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Ephefi
.r;Chapf.
VÈR.>i3.
word,
which biddeth
a
man perfwade himfelfe
of
that which
is
untrue,
To
a
that
is a
lying word. Firft
I
fay,this may
be
denied,unleffe
Ibid
him
per.
arenow
fwade himfelfe
fo, with
amindeof
deceiving
him. AbietheinbyGods
ned tne,and
command
was bound
to
perfwade
himfelfthat
Ifaac was
to dy
underhis
that
j
am
fa-
owne hand;yet was not
that
a
lyingword,by
which God
fpake
to
him'
the
fib
aft
of
becaufe
the
intent
of
it
wasbut
to
prove him:Some
fay he was
bound
to
fahh,hot fol-
thinke
fo,
u
nlefs
God
Ihould
countermand and reverfe
his
former
cons-
loweththem
hen
noti
fee
mane!.
Anf.
t4braham
did abfolutely beleeve,it,and
Érgo,didnot
com=
man
hitìtfelfe
to
be
fort.
himfelfe,
by thinking
God might
call
back his
former
precept, but
itinifed in
byconfidering
that God
could raife him from
the
dead
:
Much more
thrift.
may God
bid
the reprobate
beleeve this
or that; while
he
doth
it
but
to
evince
their contumacy,and doth
feeWell
how
far they are from
belee-
ving any fuch
matter.
Secondly I anfwer, that the fecond part
ofthe
firft reafon
is
not true;
God doth
hid them beleeve on Chrift tóforgiveneffe of
fin, he
doth
bid
any
reprobate directly
beleeve
that
his
finis forgiven.
Vii
t.
O then
let
us
take heed
that
we
doe not
give God
the
lye
in
all thefe
things
which
he
promifeth to
Us ;
Every man will
blaffe
himfelfe from
this
iniquity, from charging God with
falfhood
in
word,yet noman
is
afraid
to doe
that
with
his
deed;which he treinbleth to pronounce with
his
lips
:
as
we may
deny God
not
by
word onely,
bnt
by worke ;
fowe
may make him
a
lyer, not onely by charging falfhood
on
him.by word
of
mouth,
but
by
our
deed-,going
away,and not heeding all the grace
he
offereth us
in
Chrift
;
He that
beleeveth not, maketh Goda
lyer,i
Ioh.S.
ro.Should one
promife me
an
hundred
pound,doing
this
or that,though
I
fhould
not
tell him hedid
but
gul me with
words,
yet
fhould
I
goe
my
way,never heedingwhat
had
beene promifed,
never endeavouring
per-
formance
of
the
condition
on
which I might
claime
the benefit
offered,
by
doing
this,
I fhould
fhewplainely
that
I
did
nottakefor
truth
that
I
heard fpoken ;
fo
it
is
betweene God promifing
to
us
on beleeving
and
repenring,and our turning our backes
on
him without endeavouring
af-
ter
thefe things.
Yfe
a.
This
mull ftrengthen
our
faith
toward the
protrtifes
of
God:O
they
are
purer
then flyer
leaven
times fined.Should
an
honeft man
in telling
us
any
thing, when
he came
to this
or
that which he law
us
not
eafie
to
beleeve;
fhould
he interfert but this proteftation,
that
what
he would
tell
us
he knew it
moil true,we would the eailier
receive
it,and
give
cre-
dit
to it
;
how much more when God doth condefcend
fo far
to
our
in-
firmitie,as
notonely
to
tell
us
thefe things, but
to
teftifie
to us, that
they
are
truth
it felfe
t
Secondly, it might be noted
here,that the Gofpell
is fuch a
doctrine,
as
worketh falvation
;
Gods power to
falvation, it may well be
called
a
good fpell,or
word,for
it
bringeth
us
the
tidings
of
all
our good.Firft,
it
bringeth "immortalitie and
life to
light. Secondly,
it offereth
us
the
grace
of
forgiveneffe, and
life
everiafting.
Thirdly, it
is
Gods
inflru-
ment, whereby
he
worketh faith,
receiving thefe things.
Fourthly,
iris
the
word
of
Grace which muff build
us
up, and bring
its
to that
bleffed
inheritance,