Burgess - Houston-Packer Collection BT715 .B85 1652

5ECY'.IT. Trage Signs ofGrate. 89 plentyand fullnetíe of it, t Prf.2.3. and wouldbe transformed into it, 1 no lon- ger live, faith Pad, but Cleriiff in me. As thereforeoriginal! corruption is felted in thee and foaked into thy very bones, fo do thou delire grace may be incorpora- red intothee: you fee meat while it is in the mouth, it may be taken away, but when it'sonce turned to nourihme'c, turned intoour fieth and blond, then it's impoffible to take it out of our body. Theunhappy builder therefore fuffered that Joffe, becaufe he didnot dig deep enough. 3. Gracesgrowby the otlad exercifeofthem, by a toall lovingand believingthe habitsoffaith and love aremore firm and ftrong.Hence the commands of God are for the alts of graces Thou that love, and this is his commandment to believe, Thehabits arecommanded obliquely as the fountain, the as as the (!ream. In morali Philofophy aets make the habits more intenfe. InChrifts Parable of the talents, he only is faid to.have, that doth exerci(e and alhually improve his graces; and as our gracesencreafe by the exercifeof them, fo by the cooperationof them all together : Áddero your faith temperance, to temperance brotberlykindeneffe: which is not to be under(lood of the habitsof grace, for they areall infufed toge- ther; and a man mayas well behappy with oneparticular aéi ofglory, asregene- rate withone habitof grace : but we are to interpret it of adding thealts to one another. . ,y. 7hegrowth ifgrace it by meliorating or making better the means and infirn_ menes of grace. TheWord and Ordinances are appointed by God as the means to grow,and to cleanfe us more and more, Now if thou wouldeft have thy gra- ces flourifh, thou muff be more diligent and carefull in the prepared aleof them; .hearbetter, pray better, snake a better improvementof cheMiniffery. The Dif- cipleswere mending their net, becaufe they were inftruments to get their bih. The Artificer mutt tharpen his tools, if hewould live by his trade. Now theft exter- nal( Ordinancesare thefpiritualtools and inttruments by which the foul is promo- ted in the way of godlineffe, and if thou languitheft and art careleffe here, it will quickly appear in thy whole converfation. g. Where growth os,tbere isa If tenu! care, of ailgrace, to .!oak, to that *bick helps so nourilhment, and that it Faith. Faith is the mouth to fuck the milkof the promi-- fes, it is the bunch ofhyfop that (prinklesChrilts blond upon us topurifie us , it is the feeding uponChrilt : Now then if a man wouldbe nourifhed and encreafe in grace, 'he mull be lure thisgrace hash no obfteu@ions. As a man is juftified only by faith, fo in tome ftnfe, we may fay a man is fanftfied, that is, encreafeth in new Obedience, by faith: By faith the branch ispre leaved in theolivetree, and par- cattail of the fatneffe thereof. Chnit praied for Peter, that híáfaith might notfail, as if that grace were kept up, then his courage, zeal, felf- deniall, and all other graces would be kept up : Nonper epera venitar ad fadem , fed per fadem ad opera. 6. Thcre ie agromth objetlively, and that it, when the yloriossAbaft of God m manifefled tome moreandmore, Though theSun cannot in it left encreafe or beg10- cious,yet it may to us more and more : therefore it bath itsdawning, and its noon ; fo thoughGod and Chrift cannot be better or morelovely objects then they are, yet they may be fo to thy affe!tions and delires, Chrílt a new Cfftiti, grace new grace, becaufe thereare further apprehenlions andapplications of their fweetnetfc and efficacy. Now to prevent miftakes, there is a twofold difpoficion like growth, that la nor. . T. Anencreafe in knowledge, parts, andabilities. This is not growth of grace There isan encreafe (asyou heard) roadaraplitudinem/cientia, and gnoadefficaci- am, the latter is the crownandthe perfeetionof the former. z. There io agrowok in temporaryfaith, andlove, and[techaffeilions, Which hy- pocrites may have, but temporary faithwill never grow to be juftifying no more thenan Ape would grow tobe a man, orcopper to be gold, for theft differfpecifi- tally. N 3; There

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