Reynolds - Houston-Packer Collection BX5133.R485 T47 1642

heLifeofChrifl. fervance of the Law. Adulterie amongft the Iewes was punished with death , and theft. only with reflitution amongft us Adulterie is not punished with Death and Theft is. Now then though a Iew and an Englifhman be both bound to the obedience of both thefe Lawes, yet a lew is not to die for theft, nor an Englifliman for. Adul- terie, becaufe wee are not under the Iudiciall Lawes of th4t,people, nor they under our Lawes : Even to thofe full* which to a man under the covenant of workesdo, defato , bring Death if he continue alwaies under that covenant , doe onely create a Merit of Death ir, thofe who are unier the Covenant of Grace, but doe not adu- allyexclude them from Salvation,becaufe without Cdelitie Iao finne doth peremptorily and qas ©ad eventuary condemne. But it may here further bee objeE1ed, How can I be- lieve under the weight offuch a finne ? Or how is Faith able to hold me up under (b heavie a guilt ? I anfwere, the more the greatneffe of finne Both appeáre, and the heavier the weight thereof is to the Soule, there is the Grace of God more abundant to beget Faith and the ftrength of Faith is prevalent againft any thing which would oppofe it. To underhand this , we must note that the ílrength of Faith Both not arife out of the formall qualitie thereof, (for Faith in it felfe, as a habit and en- dowment of the Soule , is as weake as other graces;) but onely out of the relation it hath to Chrit . Faith deno tates-a mutual/2.1E betweene us and Chrift ; and there- fore the Faith of the Patriarchs is expreffed in the Apo- file by a faluting or embracing ; they did not onely clafpe Chrift, but he them againe. So that the ftrength of Faith takes in the ftrength of , .. becaufe it puts Chrift into aman,who by his Spirit b dwelleth and c li- vethin us. And here it is worth our obfervine , that the reafon why the houle in, the d parable did Rand firme againít all tempefts, wasbecaufe it was founded upon a Rocke. 443, %on Rios Di- aboli fichent quæcunque pec- cata-----lios autem Diaboli infidelitasfacht, quod pcccatum propriuna voca- tur..4ug. ,coat. d ais lag,lib: 3.cap.3 . aiicb. II. .i3. b 3.i;. c G.I1; z. zo: dMit.7.ag.

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