Selected quad for the lemma: soul_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
soul_n	body_n	earth_n	life_n	8,616	5	4.6117	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A97232	Chonoyterion he Sion. The refinement of Zion: or, The old orthodox Protestant doctrine justified, and defended against several exceptions of the Antinomians, methodically digested into questions, wherein many weighty and important cases of conscience are handled, concerning the nature of faith and repentance, or conversion to God: of his eternal love, and beholding of sin in his dearest children: of justification from eternity, of of [sic] preparations to the acceptance of Christ, of prayer for pardon of sin, and turning to God: of the gospel covenant, aud [sic] tenders of salvation, on the termes of faith and repentance. For the establishment of the scrupulous, conviction of the erroneous, and consolation of distressed consciences. By Anthony Warton, minister of the word at Breamore in Hampshire.	Warton, Anthony.	1657 (1657)	Wing W987; Thomason E914_2; ESTC R207476	171,315	250

Scripture alleadged by him do prove and we do constantly professe and preach the same but by that which he hath written in other places of this Treatise I know that he hath another meaning and that is that Christ performed the conditions of the Covenant of grace or of the Gospel for us that is as he speaketh that he repented for us and believed for us and that his Faith and Repentance are in the Gospel offered unto us and are accepted of God for us as if we our selves did repent and believe This strange opinion of his I have examined Quest 13. Whither I do referr you for more ample satisfaction in this matter Sixthly It 's no more saith Mr. S. to offer Jesus Christ then any grace of Christs or gift of Christ unto a sinner For a sinner is as unprepared and unfit for the one as the other equally in sin and pollution to both All this is true I grant if he do speak of a sinner as he is by nature and of himself But what can be inferred or concluded hence against the Protestant Doctrine that hath been hitherto constantly taught I cannot see nor perceive but may rather wrest his weapons out of his hands and use them against himself For if it be all one or as he saith if it be no more to offer Christ then any grace of Christ or gift of Christ unto a sinner then seeing the grace and gift of remission of sins or of justification is received by Faith as both St. Peter teacheth Acts 10.43 and St. Paul Acts 26.18 Christ himself also is to be received of us by Faith and as our sins are not forgiven but we are bound over unto punishment for them in Gods word until we believe in Christ so neither can any have any interest in Christ as long as we remain in infidelity and incredulity do not believe in him contrary to Mr. S. Mr. D. new doctrine Thus I have answered this Objection also according to the generality of the words wherein it was propounded But thinking more intentively with my self what M. S. his meaning might be I guessed that his words must be taken Restricte in a more restrained sense as if he should reason thus The graces of Faith and Repentance are freely and absolutely offered in the Gospel without requiring any antecedent act of Faith or Repentance whereby they are to be received and made ours therefore Christ is also as absolutely offered without any condition either of Faith or Repentance Now hereunto I do answer that all are in the Gospel commanded to believe in Christ and to repent that they may be saved by him but Faith and Repentance were never offered to all neither by Christ himself nor by his Apostles when they preached the Gospel nor are the Ministers of the Gospel now so to offer them It 's true Christ giveth Faith and Repentance to his spiritual Israel This we are to teach Acts 5.31 that men may be stirred up to seek both Faith and Repentance of Christ in the use of such means as he hath prescribed But it is one thing to teach this and another to offer Faith and Repentance to all absolutely It is Christ and his merits that are offered unto us in the Gospel but Faith is required of us as the means whereby both himself and his merits are received and Repentance and new Obedience is in joyned as a necessary condition without which we can have no communion with Christ as I shall have occasion to shew hereafter But if I shall grant that Faith and Repentance are offered unto us in the Gospel yet I may retort the Argument of Mr. S. upon himself for Faith and consequently Repentance are not offered unto us nor wrought in us nisi mediante verbo but by the means and ministery of the word For Faith cometh by hearing Rom. 10.17 and hearing by the word of God therefore Christ is neither absolutely offered nor absolutely made ours sed mediante eodem verbo et fide but by means of the same word and Faith whereby we receive him Lastly I do argue thus eternal life is not to be had without Faith in Christ This St. John giveth us to understand when he saith John 20.31 These things are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and that believing ye might have life through his name Seeing therefore as Mr. S. saith we are alike indisposed to any gift of Christ as we are to Christ himself it followeth therefore necessarily that seeing the gift of life is not ours without Faith neither is Christ himself ours without Faith which if it be granted it cannot be avoided but must needs be acknowledged that he is made ours by Faith And this the Apostle expresly avoucheth Eph. 2.12 Ye were at that time without Christ that is whilest they were Infidels and unbelievers Lastly This spiritual work saith Mr. S. is a new Creation and so works of preparation are not so proper in that Eph. 2.10 We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus Answer That our regeneration is a new Creation we do all acknowledge but that every work of Creation doth exclude all precedent preparations will not so easily be granted For Beasts Birds and Fishes were not made immediatly of nothing but of a precedent matter And God created man also not immediatly of nothing but his Body was first prepared and created of the dust of the earth and when that was perfectly formed he breathed the breath of life into his nostrils that is he infused his Soul into his Body Gen. 2. and so he was made a living Soul The same course also doth the Lord ordinarily take in our regeneration which is a new Creation For that there are certain preparations such as are the hearing of the word some knowledge of sin and of a mans own misery by sin and of the grace of God in Christ ordinarily thereunto precedent in adultis in those that are of capacity and understanding shall be shewed afterwards God willing in the seventh Question It doth not appear therefore neither by this nor by any former Reasons of Mr. S. that Christ is ours before we do believe in him or that he is not made ours by Faith Objection Whereas therefore he saith immediatly before the first of those aforesaid seven Reasons of his that we are not to consider neither Faith nor Repentance as bringing-in Christ in the Soul but Christ bringing-in them and working them more and more in the soul Unto this I answer Answer that Christ by bringing-in as he speaketh that is by working Faith and Repentance in the Soul doth bring-in himself into it and taketh and keepeth possession of it and so we are interested in Christ For until Christ worketh these graces in us by his Spirit we are altogether aliens from him and have no communion with him at all It is no good reasoning to say Christ worketh Faith in

have no assurance nor no hope therefore of the forgivenesse of our sins if we fall away from the faith revolt to sin or leave off praying Again a garment is given but once for all but our sins were first forgiven ab aeterno from all eternity in Gods predestination Secondly upon our repentance and faith in Christ they are forgiven in verbo Evangelii in Gods word in his word of the Gospel And lastly at Christs coming we must all appear before his judgment seat to be judged openly before all the world that the equity of his Justice may appear and be made manifest unto all to the glory of God the comfort of his Saints the confusion of all the wicked Untill therfore we shall personally appeare before Christ be absolutely absolved by him we have need still to pray for the pardon of our sins Quest 10. Whether it be hainous and hatefull impiety for the Churches and Children of God to fast and pray that God would turn away his anger and indignation from them when they lye under his judgments or at other times when their consciences are terrified and troubled with their sins And whether God may be said to be pacified and appeased by our fasting and prayers or by any such things SECT I. It is lawfull for us to pray that God would turn away his anger from us And how this is to be understood Mr. D. sharply reproveth the practice of this saying How often have we thought God like unto our selves Recon of God to man page 36. How many times have we imagined an angry God a wrathfull Maiesty And thought to appease his indignation by fasting by praying by almes by teares and such like things O foolish man if his wrath should not be before appeased what Creatures could stand in his sight Because of this he chargeth us to have set up an Idol in our hearts throughout the Land But I would know of him whether it be not safe for Christians both to speak and pray in the language of the holy Scriptures Sure I am David prayeth thus Psal 6.1 O Lord rebuke me not in thine anger neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure And Psal 79.5 he speaketh and saith How long Lord wilt thou be angry for ever shall thy jealously burne like fire And then he prayeth Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee and upon the kingdomes that have not called upon thy name In Psal 85.3 He also speaketh unto God and saith Thou hast taken away all thy wrath thou hast turned thy self from the fiercenesse of thine anger And then he prayeth and saith Turn us O God of our salvation and cause thine anger towards us to cease Wilt thou be angry with us for ever Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations After the like manner doth David speak of Gods anger in divers other Psalmes Moses also told the Israelites that the Lord was angry and wroth with him for their sakes But Deut. 1.2 7 3 26 4 21. not to alledge any more the like sayings whereof we meet with many in the holy Scripture doth not the King of Ninive both speak and practise that for the averting of Gods heavy judgment from himself and his people which Mr. D. greatly condemneth in us Joh. 3.8 9. the people of this Land For he proclaimed a fast and commanded his people to cry mightily unto God and to turn every one from his evil way and from the violence that was in in his hands Saying who can tell if God w ll turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger that we perish not What shall we say the King of Nineve did evill in speaking thus No for this is related here in the prophet not by way of reproof but of Commendation and for our imitation We are not therefore to find fault with any for fasting and praying that God would turn away his wrath from them and from the whole Land at such times as this is for so we should hinder the peoples repentance and make them profane But that they may not conceive amisse of Gods anger we are to teach them that anger is in God non per modum affectus sed effectus that is to say that by the anger of God we are to understand not any such turbulent passion or affection as is in us when we are angry For then God should not be immutable and unchangable For such passions do work a great change and alteration Mal. 36. Jam. 17. both in the body and in the mind and soul of man Again if God should be moved and disturbed as we are when we are angry then he should not be perfectly blessed because he would for that time or at that present want inward quietnesse and contentment of mind By the anger of God therefore we are to understand such effects of Gods justice or such actions as anger produceth in us Now these are reduced by Zanchius and after him by Polanus unto these three heads First all men when they are angry do decree and resolve with themselves to be revenged on those that wrong them and punish them And secondly do threaten them in words And lastly do indeed performe that which they have threatned So by Gods anger are meant these three things first his most just will and decree to visit and punish sinners temporally and eternally Rom. 1.18 Thus St. Paul saith The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodlinesse that is saith Zanchius by effects it is manifest what the will of God that dwelleth in heaven is against all iniquity Secondly by Gods anger is also meant his terrifying and threatening of sinners denouncing of judgments against them whether it be by his word or by portentuous or prodigious signes and tokens In this sense doth the King of Nineve speake when he saith Who knoweth if God will turn repent turn a way from his fierce anger that is ab executione suarum Comminationum saith Zanchius from executing of that fearfull destruction on them which by his prophet he had denounced and threatened Lastly by Gods anger are meant also the judgments and punishments themselves which he inflicteth on sinners in which sense the Apostle speaketh when he saith Thou treasurest up for thy self wrath against the day of wrath id est saith Zanchius poenas in illud tempus quote Deus puniet that is punishments against that time in which God will punish thee And in the same sense and signification is the anger or wrath of God to be understood Math. 3.7 Eph. 5.6 Luke 21.23 as Zanchius sheweth To lay down this matter yet more fully By Gods anger we are somtimes to understand the severity of his justice upon obstinate sinners whom he punisheth without shewing them any mercy Thus David speaketh of Gods anger when he saith O Lord rebuke me not in thy hot displeasure that is according to the rigour

profession of faith in him as the true believers did Now they tell us that the Apostle speaketh of these counterfeit and not of true believers when he saith for this cause many are sick and weak among you and many sleep for say they could such impious and wicked Beasts be the members of Christ who came drunk to the Lords Table Answ I answer It is not impossible that a Child of God drinking Wine liberally with others at their love feasts might as well be overtaken with drunkenness as Noah was whom St. Peter calleth a righteous man But suppose that they were all wicked hypocrites that thus prophaned the holy Sacrament of Christs body and blood 2 Pet. 2. yet seeing the Church and people of God at Corinth tolerated them in their Communion and did not censure them for this foul fault therefore Gods judgement might break in among them all by an epidemical disease and take away some if not many of the better sort as well as all the Israelites fled before their enemies and divers of them were slain for the sin of A chan Josh 7. And that this was the case of the Corinthians whom God visited some of them with death and others with sickness and weakness the words immediately following in the Apostle do manifest when he saith for if we would judge our selves we should not be judged But when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the World T●ese words do evince that St. Paul speaketh in this place of true belee●ers and not onely of counterfeit hypocrites First This i● evident from his scope in uttering these words which was to comfort not onely those which were living and yet lying under Gods judgements but others also for the death of their dear friends who were thus taken away for prophaning the holy Sacrament of Christs blessed body and blood The former of these might think thus with themselves seeing this our sickness and weakness is a judgement of God upon us what hope can we have in him And the latter might say seeing God hath taken away our friends in judgement alas what is become of their souls The Apostle to comfort them against such sad thoughts as these telleth them that this was indeed a judgement upon them but a judgement onely of castigation for their reformation that so they might escape the judgement of eternal condemnation in the world to come Again St. Paul includeth himself in the number of those that are thus judged For he saith not that those men onely that came irreverently to the Lords Table were judged but when we are judged speaking of himself and all believers we are chastened of the Lord. Rom. 8.1 Thirdly He informeth us how happy the end and issue of this judgement of castigation is to all Gods children It becommeth a meanes God sanctifying it unto them for this end to free them from condemnation which is the portion and proper and peculiar priviledge of the godly and not common to them with the wicked 4. lastly Therefore he opposeth the persons that are thus judged unto the world It is not possible therefore that St. Paul should speak only of wicked hypocrites when he saith For this cause many are sick and weak among you and many sleep For such wicked ones belong unto the World and are no true members of Christ nor of his Church which consisteth of Saints that are gathered out of the World 3. lastly I would know of these men whether a Father doth not correct his children and a Schoolmaster his Scholars for their faults To deny this is to contradict all men and the truth it self For a Child when he groweth wanton and stubborn against his Father and a Scholar when he playeth the trevant and neglecteth his book do both of them deserve the Rod of correction Their faults which they have committed are causa meritoria the meriting cause of their correction though the final cause or the end of such correction is their reformation And even so also by a like reason do Gods children when they forget their duties and wax wanton against their heavenly Father deserve to be corrected by him for their amendment Object But here it may be said God correcteth his children in love for their good Answ Now what Can they by their sins be said to deserve good and not rather evil For answer hereunto I say that although the afflictions of Gods children are good unto them in their end and issue whereunto they are sanctified and directed by God In which regard Gods Children do say with David Heb. 12.11 It is good for me that I have been afflicted for before I was afflicted I went astray but now do I keep thy Law Psal 119. Notwithstanding as the Apostle saith and as we feel in our own experience our afflictions in themselves are grievous and bitter to the flesh And therefore as it is said of him that cannot rule his appetite that he deserveth to fall into the hands of the Physitian who by bitter Pills or potions purgeth away the ill-humors which his delicious Cups and sweet morsels bred in his body So when Gods children do satisfie their carnal lusts and surfet upon sin they deserve the bitter pills of affliction which when the heavenly Physitian of their souls shall administer unto them they have cause with Job not only to be patient and contented but thankfully to submit themselves unto his corrections and to say Job 2.10 Shall we receive good at the hand of God and not receive evil Ye see then that the afflictions of Gods Children are evil in themselves though good in their end The force of this reason Object our adversaries do think to avoid by saying that a Father is indeed angry with his children when they offend him and correcteth them for their faults But so doth not God to his children for he is never angry with any of them because Christ hath born all their sins and pacified his Fathers wrath for ever This Objection I shall not need here to answer Answ for I have removed it in the former Question where I shewed that Christ hath freed us from Gods revenging wrath which would have overwhelmed us in perdition and destruction everlasting but not from his paternal indignation which tendeth to the furtherance of our sanctification and salvation And therefore it would not be for our good but to our hurt if he should not thus cause us to feel his anger when we forget our selves and go a stray from him I would know also wherefore God calleth himself our Father and us his children but because he dealeth with us as a Father doth with his children as in other respects so particularly in nurturing us for our sins when we offend him by them as the Apostle expresly sheweth Heb. 12.5 6 7 8. This that I have said cannot but be of singular use unto the children of God when they

pertinent to the edification of the hearers To leave this therefore it remaineth now in the last place to be discussed whether of these two wayes maketh more for the comfort of mens souls and consciences Whereunto thus I answer That is solid and true comfort which is grounded on Gods infallible word and not on mens fancies that are deceiptful But such is the comfort which the old and Orthodox Protestant Doctrine affords the hearers thereof and not the Doctrine of our Novelists For we teach as the Gospel doth that though men have been never so great sinners in times past yet that all those sins of theirs are forgiven by God and blotted out when they do repent and believe in Christ We exhort therefore all that do thus repent and believe to be of a good comfort and not to be terrified with any fear but to rest assured that they shall undoubtedly be saved through the mercy of God in Jesus Christ Thus do we comfort true believers with the unfallible and unfailable promises of Gods word which are the only safe and sure ground of comfort Object But I know that our adversaries in this controversie will here be ready to say that they do so also For although they do teach and tell their hearers that they were reconciled unto God and justified freely by his grace before they did believe and therefore without faith as we have heard Mr. D. speak Yet they say that they can have no assurance hereof until they believe Thus they teach men to believe not that they may be justified but that they may be assured of their justification and salvation by believing Now I do willingly acknowledge that true faith Answ when it is wrought in a mans heart by Gods word and spirit is an undoubted testimony of his salvation For as St. John saith He that believeth hath the witness that is 1 Joh. 5.10 of his adoption and consequently of his salvation in himself But the faith which these men do teach is nothing else but a fancy For they will have wicked men D. his Conf. p. 20. 21. even when they do continue in their sins to believe that these sins of theirs are pardoned and tell them that by believing this they are assured of their justification before God and of salvation Now this is not true faith but detestable and most damnable presumption For faith is to believe the promi es of God and to rely upon them Psal 119.41 42. as on its foundation Now I would know whether God have any where made any promise of forgiveness to men while they continue in their sins surely no but on the contrary he threatneth them by his Prophet David and saith That he will wound the hairy scalpe of such as go on forward in their wickedness Psal 68.21 And our Saviour himself told his hearers That except they did repent they should all perish It is not possible therefore for any to believe truly Luc. 13.3 I mean that their sins are pardoned until they do repent Or if even then while they continue in sin they will needs perswade themselves as many do that their sins are pardoned and forgiven through Gods mercy and Christs merits this is nothing else but presumption Those therefore that preach thus instead of comforting their hearers as they perswade them and make them to believe do nothing else but delude and deceive them For true justifying faith is not for a sinner whilst he continueth in his sins to believe that they are pardoned which is false but to rely upon Christ for the pardon of them according to the promises of his Gospel and not according to his own fancy and fond imagination as Libertines and carnal Gospellers do That this is that faith whereby we obtain pardon of our sins and are justified before Gods tribunal St. Paul maketh manifest and plain when he saith All have sinned and come short of the glory of God Rom. 3.23 24 25. being justified freely by his grace through the Redemption that is in Jesus Christ whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation by faith in his blood It is not then our believing that our sins are pardoned whereby we are justified but it is our faith in Christs blood that is our relying on the merits of his death and passion whereby we obtain the pardon of them even as many did in like manner by faith in Christ obtain the health of their bodies from our Saviour when they were miraculously cured by him Mah. 8.13 For when our Saviour required faith of them saying Mar. 9.23 be it unto thee according to thy faith Or if thou can●t believe all things are possible to him that believeth what is meant here by faith or what were they to believe That they were already made whole by Christ No for that was false but that Christ was of that power that he could and so gracious and good that he would heal them and hereupon to rely and put their trust and confidence in him that he would cure them This was their faith whereby they obtained the health of their bodies from Christ as is yet further to be seen in the Canaanitish Woman Mat. 9.21 For she said in her self that is in her heart she believed and was perswaded If I may but touch the hem of his Garment I shall be whole not I am already but I shall be whole That this was the faith whereby she obtained the health of her body our Saviours words to her do assure us For he turned him to her and said Daughter be of good comfort thy faith hath made thee whole E●en so in like manner did we when we were dead in our sins obtain the spiritual health of our souls not by believing that our sins were pardoned but by perswading our selves that God of his rich mercy would pardon them according to the gracious promises which he hath made unto us in his Gospel and by relying upon him for the pardon of them For as Christ required faith of them for the obtaining of their bodily health so also doth he of us for the spiritual health of our souls As they therefore were cured of their corporal maladies by relying on Christ according to his word so shall we be saved eternally by relying on Christ according to the promises of his Gospel SECT IV. Two Objections answered AGainst this that I have said I finde two Objections raised which I do think good to remove that they may not lie as stumbling blocks in the way of any well-minded people to indanger them upon error First Some do reason thus If a man cannot believe that his sins are pardoned until he do repent then Repentance shall go before faith which they hold as an absurdity for whatsoever is not of faith is sin Rom. 14.23 saith St. Paul And again He telleth us That without faith Heb. 11.6 it is impossible to please God But hereunto I answer That