Downame - Puritan-02038 v2

What it required to fauing vertues andgood works. 55 our hearts nitro be purified by faith, before they can worke Aû.r 5.9. by loue; for feeing all vertues and graces are the finites of Ga1.5.6.z4.22. Gods fanc`iifying fpirit, therefore all thole who are not in- dued with this fpirit,are dehitute alfo of all true grace and vertue. So our Sauiour telleth vs that we mutt firfi be good trees of Godsowne planting,before wee can bring foorth any good fruites. Agood tree (faith he) cannot bring foorth Matth.7.18. eutll fruite, nett-her a corrupt tree bring foorth good fruite. And in another place : -Either mak,(faith he) the tree good, and his fr'utte good, or die make the tree euill,andhis fruit eutl for she tree is knowneby his fruit°. To the fame purpofe the Matrh.r z.33. Apofile faith, that to the pure all thingsarepure,but to them Tit.r.t 5. that are defiled andvnbeleeuing is nothing pure, but even their minder and confcienees are defiled. Neither in truth is it pof- fible that wee fhould doe any thing truly good,and accep- table vntoGod,before we are regenerate and borne againe of water and of the fpirit, feeing we are fo corrupted and dtfabled through originali Gnne, that all aura imaginations a Çcn,8.z r. are only °viii, and that continually, that we cannot ¡o much eu h think° agood thought, nor C will that which is good, but as we 6 z.Cor.4.7. are inabled thereunto by Gods fpirit. For we are not onely ` Phil .z.12,. ficke,but (as the Apoflie faith) d harke dead in our hones, a Eph.aa . vntill by his quickning grace wee are reuiucd; and there- fore as vnable naturally to doe any fpiritualland hohe du- tie,as the dead man is to doe the workes of the lining. See- ing then thefe ciuill worldlings wanting faith, and the fpi- ritofGod, are not in Chrifl, and confequently are not re- conciled to God,nor regenerate by his fpirit; therefore in vaine doe they flatter themfelues with an opinion of their morali vertues, and ciuill honehie, in vaine doe they dote vpon, and proudly boafl of, their naturali good parts : in vaine doe they refi vpon thefe meanes for their faluation, feeing their venues are but falfe and counterfeite,and their workes having no true goodneffe in them, are not accep - ted in the fight ofGod. 4.Se. The fecond condition, is, that thefe vertues and duties 3. haue a good foundation and fountaine, from which they a- mrc!tov:t js wife and fpring: as firfl generally,that they arife from the true ú etretetöorfnip E worfhip o¡ the trio God.