A30243:1910
Spiritual refining
Spiritual refining: or A treatise of grace and assurance Wherein are handled, the doctrine of assurance. The use of signs in self-examination. How true graces may be distinguished from counterfeit. Several true signs of grace, and many false ones. The nature of grace under divers Scripture notions or titles, as regeneration, the new-creature, the heart of flesh, vocation, sanctification, &c. Many chief questions (occasionally) controverted between the orthodox and the Arminians. As also many cases of conscience. Tending to comfort and confirm saints. Undeceive and convert sinners. Being CXX sermons preached and now published by Anthony Burgess sometime fellow of Emanuel College in Cambridge, and now pastor of the church of Sutton-Coldfield in Warwickshire.Spiritual refining: or A treatise of grace and assurance Wherein are handled, the doctrine of assurance. The use of signs in self-examination. How true graces may be distinguished from counterfeit. Several true signs of grace, and many false ones. The nature of grace under divers Scripture notions or titles, as regeneration, the new-creature, the heart of flesh, vocation, sanctification, &c. Many chief questions (occasionally) controverted between the orthodox and the Arminians. As also many cases of conscience. Tending to comfort and confirm saints. Undeceive and convert sinners. Being CXX sermons preached and now published by Anthony Burgess sometime fellow of Emanuel Colledge in Cambridge, and now pastor of the church of Sutton-Coldfield in Warwickshire.
London: printed by A. Miller for Thomas Underhill, 1652
Title page typeset from the transcription.
A TREATISE OF GRACE and ASSURANCE; Being CXX. SERMONS. › Section 9 › Sermon 74
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 if you say, How can these be for conversion, when sometimes they fall upon those that are converted, such as are made Gods children already?1
- 1Quest.
To Answer this, you must remember what was said heretofore, that even those who are converted, do yet need daily to draw nigher and nigher to God; 1they are to be converted daily from those frequent corruptions, which estrange them from God; and thus when Gods own people have their afflictions, they are to consider, Is not this to turn me nearer to God? is there not such pride, such dullness and coldness in the service of God, that I am to be turned from? Well, its clear, to Gods own children, they are thus medicinal; but by the Texts forementioned, and in several other places, its also evident, that even to those who are sinners, and remain in an unconverted estate, God reacheth out his gracious offer in their troubles: That as it is said of several Psalms, which more principally contain the subjects of affliction, A Psalm to give understanding; so shouldst thou write, as it were, upon every trouble, upon every affliction, An affliction to give understanding. Do not Physicians command men distracted, and out of their wits, to be kept in dark dungeons, to be bound in straight chains and fetters, to have hard and miserable fare, that so by all this hardship, they may come to their understandings again? thus God doth, Men by their sins are turned mad, they are grown out of their right reason; they indeed think strictness and preciseness is the way to make men out of their wits; but thy lusts and thy wickedness, deprive thee of all sound judgement; now God, that he may recover thee, binds thee in chains, afflicts thee with several judgements, that so at last thou mayest seriously consider of thy self, and thy condition: so that there was never any trouble befell thee, but thou shouldst make as good use of it, as ever thou didst of the best sermon thou hast heard. ⟨p. 449⟩