A26921:936
Richard Baxter's dying thoughts upon Phil. I, 23 written for his own life and…
Richard Baxter's dying thoughts upon Phil. I, 23 written for his own life and the latter times of his corporal pains and weakness.
London: printed by Tho. Snowden for B. Simmons, 1683
Title page typeset from the transcription.
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.
Not justified perfectly till the time of Perfection: Much punishment on Soul and Body, is yet to be taken off: And more sins daily to be pardoned; and we before the World to be sentenced as just to life everlasting.
III. The justified have Peace with God. They are reconciled, and in a state of love and friendship. It signifieth mutual Peace; but with great inequality: God's Love and favour to us is the stable, constant part: Our consent also and acceptance of his terms of Peace is constant in its truth: But our sense of God's Love, which is the Peace possessed by the Soul, is weak and unconstant, and too oft quite lost or obscured by ignorance, mistake, and f••r: But it must be known that this is a diseased state, ⟨p. 360⟩unnatural to the Believer as such; as it's unnatural for a Woman married to a faithful Husband to lie in terror, thinking that he will kill her, or doth not love her, or for a Child to think the same of a loving Father. Faith of its own nature tendeth to the Souls Peace and Joy, in the sense of God's love. And how is Christ offered to us but as a Saviour to bring us by Grace to Glory? And he that accepteth him as such (whereby he is justified) doth sure believe that he is offered as such: For none can accept what he thinks not to be offered: And this implieth some hope at least, that Christ will be such to us: And did Faith work strongly and kindly, its effect would be a constant joyful state of Soul, as pleasant Health and Mirth is to our Natures. All our distrustful fears, and griefs, and disquietments of Soul, are for want of more Faith, as Sickness, and Pain is for want of the Vital causes of Health.
III. The justified have Peace with God. They are reconciled, and in a state of love and friendship. It signifieth mutual Peace; but with great inequality: God's Love and favour to us is the stable, constant part: Our consent also and acceptance of his terms of Peace is constant in its truth: But our sense of God's Love, which is the Peace possessed by the Soul, is weak and unconstant, and too oft quite lost or obscured by ignorance, mistake, and fr: But it must be known that this is a discased state,