might pray to God to haue the sword put vp that stoppeth vs from the tree of life and those boughes cut off that shadow vs from beholding our sinnes borne and sustayned in the body of Christ Therefore the waters of troubles and afflictions are but section 9 as a bath to the faithfull to cleanse and purge them from those corruptions they gather by walking in this dirty world The chaffe and wheate both feele the flayle yet the chaffe is free from the Milstone from the Fanne and from the furnace of these onely doth the wheat taste and so happy is he that is ground and baked as it were in an ouen and so made fit manchet for the Lords owne dyet For though the chaffe feele not the hardnesse of the Mill in grinding nor the heate of the Ouen in baking yet being good for nothing it is cast forth scattered with the winde and trodden vnder foote Such is the state of the wicked they are separate as tares from the corne eyther to be burnt in his displeasure or blowne from his presence God in this life knowing the dangerous temptations of his Children doth sift and boult them with afflictions the mother of humilitie and true nurse of repentance lest in time they should loose the experience of their knowledge and faith in Christ and so seeke some easier kinde of life for flesh and bloud Neyther can we truely repent vntill by some crosse we know this world to be a place of sorrow for so long as we make our prosperitie a bulwarke to beat downe all harmes we are to looke for aduersitie to beate downe the high sayle of our proud hearts whereby we gad after our owne lusts and leaue the anchor of peace which is our trust in God section 10 Neyther must wee thinke that we shall euer be shut vp as it were in a mewe to see and sustaine no euill at all Let vs looke to fall but on our knees because Gods hand doth hold vs. Let vs looke to be humbled but yet in mercy because the Lord sustayneth vs for if this were not what tryall and examination should there be of our faith If our way lay alwayes as in a fayre medow that wee might

a man vpon easie conditions should gaine an high estate to him and his for euer and yet should wittingly and wilfully forfeite it againe to the owner who would either moane the heire or blame the giuer Euen so God hauing made the soule of man good righteous and faire as from himselfe yet knitting it to the body to make the man which man is Adams heire he may iustly withdraw his graces from it as his owne being forfeited and lost by traiterous man Thus Gods grace most iustly fayling the soule it falleth to sinne and declineth to naught which pronenesse of euill is our naturall sicknesse which we call Originall sinne So that the soule of man is not now created with that strength to perseuere in goodnesse and resistance of euill and other excellent graces which it should haue had if Adam had not sinned and albeit it be pure and vnspotted as it proceedeth from God yet is it no sooner ioyned to the body but it is presently polluted euen as the purest wine and best quintessence when it is powred into a filthy pot poysoned and vnsauory doth in a moment loose their naturall taste and tallage so doth the sweet soule loose her fragrant smell of grace and goodnesse so soone as it is sent into this filthy vessell the body of sinne Neither is the soule of man subiect onely to weakenesses and infirmities in resisting of corruptions but hath many other defects both of minde and will being destitute of spirituall life and light blinde by nature and not so much as inclinable to holy desires and sanctified workes as God her Creatour by his law requireth And although in the iust iudgement of God as we haue already heard mens soules be now made in such sort as that of necessitie they must be defiled being ioyned to these bodies of sinne yet are they not thereby to be excused from the guilt of sinne for though it be of a iust necessitie yet is it not of any compulsion that they should sinne as we see by experience Iron and Stones and such like graue and heauie substances though neuer so softly let downe into a brooke doe of necessitie yet not by any violence sinke downe to the bottome thereof Bodies depriued of foode and flesh in time doe putrifie of necessity yet neither the one nor the other by any compulsion God of necessitie is good and the Diuell is euill yet can we not say that either goodnes in God or iniquity in the Diuell doe proceede of compulsion So our soules being ioyned to our bodies are of necessitie sinfull yet willingly also and of their owne accord Neither yet is it or can be otherwise now with the best regenerate and holiest men renewed in Christ towards their children then it was in Adam at the first touching the propagation of originall sinne they can conuey no more vnto their posteritie but that which by nature they are possessed of for grace comes from heauen and our new birth is not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God If we winnow any Wheate or graine neuer so perfectly and purge it neuer so throughly by the fanne from the chaffe and dust yet when it is sowne againe it will not bring forth cleansed corne but with the graine yeelde huskes and hawnes which also must it selfe be threshed with the flayle and cleansed with the fanne vpon the floore As this clensed Corne I say can giue no more but what it had by nature and looke what it had by the art industry of man the same meanes must be vsed to it againe before it be cleane and fit for our vse Euen so the faithfull though they be washed iustified and sanctified by Gods spirit and the blood of Christ yet can they giue no more to their children then what themselues haue had by nature being the children of wrath and as for any grace or goodnesse it must come from the same Author and by the same meanes which their parents had to worke it in them or else it can neuer be effected God doth worke in the hearts of men to incline their wills which way hee pleaseth either to good things according to his mercy or to euill according to their owne desert and that by his iudgement sometime manifest sometime secret but alwayes iust A worke-house must needes decline and also fall when the vnder-proppes are remoued Darkenesse must needes ensue when the Sunne and light is departed away Those bright beames of all light and happy life which were giuen to our first parents are remoued and other excellent gifts and graces of God are in his iust iudgement so long withholden from our soules vntill by his holy spirit as the worker and by his holy word as the instrument God in his good time doe againe enlighten our mindes and purifie our hearts by faith and confirme and strengthen vs in euery good word and worke Sinne to mankinde will alwaies be a Iebusite a false borderer yea a ranke traitour rebelling against the spirit which makes the life of man to be saith Chrisostome a debt as it were owne and due to death for the diuell is the father of sinne and sinne is the mother of death Hereupon saith S. Iames that Sinne being finished trauaileth in childe-birth like a mother to bring forth Death and Dauid calleth sinne the gate of death because as a man commeth into a house by the dore or gate so death came into the world by sinne The corruption of our flesh did not make our soule sinfull but the sinne of our soule did make the flesh corruptible Whereupon Lactantius calleth sinne the reliefe or foode of death and as a fire goeth out when all the fuell is spent but burneth as long as it lasteth so death dieth when sinne ceaseth but where sin aboundeth there death raigneth CHAP. V. Of the Nature of Death what it is and how manifold and whence Deuines haue deriued it DEath thus iustly deriued from Adam as the stocke to all and euery one of vs his line and race as to the boughes and branches the leprosie of his sin cleauing fast to all his seede we are further to consider the nature thereof for our better humbling which cannot more plainely appeare then by the true describing and diuiding of the same by and into his seuerall parts properties and effects as they are laid out vnto vs and gathered from the Scriptures As man therefore in his nature consisteth of two principall parts a humane body and a diuine soule which vnited together make but one person so there is a Death of the body and a Death of the soule and a death that is common both to body and soule Death then in it selfe is not onely a killing of the body but also a slaying as it were of the soule not onely a separation of the soule from the body but a diuision and cutting off both of

the Iewels and ornaments of her husband Christ because as Augustine saith he is a spunge which wipeth and clenseth vs from all our filthinesse which he taketh in exchange for his beautie and righteousnesse Christ is said to keepe the key of life and Death the one to make fast and shut to the gates of Hell which alwaies stood open to swallow vs vp and the other to vnlocke the kingdome of heauen which alwayes was shut and barred against vs By meanes whereof at the time of his death the vaile rent asunder that kept the entrance into the most holy place What is more filthy then a man conceiued and borne in sinne and what is more cleane and beautifull then our Sauiour Christ conceiued by the holy Ghost My welbeloued is white and ruddy the choysest of tenne thousand This sweet and louing Lord that was so fayre and cleane was content to beare the blemishes of our sinnes and filthinesse of our soules to make vs beautifull in Gods sight It was a worke of great patience and humilitie saith Cyprian that so high and excellent a Maiestie would vouchsafe to come downe from heauen to earth and all to cloath himselfe with this our house of clay and dirt and that hee would so hide the glory of his immortalitie to become mortall for sinfull man that being himselfe innocent and faultlesse yet should be so punished for vs that are guilty that hee that came to pardon sinnes would be content to be washed with the water of sinners that hee that feedeth all creatures should fast himselfe and be hungry that hee might fill sinners with his grace and satisfie hungry soules with his righteousnesse c. How was hee spoyled of his earthly garments that apparelleth the Saints with the royall roabes of immortalitie and glory How was hee proffered most bitter gall that offereth to vs the heauenly Manna and food of our soules How did his enemies giue him vinegar to drinke that reacheth out vnto vs the wine and Nectar of life and saluation Hee that was iust and innocent or rather Iustice and Innocencie it selfe was iudged and executed among theeues and murtherers the euerlasting Truth was accused of falshood the righteous Iudge of the world was condemned himselfe and that Word of God the very fountaine of eternall life receiued the sentence and doome of death with silence c. Innocencie was tyed with bands Vertue apprehended Wisdome flouted Honour contemned Glory defaced the well-spring of all vertue troubled Christ as the true Isaack and sonne of promise bare the wood vpon his owne shoulder to the place of sacrifice this carriage was diuided betweene two the sonne carryed the wood and the body that should be sacrificed and the father carryed the fire and the knife wherewith the sacrifice should be accomplished It was the fire of Loue which God bare to mankinde and the sharpe knife of diuine Iustice that put the Sonne of God to death These two vertues in God our heauenly Father contended together Loue requested him to pardon mankinde and his Iustice required that sinners might be punished Wherefore that man might be pardoned and sinne punished a meanes was found that Christ an innocent man might dye and by his death redeeme all sinfull men that doe beleeue Christ is our true Sampson that for the loue of his Spouse the Church suffered himselfe to be bound hand and foote to be shaued of his lockes and spoyled of his force and so to be mocked and scorned of all his enemies for our sakes Christ in his death is the golden propitiatorie the Rainebow of diuers colours placed among the clouds of heauen with the sight whereof Almighty God is pacified with this were his eyes fed his iustice satisfied and his fauour restored Yee that be a thirst come yee to the waters Christ is the mysticall Rocke that Moses stroke with the rod whence springeth the abundance of water to satisfie the thirst of poore afflicted soules Hee is that cluster of grapes brought out of the Land of Promise out of the which was pressed that ioyfull wine to fill the cup of our saluation Hee is the oyle of grace wherewith wee must repay our debts Wee must not looke so much to the quantitie as to the vertue thereof which is so great and good that so long as there be faithfull soules as vessels to be filled therewith so long will the veyne of this sacred liquour runne and neuer cease The bloud of Christ cryeth better things then that of Abel for his bloud cryed for vengeance against the murtherer but this his precious bloud cryeth and craueth for pardon of our sinnes O Lord saith Augustine thou wilt not the death of a sinner nor reioycest in the destruction of the damned but that the dead might liue thou dyedst and thy death hath killed the death of sinners And if they through thy death were againe brought to life Oh grant I beseech thee that I may not dye now thou art aliue CHAP. II. That Christ by his death and merits alone without any meanes of man or other creature redeemeth vs from death and damnation NO Creature but Iesus Christ alone as hath beene declared could possibly rescue vs from death and restore vs to euerlasting life Now followeth in order the manner and meanes of our redemption for as our deliuerance proceeded onely from Christ himselfe so all the meanes and compleate worke thereof was performed by himselfe alone without supply He tooke our nature vpon him to take our part that so hee might destroy through death him that had the power of death that is to say the Diuill and that hee might deliuer all them which for feare of death were all their life time subiect to bondage Hee suffered for our sinnes the iust for the vniust that he might bring vs to God and was put to death concerning the flesh but was quickned in the spirit that hee might be our ransome God is iust and we hauing smitten his Maiestie by our sinne must be smitten againe by his punishment for hee is so to be mercifull as that hee disanull not his Iustice and so to be iust as that hee forget not his Mercy Now to make a way to both to appease his wrath that his Iustice may be satisfied and yet so to appease it as his Mercy may be magnified in forgiuing sinne it was necessary that there should be a mediation For if all the world should be offered vnto God for satisfaction it is nothing for it is his owne euen the worke of his hands for infinite sinnes there must be infinite sufferings and infinite satisfaction and therefore he that must redeeme vs must be an infinite Sauiour euen God himselfe as wee haue heard yet man also he must be euen a true Immanuel God with man For how can there be satisfaction for our apostacie but by our humilitie or

consolation And seeing that God my louing Father tempered this Potion for mee and Iesus Christ his Sonne hath begunne vnto mee shall I not drinke it with thankfulnesse and comfort But why will hee haue thy death so bitter and sharpe It is my Lord who can and will wish me nothing but good and why should I his poore and vnprofitable seruant refuse to suffer that which the Lord of glory and my blessed Sauiour sustained himselfe But it is a miserable thing to die No the death of Gods Saints is precious in the sight of of God and the ready way to eternall life Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord for so saith the Spirit they shall rest from their labours But the death of sinners is damnable Yea but he is no more a sinner that truely repenteth and is pardoned Let not Sathan tell Gods children what they haue beene but what they would be for such we are by imputation section 16 as we are in affection and he is now no sinner which for the loue he beareth to righteousnesse would be no sinner Such as we be in desire and purpose such wee be in reckoning and accompt with God who giueth that true desire and holy purpose to none but to his children whom he iustifieth Neither vndoubtedly can the guiltinesse of sinne breake the true peace of conscience seeing it is the worke of another who hath commended vs as righteous before God and saued vs. It must needes be graunted that in our selues we are weaker then that we can resist the least sinne so farre off is it that we can encounter with the Law Sinne Death Hell and Diuell and yet in Iesus Christ we are more then conquerours ouer them all If Sathan summon thee therefore to answere for thy section 17 debt send him straight to Christ thy pledge and say that the wife is not sueable but the husband therefore enter thy action Sathan against Christ my husband and he will answere thee Who then shall condemne vs or what Iudge shall daunt vs sith God hath acquitted vs and Christ that was condemned hath iustified vs He is our Iudge that willeth not the death of a sinner hee is our man of law that to excuse vs suffered himselfe to be accused for vs. O gluttenous hell where is thy defence O cruell sinne where is thy tyrannous power O rauening death where is thy bloody sting O roaring Lyon why doest thou fret and fume Christ my law fighteth against thee O law and is my libertie Christ my sinne against thee O sinne and is my righteousnesse Christ warreth against thee O Diuell and is my Sauiour Christs Death is against thee O Death and is my life Thou diddest desire to paue my way to the burning lake of damned soules but contrary to thy will thou art constrained to lift vp the Ladder whereby I must ascend to euerlasting happinesse and ioy In our tryals and temptations we must first search out section 18 the cause and ascend to God pleading guilty and crauing mercy at his hand and not so much stand quarrelling with the corruption of our nature and Sathans malice against vs. For as it were no good wisedome for a man condemned to die to make any long suite to the Iaylour or hangman for they be but vnder-officers and can doe nothing of themselues but must rather labour to the Iudge himselfe who can either repriue or release him so it is no good pollicie to stand reasoning so long with Sathan in our temptations who doth all by constraint and restraint vnder God our Lord in whose onely hands are both the entrance and issues of all afflictions and Death it selfe section 19 Whatsoeuer scruple therefore ariseth from our selues or is inferred of Sathan from any imperfection that is in vs it neede not at all dismay vs because wee saue not our selues but are saued by him who is made vnto vs from God wisedome righteousnes Sanctification and redemption that who so glorieth should glorie in him Thus we must send Sathan to Christ who is our aduocate to pleade and defend our cause which yet is not so much ours as his owne because the question is not of our merits or satisfactions which we freely renounce but of the merits of his obedience and of the value of his Death vnto the saluation of the soules of all the faithfull Thus shall we at once for euer stop the mouth of this our cruell enemie when refusing to pleade our owne cause we referre our selues vnto Christ whom we know to be the wisedome of God and sufficient to answere what possibly can or shall be obiected against vs. When Dauid comes to fight with Goliah he casteth away Sauls armour all confidence in the world or man is laid aside and he onely trusteth in God section 20 Doth the Law indite vs of transgression we must make our appeale to the court of Conscience in heauen and there get a Supersede as to stay the course of Law and so appeale to the throne of grace from the Law of feare to the Law of loue as Augustine speaketh Doth the aduersarie vrge our debt our answer is the obligation is cancelled and the booke is crossed and the whole sum discharged Christ hath passed his word nay he hath paid all that is due for vs to the vtmost farthing Let vs shew him our generall acquittance vnder hand and seale giuen vs by God himselfe with whom it is as proper to shew pittie as mercie to helpe misery This is my wel beloued Son in whom I am wel pleased Here is the creditours owne word his owne handwriting vnder seale this is a very good quietus est in Law it is proclaimed from heauen and therefore sufficient to comfort poore distressed sinners vpon earth The house built vpon a rocke was not moued when the stormes beate and the windes blew Christ is our sure rocke let vs builde our faith vpon him and we shall be safe Men cannot be more sinfull then God is mercifull if section 21 with penitent hearts they faithfully call vpon him If wee come to Christ the fountaine of all mercies there shall we finde God in his mediation great without quantitie and good without quality as an auncient speaketh When the wandring Sonne had consumed his fathers substance yet returning sorrowfull his father receiued him and though we sometime loose the nature of children yet God doth neuer loose the name and nature of a father To conclude the Diuell once ouercome giues a fresh assault againe he will neuer giue vs ouer till death end the battell and then he shall be foyled As it comes to passe amongst warriours if the one die in the field and fight the other getteth the vpper hand Here is the difference the faithfull at the last euer get a finall conquest then ascend to heauen as triumphers there the Diuell can assaile them no further he may compasse the earth but he cannot enter

the helmet of the hope of a better life to come must needs be vnwilling to leaue this present life especially if he haue any portion of comfort in the same needes must he feare to forsake it when hee heareth and seeth how roughly death dealeth with other men round about This maketh Physicke so seriously sought for though neuer so costly and Physitians more honoured of many then the God of heauen himselfe This causeth so many salt brine teares to trickle and distill from the eyes of worldly men being in danger to die which although they be reputed to come from a remorsed soule for sinne yet from many God knoweth they proceede from this fountaine namely that they are flitting from this world where if they might liue they are sure of something vnto another life where they are vncertaine of any good thing Such men are as a Ship without sayle or anchor tossed and tumbled with euery storme and tempest and alwayes in ieopardie of sincking or ship-wracke Therefore that we may be assured that we truely haue and enioy these precious iewels of a sauing faith and hope section 5 vnmoueable we must labour to approue or rather finde out the same by a Christian life and an vndefiled conscience For euen as pure and christall water commeth from a quicke fountaine and liuely spring incorrupted So doth a good conscience and holy life from an vnfained faith And as in digging of Wels we first finde out and discerne the streames of cleare water issuing from the liuely spring and in searching for mettals of gold siluer copper brasse or tinne wee first know wee haue found out the Mines thereof by the shining and glistering veynes in the earth appearing vnto vs So if wee will not misse but meete with a liuely faith and blamelesse hope we must first discerne them by the powerfull fruits of a sanctified life alwaies attended vpon by the hand-mayde of a pure and vndefiled conscience These be the remarkable streames of the true and liuing fountaine of a sauing faith and the vndeceiueable veines of these rich and wealthy Mynes of an inuincible hope to inrich our soules Loue out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and faith vnfained be linkes of one chaine beames of one Sunne streames of one riuer fruit of one tree twins of one womb c. To separate any of these is to make ship-wrack of the soule A good conscience watcheth ouer the soule Charitie is carefull to keepe Gods commandements and a pure heart loueth and imbraceth God aboue all and faith vnfained is neuer ashamed of professing Christ and his Gospell for section .6 any trouble By faith conceiued in the heart professed with the mouth and practised with the hand the righteous man liueth For as it is certaine there is no saluation without faith So there is no faith without repentāce no repentance without amendment of life nor any amendment without forsaking of sinne whence wee may conclude that no euill liuer hath any part in Christs death but the markes of Gods vengeance abiding on him and that he aduentureth his saluation that deferreth his repentance For what knowest thou whither tomorrow shall euer come Dally not therefore thus with God till the Diuell take thee in the lurch For as Christ came to saue vs from the damnation of sinne so also to free vs from the dominion of sinne and as he was sent to destroy the Diuell so likewise to ouerthrow the workes of the Diuell And most absurd it is for such as are the slaues of sinne to vaunt themselues for the seruants of God section 7 The praise of faith is to ouercome by fighting that the power of our Lord Iesus Christ may be made strong by our infirmitie He that hath a soule must needs breath and he that hath Gods spirit must needs bring forth the fruits thereof Faith I confesse is euer alone in iustifying but neuer alone in the person iustified euen as the eye alone seeth but the eye separate from the body doth not see at all but is a dead eye As Christ neuer raised vp himselfe without his humanitie yet not his humanitie but his diuinitie raised him vp Though faith doth worke by loue yet is it not inclosed in Faith as Papists say like a Diamond in a Ring neither yet is Faith as the shell and Charitie as the kernell but faith must haue this place which apprehendeth Christ who adorneth faith as the colour beautifieth the wall Faith is a certaine obscure knowledge or rather darknesse in it selfe which seeth nothing and yet Christ apprehended by faith sitteth in this darknesse as God in mount Sinai and in the temple Wherefore Christ apprehended and dwelling in the heart by Faith is the true Christian righteousnesse who giueth vs eternall life Christ is the Lord of our life in him we are by faith and he in vs. This Bridegroome must be alone with the Bride in his secret chamber all the seruants and family set apart but after when the doore is open then let them minister vnto them let Charitie doe her office and all good workes be busie When Faith is feeble Loue looseth her feruor but pray wee the Lord to increase our Faith and Loue forthwith will be on fire By Faith indeede we take hold of the righteousnesse of Christ by which alone we are reconciled vnto God but of this wee cannot take hold except withall we apprehend the sanctification of Gods spirit for he was giuen to vs for righteousnesse wisedome sanctification and redemption Therefore Christ iustifieth none whom he doth not also sanctifie Wherefore our indeuour and care must be for the sure approuing of our faith and hope to haue in readinesse a pure heart and vndefiled conscience which may be as vnreprouable witnesses before God and man that we haue had a sincere care to please our God not onely in outward action but inward affection labouring to the vtmost of our knowledge and power to put in practise all the holy duties of our callings towards God and man Thus if our heart condemne vs not we are sure to haue peace with God howsoeuer we are troubled in the world or afflicted in the flesh Now to clense our conscience and to haue it single and sincere is by the blood-shedding of Christ which section 8 hath satisfied for our sinnes whose death apprehended by a liuely faith doth purifie and purge the same Which conscience thus cleared shall now no more accuse but excuse vs before our God And albeit our former ignorance and infidelity hardnes of heart securitie with the innumerable euils both originall and actuall haue stained and defiled the same heretofore yet now our conscience being bathed in the blood of Christ and rinsed from the guilt of sinne and vncleannesse doth henceforward behold Gods anger turned into fauour his iustice into mercy c. Which sight so purifieth a Christian soule that neither death nor diuell can dant