A34165:399
A Complete collection of farewell sermons preached by Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Mr. Caryl…A Compleat collection of farewel sermons preached by Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Mr. Caryl…
A Complete collection of farewell sermons preached by Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Mr. Caryl ... [et al.] ; together with Mr. Ash his funeral sermon, Mr. Nalton's funeral sermon, Mr. Lye's rehearsal ... with their several prayers.A Compleat collection of farewel sermons preached by Mr. Calamy, Dr. Manton, Mr. Caryl ... [et al.] ; together with Mr. Ash his funeral sermon, Mr. Nalton's funeral sermon, Mr. Lye's rehearsal ... with their several prayers.
London : s.n., 1663
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.
8. The strong Christian is one that can best live without creatures upon God alone (& a weak Christian is one that hath most need of the creature, and can least live upon God alone) under the censures of the godly, frowns of the wicked, without riches, honours, pleasures; can have the quietness and contentment in God, whether he have any thing or nothing where ever he is, &c. The more necessity thou art in of having something besides God for thy consolation, the more weak thou art there must be supply: I know not how to be poor, disgraced, &c. this impatient soul is the feeble soul, Impatience is nothing but the fruit of weakness. The strong Christian can live upon God alone: therefore if men make as if they were undone, if lost in their estates; 'tis a certain sign of a lamentable weakness of a sick soul.
9. That is the best and strongest Christian, and most confirmed in grace, who is most employed and abides in the love of God, in love to God: That hath the fear of God, but goes beyond fear, and loves most, and abides most in the love of God: That makes it his great business to feed upon, and study the love of God to him, and to return love to him again. The more Gods love is on thy heart, and the more thou lovest in the fruit of that love, the stronger Christian. But he that lives most by a kind of constraining fear, though he may be sincere, he is but weak: where there is nothing but fear and no love, there is no sincerity; but where there is some little measure of love, fear is such a tyrant, that it will many times cloud it, so that almost all his life seems to be moved and managed by fear: and in this there is much loathness and unwillingness, and they had rather do otherwise then they do: according to the measure of love is the strength of grace.
10. He is the strongest Christian that hath most pure and most universal love to others, that can love all men, even an enemy, with true unfeigned love, even with such love as belongs to a Christian: that can love every Christian, and not a party only, with the pure and fervent love which belongs to Believers: that can love every child of God, and not those only that are of his opinion, or have done him good, but all, because they are children of God, with a sincere and special hearty love: That is the weak Christian that picks and chooses, that is staggering when he comes to loving an enemy; that takes in those that agree with him in judgment, and makes those almost only the object of his love; that would confine his affections to some narrow society, some little sect, party, or parcel of Believers, and cannot love Christians as Christians: And hence it is, division is the effect of enmity, or of weakness in Grace, for want of the universality of love. I would make no question to prognostic the healing of all divisions within this Nation, could I but advance all that are concerned in it to the right temper of Christian love: 'Tis the weak children in Christs Family that falls out, when we have not enough love to reach to all and to love a Christian as a Christian, &c.