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	flesh_n	good_a	3,927	5	3.7063	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67397	The life of faith in two sermons to the university of Oxford, at St. Mary's Church there, on the 6th of January 1683/4 and June the 29th following / by John Wallis ...	Wallis, John, 1616-1703.	1684 (1684)	Wing W592; ESTC R18108	31,157	46

and outward Profession onely but it liveth and stirreth inwardly in the Heart This Faith doth not ly Dead in the Heart but is Lively and Fruitfull in bringing forth Good Works This true Faith will shew forth it self and cannot long be Idle For as it is written The Just man doth Live by his Faith Deceive not your selves therefore thinking that you have Faith in God When you live in Sin For then your Vngodly and Sinfull Life declareth the contrary whatsoever you Say or Think With much more to the same purpose Shewing the Necessity of Good Works to our Salvation though we be not Justified by them With many serious Exhortations to the Preacher of them And this is that safe way which I sayd our Church directs in this point To be Fruitfull in Good Works not as to be Justified by them But as the Necessary Fruits of that Faith by which we are Justified Thus have I considered the Words The Just shall live by Faith according to both these Emphases allready mentioned That on the word Just or Righteous as contradistinguished from the Wicked And that on the word Faith as contradistinguished from Works in the point of Justification But beside those Two already mentioned there is yet a Third Emphasis of which these words are capable And which I think is principally intended in this place By Life as is already shewed is meant Happyness as on the contrary by Death is meant Misery Now the Christians Life of Happiness is commonly distinguished into that of Grace and that of Glory That of Glory is to be expected hereafter and is the Completion of our Hapyness or as the Apostle calls it the End of our Hope even the Salvation of our Souls That of Grace is the Exercise of our Faith here Which the Text calls Living by Faith And S. Paul elsewhere The Life which I now live in the Flesh I live by the Faith of the Son of God And this I think though not Exclusive of the Life of Glory is that which is here principally and most emphatically intended when he saith The Just shall live by Faith And this I judge not barely from the Form of the Words themselves which stand equally fair for all those Emphases already mentioned but from the Scope of Content which lookes this way For such is the Richness of the Scripture language That comprehensive Words are improvable to different Purposes according as a different Accent or Emphasis may be putt upon them and all included within the general Scope of them Now if we look back to Vers. 19. and those that follow we find the Apostle Paul whom I take to be the Author of this Epistle and so doth our Church of England as appears by the Title which our Translators prefix to it Or whoever else were the Author of it of which we need not here be very solicitous After he had before cleared that Doctrine That the Legal Offerings and Sacrifices were but Types of that One Oblation of Christ And This the Accomplishment of what was Presignified in Them Makes this Vse or Inference from that Doctrine Having therefore Boldness to enter in the Holiest by the Bloud of Jesus By a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the Vail that is to say this Flesh Let us draw near with a true Heart and full assurance of Faith having our Hearts sprinkled from an evil Conscience and our Bodies washed with pure Water Where beside the Assurance of Faith he presseth allso for Holyness of Life both in Soul and Body And that both Singly and Jointly in Publike and Private As which we are not onely to Practise Our selves but to Promote as we have opportunity in others allso For so it follows And let us consider one another to Provoke to Love and Good Works Not forsaking the Assembling of our selves together as the manner of some is And having then intimated the Dangers which hereby they might incur as Reproches Afflictions Spoiling of Goods and the like of Themselves and their Friends being made a Gazing-stock themselves and Companions of those that were so used Enduring patiently the spoiling of their goods c. Not onely from the common practise of Wicked and Profane men who are ever prone to scoff at the Power of Godliness walking after their own Lusts having a Form of Godliness but Denying the Power of it But especially at a Time and Place wherein it was not countenanced by the Publike Authority the Government being the Heathen And that therefore they had need of Patience that after they had done the Will of God they might receive the Promise Their chief Reward not being in present Possession but in Expectance onely Yet should they not be Discouraged For yet a little while and he that shall come Will come and will not Tarry The Reward will certainly come in due Season 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at the appointed time and not be put off beyond that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it will not be Delayed too long or as in Habakkuk 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it will not come too late but at the End it shall speak and not Ly. And in the mean time The Just shall live by Faith But if any man draw-back my soul shall have no pleasure in him So that the Words are manifestly a Direction and Encouragement for the Exercise of our Faith while we are yet but in Expectation of the Promised Reward which is hereafter to be completed So to Live by Faith here that we be not Disappointed of our Hopes hereafter And the same he pursues in the following Chapter Giving us Great Examples of Living by Faith and the Advantages of so doing in Abel Enoch Noah Abraham Sarah Isaac Jacob Joseph Moses and a many more throughout the whole Eleventh Chapter And then Exhorts them in the beginning of the Twelfth Chapter That being compassed about with so great a Cloud of Witnesses they should themselves do as those before had done The great Doctrine of the Text therefore is this That it is our Duty and it is our Privilege to Live by Faith That is to Live in a constant Exercise of that Grace upon all occasions It is our Duty which we Ought to do And it is our Privilege that we May do it It is our Duty to Trust in God And it is our Privilege that we have a God to trust in Nor doth this Duty and Privilege concern these onely to whom this Epistle was particularly directed the Christian Hebrews But it looks Backward to the First Ages of the World and Wider than the Jewish Nation I say first It looks Backward to the first Ages of the World Nor onely before the Coming of Christ but even before the Establishment of the Jewish Church To Abel Enoch Noah before Abraham and then to Abrabraham Isaac Jacob Joseph before Moses All which are sayd to Live

by Faith And even by the same Faith to which he doth there exhort the Christian Hebrews It was the same Christ the same Gospel though not so clearly reveiled and the same Eternal Life which they expected though they were more in the dark as to the particulars and the distinct ways and methodes of bringing it to pass And as the first Threatening In the day that thou Eatest thereof thou shalt surely Dy extended to Spiritual and Eternal Death as well as the Natural For we are not to suppose that God Inflicts a greater Punishment than what he threatened So the Life there Promised by way of Insinuation and elsewhere Expressed He that doth them shall Live in them must be understood in a like sense not of Temporal Promises onely but of Spiritual and Eternal And the Apostle expounds it if the same Life or what is equivalent to be obtained by the first Covenant upon condition of Obedience and by the second Covenant by Faith in Christ. That no man is Justified by the Law in the sight of God is evident For the Just shall live by Faith And the Law is not of Faith but the Man that Doth them shall live in them The same Life or Blessedness though by different ways attainable And the Apostle here shews That it is the same Faith by which We beleeve to the saving of our Souls and by which the Elders obtained a good Report And by Faith Abraham with Isaac and Jacob Heirs with him of the same promise Sojourned in the Promised Land as in a strange Countrey of which though promised to them they had no other Enjoyment than mere Strangers For he looked for a City who 's Builder and Maker was God another kind of City than those on Earth All these Died in Faith not having Received the Promises which were therefore such as were to be enjoyed after Death but seeing them afar off and were perswaded of them and Embraced them and confessed that they were Strangers and Pilgrims upon Earth this being not the Countrey they sought for For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a Countrey such a Countrey as yet they had not And truly if they had been mindful of such a Countrey as that from whence they came they might have had opportunity to have returned But now 't is manifest they desire a Better Countrey that is an Heavenly Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called Their God the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob For he hath prepared a City for them By all which the Apostle doth not only Declare that they expected an Heavenly Happiness but Argues strongly That it must needs be so And by Faith Moses he tells us Esteemed the Reproches of Christ greater Riches than the Treasures of Egypt For he had respect to the Recompense of Reward as Seeing him that is Invisible Others were Tortured not accepting Deliverance that they might obtain a better Resurrection Others had Tryal of or did undergo 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 expertisunt Cruel Mockings of Bonds and Imprisonment Were Stoned were Sawn asunder were Slayn with the Sword c. And all these having obtained a good Report through Faith 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 received not the Promise their Faith was exercised on better Promises than of what they here received God having provided for them Better things that they without us should not be perfect the Promises to them and those to us being the same Again As this Duty and Privilege of Living by Faith extended Backwards to the times before Christ So it extends Wider than the Nation of the Jews A Blessing which the Gentiles are particularly concerned in and which we this day celebrate The Epiphany or the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles For the Blessing of Abraham is come upon the Gentiles also through Jesus Christ that We might receive the promise of the Spirit through Faith And the Scripture foreseeing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that God would Justify the Heathen through Faith preached before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 did before hand preach the Gospell to Abraham saying In thee that all Nations be blessed So then they which are of Faith the same are the Children of Abraham They which be of Faith are Blessed with faithfull Abraham And are therefore of the number of those as there it follows who shall Live by Faith Now if it be asked What it is thus to Live by Faith It is too large a Task for one Sermon to give a full account of it For allmost the whole Bible and the Practise of the Saints in all Ages are but a Comment on it I shall therefore content my self to give a short account of some of the chief Heads thereof To Live by Faith therefore is First to Beleeve the Word of God to give Credit to the Truthes of God or things by him declared how unlikely soever they may seem to be and however different from the common Sentiments of Natural men or what the Light of Nature alone could teach us For though there be nothing in Divine Truths Contrary to what the Light of Nature truly understood may teach us Yet there may be some things much above it which without Revelation cannot be known Thus By Faith we Beleeve That the Worlds were made by the Word of God that things that are now seen were made not of things that do appear That is that the now visible World was not made up of such things as we now see or that there was no praeexisting Matter such as we now see of which it was made but was indeed made of Nothing Which however contrary to the sentiments of Philosophers Ex nihilo nihil in nihilum nil posse reverti That nothing can be made out of Nothing Yet when God hath told us that it is so we are to give full credit to it There is indeed nothing from the Light of Nature Contrary hereunto why we should Disbeleeve it when it is Reveiled But yet we are sayd to know it by Faith because it is Above what Nature alone could have taught For when we see this glorious Fabrick of the World we might well admire it but could never know whence it was if God had not told us For though Naturalists have with a great deal of Reason talked of a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Causa prima a Common Maker or First Cause which should give Original to all things else Yet this was but either from some faint Remains of an ancient Tradition from Adam and Noah downward to after Ages Or atmost be Conjectural and Groping in the dark and Guessing at this as a more likely Supposition than That it had Allways been or should take its beginning from a Fortuitous Concurse of Atomes Which yet the Wits of this Age as they would be thought or the Fools rather would now cry-up as