A09950:565
The Breastplate of Faith and Love
The breast-plate of faith and love. A treatise, wherein the ground and exercise of faith and love, as they are set upon Christ their object, and as they are expressed in good works, is explained. / Delivered in 18 sermons upon three several texts, by the late faithful and worthy minister of Jesus Christ, John Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty, Master of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inn.The breast-plate of faith and love. A treatise, wherein the ground and exercise of faith and love, as they are set upon Christ their object, and as they are expressed in good workes, is explained. / Delivered in 18 sermons upon three severall texts, by the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, Dr. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Maiesty, Master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolnes Inne.
London: printed by W. Jones for Nicolas Bourne, 1630London: printed by W. Iones for Nicolas Bourne, 1630
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
1First, in comforting of our selves; for that is one use of Faith, thou shouldst set it awork to fill thy heart with joy, out of the assurance of the forgiveness of sin, and of the privileges which thou hast by CHRIST. When a man hath faith, and finds his heart no more affected then other mens, he finds no rejoicing there more then ordinary; Now set faith on work, learn to believe, and that throughly.
1First, in comforting of our selues; for that is one vse of Faith, thou shouldst set it aworke to fill thy heart with ioy, out of the assurance of the forgiuenesse of sinne, and of the priuiledges which thou hast by CHRIST. When a man hath faith, and finds his heart no more affected then other mens, he findes no reioycing there more then ordinary; Now set faith on work, learn to beleeue, and that throughly.
- 1In comforting our selvesIn comforting our selues
First set faith on work to believe, to trust perfectly, as the Apostle speaks, Gal. 3.1 In the grace revealed by Jesus Christ: trust perfectly; that is, thou shouldst believe the full forgiveness of thy sins, thou must not believe it by halves, so that there should be a distance, as it were, between GOD and thee, some ⟨p. 143⟩odd scores unacquitted, uncrossed; but thou shouldest believe so,2 that thy joy may be full, thou shouldest believe throughly, that thy sins are forgiven, that all are acquitted, thou must not limit God in his mercy at all, as thou shouldest not limit him in his power. Thus a man should set faith on work, that he may be able to say, My Beloved is mine, and I am his. I know there is a Match made between us. For unless you lay this ground, a man shall not rejoice. This is all, therefore now use thy faith. If Satan now come, and tell thee of some sins, and of some circumstances of those sins, and of some wants in thy repentance and humiliation, what serves faith for now? What serves all this for that you have learned here concerning the Doctrine of Faith, but to teach you that these should be no scruples, you should believe, and that perfectly? When this is done, that you see there is a Match, a Covenant made between GOD and you, now you must know, that all that Christ hath is yours; whatsoever he hath by Nature, you have it by Grace. If he be a Son, ye are sons; If he be an Heir, ye are heirs; and when ye have done this, then consider all the particulars of the wealth of a Christian, that all is yours, whether it be Paul or Apollos, or the world, &c. These things we have often spoken of, you should run through and consider of them: If a man will consider that he is a King, that the world is