Downame - Puritan-02038 v2

58 What is required to facing vertues andgood worker. 4.Se8.6. Thirdly, all our vertues and duties mu fl be grounded on ourvertnes the true knowledge of God, and his will reuealed in his maiibegrowl- word; for wemuff not rake vertues vpon the worlds cotn- dedon true mendation, nor performe duties which haue no othergroúd knowledge. thenour owne wils, inventions, and good meanings, for fo may we in tertaine vice for vertue,and offer to God for duty, that which he hath exprefly condemned as wicked, idola- trous and fuperflitious; but wee mutt fearch into his word and reuealed will, declining therefrom, neither on the right Perfeïta virtiu hand nor on the left : for as one.faith, Perfeíl verrue ie not nonefi fsecog- without the knowledge the truth, nor the truth without the nitioneverita. g e o f cif, net veritas loose ofvertue. Blind deuotion therefore will not ,.profit vs, _ fineamere vir- neither will it auaile vs,that we run on headlong in an igno- tutit. rant zeale for as Anfiinefaith,-he that runneth moftfwiftly, Bernard. fer.z. being out of the way, is fo much the more miferable,becaufe giña.aluere the fafcer he runneth, the further he is from hisiorncyes end: Augult.prafat, and therefore it is better to halt in the way oftruth, then to in Plalm. runneapace in the way of error: yea itispoflìble thatinthe feruencie ofour deuotion, being ignorant of the truth, we maybe perfecuter ofit, and thofe who profeffe; as we may fee in the example ofPaul, who in his blind zeale perfecuted the members ofChrifl, &afterwards was himfelfperfecuted AasJ3 50. out ofthe ignorardeuotiô ofcertaine honorable women.So that if we haue not the light of the knowledge of God and his truth to guide vs in our good meanings and bell deuoti- ons, wemay be no better then cruell perfecuteds,and conic- quently fubie6t to Gods wrath, to which all the ignorant AEts 2.4.1 r. are liable ; for fo the A pofile faith, that Chrilllefur/hall f ew z.Theffa .8. himfelfe from heauen withhis msghtie cfingel r, inflaming fire, rendring vengeance vnto them that do not know god, andwhtch obey not to the Ço fiell ofourLord !elm Chriatt. 4.Sef7 Fourthly, all our vertues and good dutiesmull be ioyned our vertues with faith, as the Apoflle requirerh, for without faith it is mutt be ioyned impoflible topleafe God, becaufewhatfoeueris not done of ot purpofe btraefaátM' faith is onefaith thatiffaithbenotfrfh z Hebr.r r.6. . begot in ourhearty, other vertues cannot begood, although they Rom.6.z3. fermegood, &e. becauf it a written, that without faith st it im- Sífides prima o tbte to Neale God.Whero we are not to vnderflaad an hiflo- in corae noFiro P P f ricall