A09977:80
Life eternalLife eternall
Life eternal or, A treatise of the knowledge of the divine essence and attributes Delivered in XVIII. sermons. By the late faithful and worthy minister of Jesus Christ, John Preston, D. in Divinity, chaplain in ordinary to his Majesty, master of Emmanuel College in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inn.Life eternall or, A treatise of the knowledge of the divine essence and attributes Delivered in XVIII. sermons. By the late faithfull and worthy minister of Iesus Christ, Iohn Preston, D. in Divinity, chaplaine in ordinary to his Majestie, master of Emmanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and sometimes preacher of Lincolns Inne.
London: printed by Richard, 1631
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.
The next thing that I should come to,1 is to show you how this is made evident by faith. When a man hath some rude thoughts of a thing, and hath some reason for it, he then begins to have some persuasion of it; but when, besides, a man wise and true, shall come, and tell him it is so, this adds much strength to his confidence: for when you come to discern this God-head, and to know ⟨p. 20⟩it by reasons from the creatures, this may give you some persuasion; but when one shall come, and tell you out of the Scripture, made by a wise and true God, that it is so indeed; this makes you confirmed in it. Therefore the strength of the argument by faith, you may gather after this manner: Ye believe the Scriptures to be true, and that they are the Word of God; now this is contained in the Scriptures, that God made Heaven and Earth; therefore, believing the Scriptures to be the Word of God, and whatsoever is contained in them; hence faith lays hold upon it also, and so our consent grows strong and firm, that there is a God: After this manner you come to conclude it by faith. For what is faith? Faith is, but when a thing is propounded to you, even as an object set before the eye, there is an habit of faith within, that sees it what it is; for faith is nothing else, but a seeing of that which is: for though a thing is not true, because I believe it is so, yet things first are, and then I believe them. Faith doth not believe things imaginary, and such as have no ground; but whatsoever faith believes, it hath a being, and the things we believe, do lye before the eye of reason, sanctified and elevated by the eye of faith; therefore Moses, when he goes about to set down the Scripture, he doth not prove things by reason, but propounds them, as, In the beginning GOD made the Heaven and Earth; he propounds the object, and leaves it to the eye of faith to look upon. For the nature of faith is this: God hath given to man ⟨p. 21⟩an understanding faculty, (which we call, Reason) the object of this is all the truths that are delivered in the world, & whatsoever hath a being. Now take all things that we are said to believe, and they also are things that are, and which are the true objects of the understanding and reason. But the understanding hath objects of two sorts: