398 / 772
70
Our
¡nt
and
vtefitnes
rnuß
not make
yr
neQlea
hearing.
fit,but
alto
that
wee
maybe
made
fit, who before were
vnfit.
Neither
are
we
to imagine
that
faith and
other
graces
go be-
-fore
hearing,but
follow after
as
fruits
andeffe6s thereof;
as
I
ecn,w.ij.17..
the
Apoflle plainly
fheweth,Rom,a 0.4.
But
how
'hall
they
call
on
him in
whom they
haue
not
bcleeased
?
And
howJhallthey 6e-
iceue
in
him
of
íohö
they
haue
not
heard?And
how
fhall
they
/mare
without
a
Preacher
?
And
verle
17.
Faith
commeth
by
hearing,
and
hearing
by
the
word
ofGod. If-
theeit
there be
no faith
with-
out
hearing,nor
no grace
without
faith,it
mull
needs follow,
that
before
we
heare,wee
are
deflitute
of
faith
and
all
fauing
grace,
and
that by hearing they
are
wrought
in
vs,
God
pre-
uenting
vs
with
his
grace,:
and calling
vs
vnto
himfelfe,not
only
when
we
had
no deferts to
merithts
mercy,but
allo
not
fo much
as
any
grace
to
delire
it. And
hence
it
is
ÿ
the
Apo-
,Ti,n,
:g,
ftlefaith,z.Tim.r.9.That,God
loath
called
vs
with an
holy
cal-
ling,not according
to
óurb'órks, but
accord
n}
to
his
own
purpofe
andgrace,
which
was
giMen
vnto
vs
through
Chra
lefias
before
the
w?rldwa
4-.The
truth heroftnay
appeare in
al
the
examples
ofGods
Saints,
who before their
calling were fofarre from
deferuing
any
grace
at Gods
hand, that rather
they
deferued
c-
onfufion and
vtter
deflrulion.
For
example,
what
worthi-
nes was in Abraham before his conuerfió
who
liued
in groíhe
idolatrie? what worthines
in,Rahab
the harlot? in
MMna
ffes
a
cruell
tyrant,
awicked
forcerer,
an-horrible
idolater? what
worthines
in
Merry
Magdalene
poifeffed
by
feuen.diuels?
or
inMatthew
and Zacheur the Publicanes?or in
Paul
who
per
fumed
the
Church
ofGod
?
In
a
word,whar worthines
is
in
any
ofGods
Saints,before
the Lord y
the prcachi'ng
of
his
word,
made
effe6lualby.the
inward
operation
of
his
fpirit,
'lath
called and
conuerted,
and pulled them
out
of
their
fins-
and
corruptions
in
which they
wallowed,
and indued
them
-
with
fonie
meafure
of
his
fan&ifying
and fauing graces?
§.Se47,2.
Seco.
dly,wherea5
he
obiec`Ieth
our.vnñtnes
to
heare,
be-
aro!rtuft
caufeoureares:
aredull, ourcycsblind
,orheartshard,ardour
rr'Are
to-
bea.
,
w
ils,
a
ffc&ions, and all
the
powers and
faculties
of
our
bo-
1
"''Id
¡lot
dies
and
foules
wholly
corrupted
and
difordered;
this
muff
no4mcue
vs
to
neglca
the
hearing
of
Godsword;but
to
e-
come
h.Qarers
thereof
tip;
ith more
care
and diligence
:
for
it
is,