N04231:189
The poor doubting Christian drawn to Christ. Wherein the main hindrances, which keep men…
The poor doubting Christian drawn to Christ. Wherein the main hindrances, which keep men from coming to Christ, are discovered. : With special helps to recover God's favour. / By Thomas Hooker. ; With an abstract of the author's life. ; [Four lines from Isaiah]
Boston: printed by Green for D. Henchman, 1743
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.
3. We must labour to order our Faith aright in the Work.
I. First, We must provide Matter for our Faith to work upon. For this we see ordinarily, if a Workman want matter to work upon, either a Carpenter or the like; he must needs cease his Work, and he can go no further. And if a Man's Work fails, how can he provide for his Family? This is the complaint of poor People now a-days, that they have no Work. So it is in a Christians course; many poor Christians that are newly set up, and are not aforehand in the World, they want even Matter for their Faith; I mean some are ignorant and cannot read, and some have not means of a preaching-Ministry, others have but small Parts and cannot hear, and little do they retain of what they do hear: The Promises of GOD not understood, nor remembered, nor rightly applied; they live marvellously poor, when they might live very comfortably in the World.
I. First, We must provide Matter for our Faith to work upon. For this we see ordinarily, if a Workman want matter to work upon, either a Carpenter or the like; he must needs cease his Work, and he can go no further. And if a Man's Work fails, how can he provide for his Family? This is the complaint of poor People now a-days, that they have no Work. So it is in a Christians course; many poor Christians that are newly set up, and are not aforehand in the World, they want even Matter for their Faith; I mean some are ignorant and cannot read, and some have not means of a preaching-Ministry, others have but small Parts and cannot hear, and little do they retain of what they do hear: The Promises of GOD not understood, nor remembred, nor rightly applied; they live marvellously poor, when they might live very comfortably in the World.
Now the Matter of our Faith, is the whole Word of GOD. As it is with the Bee in gathering Honey: As the Spider gathers Poison out of every Flower; so the Bee gathers Honey out of the same Flower, and out of the sweetest Flower she sucks the most Honey. Oh the Word of GOD, how full of sweet Flowers is it! There is the sharpest Terrors, and the fearfullest Plagues too: A gracious Heart will gather Sweetness out of both of these. But above all, the Sweet of the Promises of the Gospel, the sap and sweet therein, and the Blood of the LORD JESUS CHRIST that is communicated thereby: Oh the faithful Soul sucks most there. Now that we may provide Matter for our Faith, observe these Rules, which are commonly observed in all Provisions.