A09965:593
Four godly and learned treatises Entitled, I. A remedy against covetousness. II. An elegant…Foure godly and learned treatises Intituled, I. A remedy against covetousnesse. II. An elegant…
Four godly and learned treatises Entitled, I. A remedy against covetousness. II. An elegant and lively description of spiritual death and life. III. The doctrine of self-denial. IV. Upon the sacrament of the Lords Supper. Delivered in sundry sermons, by that late famous preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, John Preston, Doctor of Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty; master of Emanuel College, and sometime preacher of Lincolns Inn.Foure godly and learned treatises Intituled, I. A remedy against covetousnesse. II. An elegant and lively description of spirituall death and life. III. The doctrine of selfe-deniall. IV. Vpon the sacrament of the Lords Supper. Delivered in sundry sermons, by that late famous preacher, and worthy instrument of Gods glory, Iohn Preston, Doctor of Divinitie, chaplaine in ordinarie to his Majestie; master of Emanuel Colledge, and sometime preacher of Lincolnes Inne.
London: printed by Thomas for Michael Sparke, 1633
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.
1I answer: that certainly there is a mighty power that goes out from God and Christ, that enables thee to believe with efficacy; so that when the object is set before thee, there goes out a power from Christ to work faith in thy heart, whereby thou truly believest it, and so it appears in thy life: We think we believe those things, but our lives do manifest the contrary; ⟨p. 303⟩namely, That there is not a powerful faith wrought in us; for all the errors of our lives (though we observe them not) arise from hence, that these Principles are not throughly believed: if they were, it could not be, that there should be such inconsequences in the lives of men. Therefore consider if this faith be wrought in thee, whether such a power hath gone out, to work such a faith, that hath changed thy whole course, as it will do, if it be once wrought in thee, by the power of Christ: So also consider, whether there hath a virtue gone out from him to work love in thy heart to the Lord; for otherwise it is certain that there is no man in the world that is able to love God, or to come near him, for all love riseth from Similitude, there must be an agreement and similitude between those two that love. Now every man by nature is as contrary to Gods pure nature, as fire is to water, & without an almighty power to change his nature, and to work a particular affection of love in him, he can never be able to love God: therefore its the baptism of the holy Ghost; which works this,2 He will baptize you with the holy Ghost and with fire, that is, with the holy Ghost which is fire: I will multiply thy sorrows and thy conceptions, That is,3 the sorrows of thy conceptions. Now love is as fire in the heart, and one fire must beget another; And therefore you have it in the common proverb, Love is a thing that cannot be bought with ⟨p. 304⟩mountains of gold and silver; yet if thou be in Christ, there goes out a virtue from him, that stamps upon thy heart this holy affection, that breeds in thee this holy fire of love, so that thy heart cleaves to him, thou lovest him with as true, with as genuine, as natural, and as sensible love, as thou lovest any friend; as thou lovest any creature in the world. Consider if this be wrought in thee or no. And so for thy knowledge;