A57982:291
The trial & triumph of faithThe tryal & triumph of faith
The trial & triumph of faith: or, An exposition of the history of Christs dispossessing of the daughter of the woman of Canaan Delivered in sermons; in which are opened, the victory of faith; the condition of those that are tempted; the excellency of Jesus Christ and free-grace; and some special grounds and principles of libertinism and antinomian errors, discovered by Samuel Rutherfurd, professor of divinity in the University of St. Andrews. Published by authority.The tryal & triumph of faith: or, An exposition of the history of Christs dispossessing of the daughter of the woman of Canaan Delivered in sermons; in which are opened, the victory of faith; the condition of those that are tempted; the excellency of Jesus Christ and free-grace; and some speciall grounds and principles of libertinisme and antinomian errors, discovered by Samuel Rutherfurd, professor of divinity in the University of St. Andrews. Published by authority.
London: printed by John Field, 1652
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.
But seeing you put (the Gospel) from you, and judge your selves unworthy of everlasting life, lo we turn to the Gentiles: The like is Christs language to them, Joh. 8.21. Then said Jesus to them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins; whether I go, ye cannot come. I doubt if any can sin the sin against the holy Ghost, and the sinner only and no other complain of it; that sin breaketh out in prodigious Acts of wickedness▪ as blood and persecution: Though it were true, that you were upon the borders of Hell, yet the Gospel, though it except you from actual mercy, yet not from the duty of believing and coming to Christ; and though such think, and imagine that they believe Christ is able to save and redeem them, only they doubt of his will; yet the truth is, the doubt of unbelief is more of the power of mercy and infinite Grace in Christ, then of his will; and my reason is, that whosoever believeth, Joh. 3.33. hath set to his seal that God is true, and 1 Joh. 5.10. He that believeth not God, hath made him a Liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son: Now it is not Gods Testimony, nor any Gospel-Truth, that such as sin against the holy Ghost shall be pardoned; yea, the contrary ⟨p. 179⟩is said, Mat. 12.31, 32. Yet these that sin against the holy Ghost are condemned, for unbelief, as all other unbelievers are, Joh. 3.18, 36. Then such as fall in this sin, though they say,1 Infinite mercy can pardon them, but infinite mercy will not pardon them; should not belly God, by unbelieving these truths, for they are Gospel-truths; then must the unbelief of those that sin against the Holy Ghost put a lie upon some Gospel-truth, and this can be only on the power of infinite mercy; and so they must say, Christ cannot save, though he would, for there's a power of Christ in mercy, no less then a will. If F. Spira go for a despairing Reprobate (which I dare not aver) yet when he said, he believed Christ was able to save him, but he doubted of his will; he must not be so understood, as if it were so indeed: Unbelievers know not all the mysterious turnings of lying & self deceiving unbelief. Unbelief may lie to men of it self, when it dare belie the worth of that soul-redeeming ransom of Christs blood;