A09950:740
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.
And therefore learn by this to know your selves, and to judge of your condition: It may be, when we confess our sins, we have not thought of this, that we love not Christ, or at the least, we have not considered what a sin it is, but you may know what a sin it is by the punishment of it: 1 Cor. 16.22. Let him be accursed that loves not the Lord Jesus. 1You may know the greatness of the sin by the greatness of the punishment; for the punishment is the measure of the sin, and (mark it) he doth not say, if you believe not in the Lord Jesus, or if you do nor obey him; but if you love not the Lord Jesus: ⟨p. 23⟩That is, if there be an omission but of this one thing, that you love not, let such a man be accursed, yea let him be had in execration to the death. Therefore consider this, how great a sin it is, not to love the Lord. And when you consider your sins, and make a catalogue of them, look on this, as that which discovers to us the vileness of our natures, as Paul saith of lust, I knew not that it was sin, but by the law: but when sin began to live, he died: So I may say of this, it may be men take not this into consideration, this sin, that they have not loved the Lord; and therefore learn to know it. When we consider this, that he is accursed who loves not Christ, it may open a crevice of light unto us, to see what condition we are in, how cursed our nature is, how heinous this sin is, when a man sees that there is a cursed man, a man whom the Lord sets himself against, a man whom the Lord is an enemy to, whom he puts all the strength and power he hath to confound, when he sees there is a man whom the Gospel curseth, which is more terrible than the Law, because the curse of the Law may be repealed, there is a remedy for that in the Gospel: But the Gospel, if that curse a man, there is no remedy: This should humble us; for the Gospel should humble us as well as the Law. And there are sins against the Gospel as well as against the Law, and whatsoever is sin should humble us, yea the sins against the Gospel are greater than the sins against the Law: And therefore in this sense the Gospel is ⟨p. 24⟩fitter to humble us. Now when a man comes to consider his sin, it may be possibly, he looks to sins especially against the moral Law; but you must learn to do more than that: