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ceived a promife to be with Chrift in Paradise.

Chrift fpeaketh comfortably; Him that cometh to me, I will in

no wife caft out.

Righteoufneffe is the way to him:

This is the fong and Jubilation of the Church,we have a strong City, falvation will God appoint for wals and bulwarks. the gates that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

Open ye

Joh. 6.370

Ifa.26.1.
Verf. 2.

For God keepeth a book of remembrance, fuch as Malacy Mal.3.16. faith, A book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name; for the Lord loveth the righteous; and verily there is a reward for the righteous. Pl.58.11. Yea beloved, I dare go fo farre, and I am sure that I tread on ground that will carry me through, it is not faith, it is fin, it is prefumption to trust in the righteousneffe of Jefus Chrift onely, without a care and conscience, and practise of righteousnesse in our felves.

For Chrift redeemeth us,not to idleneffe, but to work out our falvation, we are delivered from the hands of our enemies, ut ferviamus ei; that we might serve him; redemption doth not deftroy, but renew our creation; and we were created to good works, and we are called to holineffe.

Let no man think that Chrift needeth the help of our righteousnesse to fatisfie his Father; but we do need our righteousnesse to declare our faith in Chrift, and to make application of the righteoufneffe of God to our felves.

Though the full ftrength of Scripture be bent against merit of righteoufneffe, there is no ground there for idlene fe to ftand upon; we must not caft all upon Chrift, and make him who came to redeeme us from the punishment of our evil works, a redeemer of us from the neceffity of good works:

Our very union with him is enough to neceffitate operative; righteoufnes for he faith, My Father worketh as yet,& ego operor, and I work; and it is his word,thus muft we fulfil all righteousnes Therefore that Chrift may fee he paid the debt for fuch as would have paid it if they could, and did their beft to pay let us not neglect our own righteousneffe in our queft of falvation; but being only by Jefus Chrift delivered from the hands of

all

Qur

4. Caution

I Cor. 1.

our enemies, let us ferve him in righteousneffe and holyneffe before him all the days of our life.!

Let it go alfo for a caution, that feeing the neceffity of lighteoufneffe, we do look well to the integrity thereof, as the Apostle admonisheth us in his testimony of the Corinthians,

That in every thing ye are enriched by him, so that ye come behind 5,7. in nogift.

It is noted of the Saints of God in glory that they do weare Dua long white robs; these be the garments of righteoufneffe: there is our ficat in Colo, we must not wear our righteousneffe like a fhort garment; it must be entire, covering the whole body to the foot,that is the integrity of the whole man. For, whofuever maketh confcience of his righteoufneffe in fome things, and not in all is but a hypocrite: that man makes confcience of nothing at all.

That profeffor that for his profit will do any thing contrary to the revealed Will of God, or if for pleasure, or for revenge he will go out of the way of Gods Law, that mans righte oufneffe is but vain. For S. James faith,

Whofoever shall keep the whole Law,and yet faileth in one point is Jam. 2.10. guilty of all.

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Sinne is like leaven, a little of it fowreth the whole lump of righteousneffe.

Knowing the neceffity of this righteonfneffe, and the conCaution, tinual ufe ofit, and that our whole life is a perpetual warfare here on earth, we must know that this righteoufneffe must never be put off or laid afide all our life long;it must not be worne in our colours ad pompam, but in our armour ad pugnam, to the fight. This righteoufneffe is not for fhew, but for fervice.

There be fome temptations that take their aime at us, and come forth to affault us; there be others that are fhot at random, and yet may hit us. As he that killed Ahab directed not his aim at him fo a man fometime by occafion falleth into temptation. If a man at those times have not his righteoufneffe to feek, but that he wear it as a breft plate, it may preferve him. Had David received two fuch mortal wounds in the body of his Religion, and fear of God, if he had kept on his righteoufneffe? Urias wife was not more naked.

Thefe be Sathans advantages, for keeping watch as he doth; no

fooner

fooner are we difarmed, but fulmina mittit. But as Elibu

told fab,.

If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a job33.23. thousand to fhew unto man his uprightne fe:

Then he is gracious unto him, and faith, Deliver him from going Verf. 24. down into the pit, I have found a ranfome.

That is then the ufe of our Miniftery, to be as Noah was to the world, pracones justitia, Preachers of righteoufneffe, to fhew men which way they thall walk uprightly; he that is fit for this fervice, must have the warrant of a Minifter, A Meffenger: and he must have the learning of an Interpreter, and fuch a man is a rare man, one of a thousand; and his lecture is, Difcite justiti

am moniti.

Lose no time from it, for only righteoufnelle hath the bleffing of this promife: juftus ex fide vivit, the juft doth live by his faith, fee what rate you will fet upon life, fo much it concerneth you to be righteous.

2. Faith, when the Apostle doth come to this point concerning Faith ; he faith ἐπὶ πᾶσι,

Above all things take the fheild of Faith,

As Solomon faith, keep thy heart above all keepings: for indeed there is no Doctrine fo neceffary to falvation as the DoArine of Faith.

Eph. 6 19.

A&. 19. 8

You remember in the Acts of the Apostles, when St. Paul came to Ephesus, and continued there three moneths, both dif puting and perfwading the things that concerne the Kingdom of God, but after many oppofitions, yet he abode there two Verf. 10,

years:

His preaching had fo put the gods of the Heathen out of countenance, and had fo advanced the glory of the true God; that Demetrius a silversmith which made filver fhrines for Diana, called the workmen of his trade,together and faid: Sirs; ye know that Vers, 25. by this craft we have our wealth, and

So that our craft is in danger to be fet at naught.

And presently upon it there was a great cry, Magna. Diana, great is Diana.

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Beloved, look well about you, and you fhall fee that by faith we have our welfare, we get our being by it, both here and in

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heaven

Verf, 27.

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A&.15.9.

heaven; therefore let us joyn in the cry, to cry up Faith, Magna eft fidei Christianorum, great is the faith of Chriftians.

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1. Great is the good that it is,

2. Great is the good that it does.
1. In that it is.

Faith is a certain periwafion wrought in the heart of man of the truth of all Gods promifes; and a confident application of them is made to the beleiver, both which are wrought in the beleiver by the Spirit of God.

1.So it is great in respect of the Author of it in us;for it is not aurbovrov, growing of it felf. This is a feed which the Lord hath fowen, a plant which Gods own right hand hath planted; Faith is the gift of God.

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12. Great is the Object; for it aimeth at the promises of God, which are Yea, and Amen."

3.Great in the Extent, for it spreadeth to all the promises of God, and all the benefits that do arife to us from him as Wif dom, Righteoufneffe, Sanctification, Redemption, Salvation. 4.Great in the Operation,because it layeth hand upon all those, and chalengeth a right to them, faying, Hec meafunt, these

aré nine.

5. We may

adde alfo this to the excellency of Faith; that it is a mother grace, the root of all other graces; for from Faith they do derive themselves.

1. Repentance, For by Faith God purifieth the heart. 7 2. Love, For Faith worketh by love..

Heb.1 1.6

3. Fear, that feare which is the beginning of Wisdome; for if we did not beleive the truth of Gods Word and Promises, and comminations, we would not fo much stand in awe of God, or fear and diftruft our felves.

4. Obedience; for knowing that we have no fubfiftence in the favour of God, but by Chrift,that fwayeth all our obfervance that way, and biddeth us hear him.

And without Faith it is impoffible to please God.

2. For that it doth,it is great,

1. No grace of God in us doth more honour to God then our Faith doth; for none but the beleever doth confeffe God aright: for as the Apostle faith,

He

He that beleeveth not God hath made God a lyar; make that 1)ok 5.10. breach in the holy chain or knot of Gods attributes and all fail; for truth is the girdle of them all; fo make him a lyar, and make hin unwife, impotent, cruel, profane, all evil.

Abraham ftrengthened in the Faith, gave glory to God.

2.No grace to us more profitable; for it is not faid of any of all Rom. 4.10 the other vertues & graces that we do live by any,by all of them; but only by faith,becaufe faith doth unite us withChrift,in whom we are knit to God for all fulneffe dwelleth in him, and of his fulnesse we receive grace and grace.

And by faith only Christ dwelleth in our hearts.

Ioh. i, 16.

Eph.3.17.

By faith we are reconciled to God in Chrift, whom God hath fet forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his Rom.3.25 righteoufneffe for the remiffion of fins that are past, through the fon bearance of God;by faith we are juftified Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. By faith we are fanctified. For God doth purifie our hearts by faith.

Verf. 28.

A&s 15.9

By faith we are faved, for by grace ye are faved through faith, Eph. 2. 8. andibat not of your felves, it is the gift of God.

Faith bringeth peace of confcience in the affurance of all this, Rom. 5.1. For being juftified by faith, we have Peace with God through our Lord Jefus Chrift.

By faith we have acceffe to God into the grace, wherein we stand, Verf. 2. and rejoyce in hope of the glory of God.

By faith we glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation work- Verl. 3. eth patience, patience experience, experience hope, and hope maketh not afbamed; because the love of Godis shed abroad in our hearts by

the Holy Ghost which is given us.

And thus the Church of the Jews is comforted against the oppreffions of the Chaldæans by faith.

Laftly faith is commended to us for a fhield, by which we de- Eph 6.16. fend our felves against the fiery darts of Satan.

Therefore to make the neceffary doctrine of faith profitable

for us, let us confider,

1. How faith may be gotten.

2. How it may be proved.

S2. How

3. How it may be preferved.
4. How it may be used.

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1. How

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