A41536:208
The trial of a Christians growth in mortification, purging out corruption, or vivification, bringing…The tryall of a Christians growth in mortification, purging out corruption, or vivification, bringing…
The trial of a Christians growth in mortification, purging out corruption, or vivification, bringing forth more fruit a treatise handling this case, how to discern our growth in grace : affording some helps rightly to judge thereof by resolving some tentations, clearing some mistakes, answering some questions, about spiritual growth : together with other observations upon the Parable of the vine, John 15. 1, 2 verses / by Tho. Goodwin.The tryall of a Christians growth in mortification, purging out corruption, or vivification, bringing forth more fruit a treatise handling this case, how to discerne our growth in grace : affording some helps rightly to judge thereof by resolving some tentations, clearing some mistakes, answering some questions, about spiritual growth : together with other observations upon the Parable of the vine, John 15. 1, 2 verses / by Tho. Goodwin.
London: printed by J.G. for R. Dawlman, 1650
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.
Secondly,1 when a man finds new degrees of the same grace added, and the fruits of them grow bigger and more plentiful; as when a mans love grows more fervent, as 1 Pet. 4. 8. when faith, from mans casting it self on Christ, comes to find sweetness in Christ, which is to eat his flesh, and drink his blood; and then from that grows further up to an assurance of faith, which is an addition to it: When any thing that was lacking in faith, (as the Apostle speaks, 1 Thes. 3. 10.) is added. So when a man grows up to more strength of faith in temptations, and is less moved and shaken in them, more rooted in faith, as the Apostle speaks. Thus in godly sorrow, when from mourning for sin as contrary to Gods holiness, we go on to mourn for it as contrary to him who loves us, which follows upon assurance, as they ⟨p. 57⟩mourned over him which once they had pierced: not only that we mourn that we should offend a God hath so much mercy in him, but out of a sense of it to us, which many cannot find: so when our motives to hate sin grow more raised, more spiritual, these are additions of the same degree. So in Prayer, when we find our prayers to grow more spiritual, as in that part of Prayer, Confession, when more spiritual corruptions are put into our confessions; and so in like manner, stronger grounds of faith put into deprecation, and petitions for pardon; more enlargedness to thankfulness; more zeal to pray for the Churches; when we go on to pray with all prayer more, as the Apostle speaks, Ephes. 6. 18. Or in obedience, when we abound more and more in the work of the Lord, as Rev. 2. 9. it is said of that Church, that their last works were more then the first; so as the boughs are laden, and we are filled with the fruits of righteousness, Phil. 1.
Secondly,1