# Puritan book on faith/belief



## nwink (Nov 29, 2010)

Does anyone know a good puritan book about *faith*? I was thinking of maybe a book covering such topics as: its growth, trusting God more and more, faith in _God_ not faith in _faith_, faith in God's promises, precariousness of unbelief, etc. (Or even if there's not a whole book dedicated to the subject, if there is a section from a book/work that is related to this topic) Any other good recommendations (whether puritan or not) would be helpful, too.


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## passingpilgrim (Nov 29, 2010)

Not sure if this is along the same lines, but "The Mystery of Providence" by John Flavel might be a good resource.


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## nwink (Nov 29, 2010)

Thanks, Keith. I'll check that out.


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## Don Kistler (Nov 29, 2010)

Several of these topics are covered in "A View of Saving Faith from the Sacred Records," by John Colquhoun, published by Northampton Press as "Saving Faith."

The Northampton Press

As far as the Puritans, Matthew Lawrence wrote a massive treatise (624 pages) on faith, but it has never been reprinted. Its title was "The Use and Practice of Faith."


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## Wayne (Nov 29, 2010)

On the sub-topic of "trusting God more and more", over the weekend I came across something in vol. 1 of the _Works of Robert Traill_ that made me want to dig deeper:



> You must take care to guide this helping grace of God, when you have received it. Guiding of grace, is an art and mystery that Christians should study diligently. The rule of this art is this, Guide the grace of God received by you, for those ends for which it is given by him. Now, what ends hath the Lord in giving of his grace? They are only two. 1. For the praise and glory of the giver. 2. For the benefit of the receivers. Guide his grace for those ends, and you guide and use it well. Christians have little of his grace, and complain sorrowfully; not because he gives, and they receive little; but because they guide and manage this richest talent poorly. Dare any believer forbear to say, If I had kept all I had got, and guided well all he hath given, I had been far richer in grace than now I am? Misguiding of grace received is the greatest sin, because an abuse of the greatest blessing. Watch against it, if you love his glory, and your own weal. - Traill, _Works_, vol. 1, pg. 170.



I still haven't got my head around this, but for the moment I'm assuming that what Traill is talking about here is what some other Puritans called the _improvement of grace_.

There is much that is no longer taught in common among even the Reformed today, and we are the poorer for it. 

So how about putting together a book, a compilation of Puritan theology, called _The Lost Doctrines of the Bible_?


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## au5t1n (Nov 29, 2010)

There's a good, short section about faith in Thomas Watson's _The Ten Commandments_ (Part 2 of _A Body of Practical Divinity_), which should be available online. This looks relevant too, but I haven't read it: STUDIES ON SAVING FAITH by A.W. Pink

Here's a sermon on faith by C.H. Spurgeon: http://www.spurgeongems.org/vols46-48/chs2809.pdf. Starting on page 4, he talks about the role of faith in a believer's life. "The whole life of the Christian, after he is made to live, is still by faith."


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## MW (Nov 29, 2010)

Along the same lines, I was recently re-reading a chapter from Rutherford's Influences of the Life of Grace and was astounded at the ease with which he could incorporate Christian responsibility into the doctrine of sanctification by grace.


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## PuritanCovenanter (Nov 29, 2010)

Don Kistler said:


> Several of these topics are covered in "A View of Saving Faith from the Sacred Records," by John Colquhoun, published by Northampton Press as "Saving Faith."
> 
> The Northampton Press
> 
> As far as the Puritans, Matthew Lawrence wrote a massive treatise (624 pages) on faith, but it has never been reprinted. Its title was "The Use and Practice of Faith."



I was going to reference this. I would also reference another work on this to be an addition as a whole work on this mans work on the topic
. 
A Treatise on the Law and Gospel
John Coloquhoun
Published by Soli Deo Gloria

Just saw another thread on one of my recommendations. 

http://www.puritanboard.com/f29/john-colquhoun-treatise-law-gospel-back-print-47507/

Here is a short quote. 
http://www.puritanboard.com/blogs/puritancovenanter/mingled-covenants-gospel-law-neither-347/

Here was is the quote.


> Although eternal life was, in the covenant of works, promised to Adam and his posterity on condition of his perfect obedience, and that only, yet a man is to be counted a legalist or self-righteous if, while he does not pretend that his obedience is perfect, he yet relies on it for a title to life. Self-righteous men have, in all ages, set aside as impossible to be fulfilled by them that condition of the covenant of works which God had imposed on Adam, and have framed for themselves various models of that covenant which, though they are far from being institutions of God, and stand upon terms lower than perfect obedience, yet are of the nature of the covenant of works. *The unbelieving Jews who sought righteousness by the works of the law were not so very ignorant or presumptuous as to pretend to perfect obedience. Neither did those professed Christians in Galatia who desired to be under the law, and to be justified by the law, of whom the apostle therefore testified that they had "fallen from grace' (Galatians 5:4), presume to plead that they could yield perfect obedience. * On the contrary, their public profession of Christianity showed that they had some sense of their need of Christ's righteousness. But their great error was that they did not believe that the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone was sufficient to entitle them to the justification of life; and therefore they depended for justification partly on their own obedience to the moral and ceremonial law. It was this, and not their pretensions to perfect obedience, that the apostle had in view when he blamed them for cleaving to the law of works, and for expecting justification partly on their own works of obedience to the moral and ceremonial laws, they and the apostle informed them, were fallen from grace; Christ had become of no effect to them. And they were "debtors to do the whole law" (Galatians 5:3-4). *By depending for justification partly on their imperfect obedience to the law, they framed the law into a covenant of works, and such a covenant of works as would allow for imperfect instead of perfect works; and by relying partly on the righteousness of Christ, they mingled the law with the gospel and works with faith in the affair of justification. * _Thus they perverted both the law and the gospel, and formed them for themselves into a motley covenant of works._



Also you might want to read Thomas Goodwin on Justification.


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## PuritanCovenanter (Nov 29, 2010)

I see a Van Til vs. Gordon Clark rival ensuing. Define believe. Does it include.......?


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## PuritanCovenanter (Nov 29, 2010)

armourbearer said:


> Influences of the Life of Grace



Where can I find this. My son's name is Samuel Rutherford. I want him to have it all. He will most likely be a Presbyterian despite his Dad. LOL. Really, I want to find anything by Samuel Rutherford. I love the man's heart. It was in a lot of hurt and refining. I want to be like him and John Owen. I can't even imagine their pains. Yet, they are so precise.


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## KMK (Nov 29, 2010)

Don Kistler said:


> Several of these topics are covered in "A View of Saving Faith from the Sacred Records," by John Colquhoun, published by Northampton Press as "Saving Faith."
> 
> The Northampton Press
> 
> As far as the Puritans, Matthew Lawrence wrote a massive treatise (624 pages) on faith, but it has never been reprinted. Its title was "The Use and Practice of Faith."


 
I am just starting Don Kistler's edition of "The Doubting Believer" by Sedgwick. So far it is hard to put down.


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## MW (Nov 30, 2010)

PuritanCovenanter said:


> armourbearer said:
> 
> 
> > Influences of the Life of Grace
> ...


 
Regrettably, it has never been reprinted.


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## jambo (Nov 30, 2010)

Bunyan's classic, Pilgrim's Progress both parts would be a good starting place.

Scougal's "Life of God in the Soul of Man" is also worth a read


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## Wayne (Nov 30, 2010)

armourbearer said:


> PuritanCovenanter said:
> 
> 
> > armourbearer said:
> ...



Looking rarer by the moment! Not available at present on Google Books nor on archive.org, nor could I locate a copy in an antiquarian bookstore online.

Found at least a portion of it online, as printed in a 19th century journal. That publication, _The Original Secession Magazine_ is available on Google Books. Vol. XIII (1877-78) contains chapters 10-13.

On that page displaying the first page of chapter XI of _Instances_, look over at the upper left hand corner and click "About this book", then click the Table of Contents and you'll see at least five chapters from the work serialized in this volume that they've digitized.


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## KMK (Nov 30, 2010)

Wayne said:


> armourbearer said:
> 
> 
> > PuritanCovenanter said:
> ...


 
It looks like it is available from SWRB. How did they get a hold of it to digitize it?


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## Gesetveemet (Nov 30, 2010)

Not a Puritan but-

*The ABC of Faith *by Alexander Comrie



> Publisher's Description: The Writings of numerous British divines have been translated into Dutch...But on the other hand the writings of the Dutch divines themselves are virtually unknown to English readers for whom Dutch is an unknown language. The production of this book is to redress the balance. Here is Comrie, a Scot who became a minister in Holland greatly used and esteemed, whose name in that country is a household word in the Christian home: *here is his gospel direct, searching and affectionate, describing the true saving faith of God's elect as known in Christian experience.*


The ABC of Faith - Reformation Heritage Books




.


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## Don Kistler (Nov 30, 2010)

Regarding the Rutherford title, if you have access to a decent research library, Early English Books Online (EEBO) has digitized it into PDF form. You could at least read it there.


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