Soule-reviving influences of the sun of righteousnesse, or Some bright beames of light and love, sparkling from Christ upon the darke and drooping hearts of sin-weakend and clouded believers, even while we are in this solitary wildernesse, not yet arrived at the land of spirituall Canaan; but taking a turne in the darke and dampe valley of the shadow of death. With several evangelicall and heart-winning incouragements to the life of faith in the Sonne of God, notwithstanding our manifold weaknesses and hainous provocations; yea to the keeping up of the same comfort, hope confidence, and joy in him in the sadest straights, of the sorest darknesse.

Title

Soule-reviving influences of the sun of righteousnesse, or Some bright beames of light and love, sparkling from Christ upon the darke and drooping hearts of sin-weakend and clouded believers, even while we are in this solitary wildernesse, not yet arrived at the land of spirituall Canaan; but taking a turne in the darke and dampe valley of the shadow of death. With several evangelicall and heart-winning incouragements to the life of faith in the Sonne of God, notwithstanding our manifold weaknesses and hainous provocations; yea to the keeping up of the same comfort, hope confidence, and joy in him in the sadest straights, of the sorest darknesse.

Author

Smith, John, of Badgworth.

Publication

London, :: Printed for Giles Calvert, at the Black-spread-Eagle, at the west end of Pauls,

1654.

Rights/Permissions

To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.

Subject terms

Jesus Christ -- Devotional literature -- Early works to 1800.

Christian life -- Early works to 1800.

Link to this Item

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/a93368.0001.001 content_copy

Cite this Item

"Soule-reviving influences of the sun of righteousnesse, or Some bright beames of light and love, sparkling from Christ upon the darke and drooping hearts of sin-weakend and clouded believers, even while we are in this solitary wildernesse, not yet arrived at the land of spirituall Canaan; but taking a turne in the darke and dampe valley of the shadow of death. With several evangelicall and heart-winning incouragements to the life of faith in the Sonne of God, notwithstanding our manifold weaknesses and hainous provocations; yea to the keeping up of the same comfort, hope confidence, and joy in him in the sadest straights, of the sorest darknesse." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A93368.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 2, 2024. content_copy

Contents

• title page
• The Preface.
• THE CONTENTS.
• to the reader
• ERRATA.
• A man may be confident of his Sal∣vation, and yet deluded, and whence such vaine confidence is derived.
  • Wherein Faith and Presumption differ.
  • Who are weak members of Christ.
  • But if it be inquired what the dif∣ference is between a weak Member of Christ and an hypocrite.
  • But inasmuch as the child of God and an hypocrite both stand for repen∣tance, it may be enquired what the difference is between the repentance of the one and of the other.
  • Sixteene precious and soul establi∣shing considerations deduced from the Covenant of Grace.
  • The new Covenant no Covenant properly with us, but with Christ for us.
  • When God is said to be in Covenant with a Soule.
  • The effect of this Covenant.
  • Divers inviting Characters, and soul-winning encouragements of faith.
  • Eleven Motives to believe.
  • There is but looking up to Christ Je∣sus, and salvation is in thy soule; and believing with thy heart, and thou art saved: thou wert saved by Christ before, but now in thy selfe.
  • How God begets faith in an unbelie∣ver.
  • When the soule is come to believe that Christ was made sinne for it; its doubts are vanquished, and the soul sweetly quieted and setled.
  • Nine Reasons against fears and discou∣ragements in a believer, raised from Isaiah 41. 10.
  • One and twenty several means to be used by poore weake believers, for their settlement in the assurance of the love of God, when they are tossed with tempests, and incompassed with discouragements, viz.
  • A Collection of many the fears, doubts, and discouragements, that a poore weake believer, either in or about conversion, or desertion, takes up against himselfe, together with their several remedies, resolutions, and answers.
  • The feares of weake believers are usu∣ally of these kindes. Viz.
  • The Remedy to this feare.
  • The Remedy.
  • The Remedie.
  • The Remedie.
  • The Remedie.
  • The Remedie.
  • The Remedie.
  • The Discouragements of poore weake believers, herein mentioned, are as followeth.
  • Had the Lord Jesus by his Spirit wrought an effectual work of grace upon my heart, I should have growne in grace; but I doe not so, my life is not holy, nor am I like unto the Lords children.
  • My heart is so adamantinely hard, that I can be affected neither with the chastisements nor mercies of the Lord.
  • Because I feele not my selfe sanctified, I eare I▪ am not justified▪
  • I cannot see God, and if I were one of his Children, he would not hide himselfe from mee, as he doth: surely he hath forsaken me.
  • I cannot be perswaded that God hath wrought any supernatural worke in me, because I have not so great a measure of sorrow for sinne, as some of the Lords children have.
  • I feare I have no worke of grace wrought upon me, because I feel not its power, and am not able to subdue my passions and corruptions.
  • I finde within my selfe no relish of spi∣rituall things, nor willingnesse to duties, and I often omit them.
  • I feare that that worke of grace, which I once felt, is now decayed.
  • I feare that the opposition in mee a∣gainst sinne, is not between Christ and Satan, or the spirit and the flesh; but betweene my corrupt will and my inlightened consci∣ence.
  • I cannot pray, nor do any thing that is good, therefore God hath not done my soule good; and I have many suggestions that I have no worke of grace wrought in mee, which much weakens my confidence.
  • My soule is filled with terrours; I have an Hell within mee, I feele the wrath of God in my soule, and have for a long time remained in this condition.
  • I have no love to Christ, I am an enemie to him, and not fit for him.
  • There are indeed many sweete and pre∣cious promises in the word, but those who have a propriety in them are believers, and I am none.
  • I have no assurance of salvation, I am not sealed up to the day of re∣demption, and therefore have no faith.
  • I feare that my faith is not the faith of Gods Elect, but a presumption, it being attended with so many doubtings.
  • I cannot believe that I am elected, therefore nothing can doe mee good.
  • I am afraid the day of grace is past, and so nothing can doe me good.
  • Saith a poore drooping believer, I feare that when persecution comes, I shall not suffer, nor hold out unto the end, but dishonour God, betray his truth, shame and grieve his people.
  • I am discouraged because that of all the spirituall things I hoped for, none are made good to mee; I doe not possesse any.
  • I have many discouragements, for that I am not filled with joy, and comfort and peace in believing.
  • I cannot believe that I am in Christ, for that I fall back into sinne.
  • Saith a poore drooping believer, I ha∣ving lyen a long time under, and used the means of grace, grow stil worse and worse; therefore I cannot but conclude, That God wil not doe me good.
  • I fear that my motions Godward, doe flow from a principle of self-love, and not from pure love unto the Lord Jesus.
  • Saith a poore deserted soule, I cannot believe that God wil pardon my sins, they being greater and heightned with many more circumstances of ag∣gravation then the sins of others are.
  • But saith the poore soul, my sins are ma∣ny.
  • But mine are after the receiving of ma∣ny mercies.
  • Surely if I were not an out-cast, and a reprobate, I should not be left as I am, in a wildernesse condition.
  • True, saith the poore soule, were I a branch in Christ, and a true mem∣ber of his house, then could I believe these precious truths and promises of his; but I am neither of both, but separated from him and his people.
  • A believers comfort, hope, joy, con∣fidence, &c. should be in God the same at all times.
  • Six Reasons of the Point.
  • Four things, from whence it is that the children of God have not their com∣fort, hope, joy, confidence, &c. the same at all times.
  • Such as live by faith in infirmities, live upon Christ in his promise for strength against all infirmities in such places of Scripture as these.
  • To live by faith for Protection, and supply of all wants.