A92854:487
The humbled sinner resolved what he should do to be saved. Or Faith in…
The humbled sinner resolved what he should do to be saved. Or Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the only way of salvation for sensible sinners. Discovering the quality, object, acts, seat, subject, inseparable concomitants and degrees of justifying faith. The agreement and difference of a strong and weak faith; the difficulty of believing, the facility of mistake about it, and the misery of unbelief. The nature of living by faith, and the improvement of it to a full assurance. Wherein several cases are resolved, and objections answered. / By Obadiah Sedgwick, Bachelor in Divinity and late minister of the Gospel in Covent Garden.The humbled sinner resolved what he should do to be saved. Or Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the only way of salvation for sensible sinners. Discovering the quality, object, acts, seat, subject, inseparable concomitants and degrees of justifying faith. The agreement and difference of a strong and weak faith; the difficulty of beleeving, the facility of mistake about it, and the misery of unbelief. The nature of living by faith, and the improvement of it to a full assurance. Wherein several cases are resolved, and objections answered. / By Obadiah Sedgwick, Batchelour in Divinity and late minister of the Gospel in Covent Garden.
London: printed by T.R. & E.M. for Adoniram Byfield, 1657
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.
So then, this is one thing to show the difficulty of believing, the habit of it is out of our power, out of our sphere; it cannot be produced by any strength of nature, but by the sole Arm of God. Hence that of the Prophet, Isa. 53 1. Unto whom is the Arm of the Lord revealed? who hath believed our report? The testimony of the Gospel concerning Christ will not be believed, unless the Lord doth reveal his own Arm, (that is) until he doth put forth his own Almighty strength.
So then, this is one thing to shew the difficulty of beleeving, the habit of it is out of our power, out of our sphear; it cannot be produced by any strength of nature, but by the sole Arme of God. Hence that of the Prophet, Isa. 53 1. Ʋnto whom is the Arme of the Lord revealed? who hath beleeved our report? The testimony of the Gospel concerning Christ will not be beleeved, unlesse the Lord doth reveale his own Arme, (that is) until he doth put forth his own Almighty strength.
2. There is a natural principle of infidelity and unbelief in every mans heart. If the paper were fair, if there were no precedent blurs and blots, then it were not so hard to imprint some legible Characters; Or if the wax were soft, and the iron heated, now it were easy to engrave what kind of arms the Artificer pleaseth; But when the wax and the iron are hard and cold, now the impression is difficult, because the resistance is strong; if there were in our hearts any obediential principles, which could before hand temper the mind, and frame the will, then when God offers Christ, little a do would serve the turn; But our hearts naturally bend the other way; there is in us a natural unaptness, nay, an enmity to believe. Enmity to the habit and nature of faith, blindness, error, pride, stubbornness, disobedience in our hearts. We have such slow and untoward hearts, so armed with all sorts of corrupt reasonings, so consulting with sense and rational evidences, so ready on every inevidence, ⟨p. 81⟩