of ShmeJ iflgnordn&o; above all things bids us take the /hield of faith, :Wpeay; is great as a door to cover us all over, Ephef6. The devil, though a roaring lion, runneth away when faith is put forth: As it's fa id, Chrift could do no miracle in 1t certain place, &ecaufe oftheir unbelief, Mark6. 5,6.hecould nor, i.e. he would not: but here the devil can do nothing againtt the godly, brcaufe of their fa ith: Even fiery dar t5 are quenched by this faith, 1 Pet.1.5. We are k.§pt by the power ofGod through faith . . Lafily, Godpre[ervtth m, hy affeEling \\lithafweet.~:nddel ightfomef rameof heart inwhat u good: He puts fuch joy and peace in our fpirits, that we eafily fee every fin comes to tempt us to our loffe, we are better as we are, Gods loving kindneffe isbetter then life; many live, but are weary of life, .cry out for death ; yea the damned live, therefore Gods lo– ving kiadneffe is better then all. Th\ls you fee how the grace of God doth preferve from finne by inward operation: Now let us confider what out– ward·hel'ps there are : And I· Tht preaching of the \\lord, is bleffed to the godly, as a fpec iall means againft all fin; they finde the Minifl:ry to be a continual dropping upon them, that they fhould not dege– nerate into a wildernef?; they find this to be like blowing up co:ds alwaies upon the Altar ofa mans heart; for ifthe word preached be fo inflrumentall to c;onvert, and to put life at firll into men dead in their finnes ; nQ wonder if it be etfea:u.. -.u alfo eo quicken_up, and inflame in godlineffe. E.t:.e~ 18. you fee a righteous man, by the Prophets warning, is kept from fe verall tranfgreffions, which would be his mine, and the righteOUS man necdeth WarniAg_as well as the Wicked : In Parad1fe, c~rc. the ground needed not the clouds to drop· on it, there came waters out of the mid£1: of it to water that Garden: Thus in heaven thC! Minifiry and thcfe Ordinances will ceafe, but here all the godly need the inflruttioA and the reproof of it, and therefore the godly_can no mor~ live · without it, then their bodies can be fufiained without food. Thus the fpiritual!' watchman makes them fl:and upon their guard; they finde the Word preached a goad in their fide., and fire in their bofoms,. rhat tbey cannot hold tbe.ir P.eau. . D d 3.. 2. .God 7· And delight in that which i& ~ood . 2. Outward he!pi t. The Preaching of the Word. I
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