A30243:251
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 1 › Sermon 10
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.
A third Doubt, Are not evidences of Grace by signs useless, seeing the Spirit of God doth immediately work in our hearts a strong Assurance of faith? and having 1this Assurance, what need we any other? If we have the Sun, what need is there of a candle? Hence some have reduced the whole Doctrine of evidences to two heads; 1. The revealing evidence, and that they make an immediate Revelation made by Gods Spirit to the soul. Even as when the Sun-beams are immediately darted into a dark room. And the second is a receiving evidence, and that they make faith, and you know it hath formerly been generally received, That Faith is a full persuasion of Gods love to a mans self in particular; which if so, the whole business of evidence seemeth to be accomplished before we come to any signs.
A third Doubt, Are not evidences of Grace by signs uselesse, seeing the Spirit of God doth immediately work in our hearts a strong Assurance of faith? and having 1this Assurance, what need we any other? If we have the Sun, what need is there of a candle? Hence some have reduced the whole Doctrine of evidences to two heads; 1. The revealing evidence, and that they make an immediate Revelation made by Gods Spirit to the soul. Even as when the Sun-beams are immediately darted into a dark room. And the second is a receiving evidence, and that they make faith, and you know it hath formerly been generally received, That Faith is a full perswasion of Gods love to a mans self in particular; which if so, the whole businesse of evidence seemeth to be accomplished before we come to any signes.
- 1Doubt 3.
But to answer first, It may justly be questioned, Whether out of the Scripture there can be proved any such immediate voice spoken by God's Spirit to a man, that his 1