Selected quad for the lemma: body_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
body_n	nature_n	soul_n	unite_v	6,882	5	9.6339	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A26888	The certainty of the worlds of spirits and, consequently, of the immortality of souls of the malice and misery of the devils and the damned : and of the blessedness of the justified, fully evinced by the unquestionable histories of apparitions, operations, witchcrafts, voices &c. / written, as an addition to many other treatises for the conviction of Sadduces and infidels, by Richard Baxter.	Baxter, Richard, 1615-1691.	1691 (1691)	Wing B1214; ESTC R13061	111,630	274

of Heaven more Familiar and Pleasant to us to think of such a Holy and Amiable Society and would make us the willinger to die As to them that say that it is enough to know that Christ is all to us and we must take heed of ascribing any thing to Creatures I Answer is Christ the less all to us for giving us his Mercies For giving us the Ministry of Angels Is he the less All to us for giving Gifts to Men for giving Comforters and Merciful Relievers to the poor For giving to Children the Love and Care of Parents Or for giving Men good Princes and Magistrates to Rule them Or for giving them Soldiers to fight for them Or for giving you Ministers to Teach you Who more praiseth their Teachers than such Objectors Will you be unthankful to your Benefactors for fear of ascribing to Creatures Will you not praise a Godly Man above a Wicked Will you not praise and admire the Glory of the Sun and Stars and the Frame of Heaven and Earth for fear of ascribing to Creatures Is the praising of a Work a wrong to the Workman Indeed this agreeth with their Doctrine who because ●aul counted all his Mosaical Legal Righteousness as loss and Dung in Comparison of the Righteousness that God gave him in and by ●hrist do therefore ●●y that we must count all that Righteousness as Dung which ●hrist himsel● worketh in us by his Spirit even Faith it se●● which is imputed or reckoned to us for Righteousness This enticeth Men to be out of Love with Christian Righteousness when Christ hath made it our own if it be no better than Dung And to fear that some such Men have no better But they say they account Faith and Love to Christ to be Dung only as to Iustification As if God did not make all Men just whom he justifieth by Esteem and Sentence Or as if that were Righteousness that doth in no part or degree make a Man Righteous Or as if any but Christians as such are justified Or any Man were a Christian before he accepteth Christ by a Loving and Thankful Consent or Trust as his Saviour and his Teacher and his Lord and Ruler But this is a Digression which Mens talk against ascribing to Angels led me to We are not for ascribing to Angels nor to Faith and Love and Holiness the least part of the Honour proper to God or to Jesus Christ They do none of the Work of our Redeemer for us nor can we do the least of it for our selves unless as the Work of his Instruments and Agents may be called Christs Work They save us indeed but it is but as Timothy was taught by Paul how to save himself and those that heard him and we are bid to save our selves Christ teacheth us and Ministers teach us Christ Feedeth us and we Feed our selves yea he faith that we feed him And that he will for so doing say Come ye Blessed inherit the Kingdom Angels and Men do Christs Commanded Work But no Creature doth the least part of Christs own proper undertaken Work Objection But these high Thoughts of Angels have draw● the Papists to Idolatry in Praying to them and Worshipping them Answer It is your denying them the Honour that is due to them which is a Temptation that hardneth Papists in their Excess Must we not Love and Honour Kings Ministers and Saints though some herein run into Extreams We have many Reasons against Praying to Angels or offering them Visible Corporeal Worship Because we know not just when they are present And because it may Countenance the Heathens Demon Worship and Idolatry And because God hath appointed us no such sort of Worship But God having largely told us of their Love to us and their constant eminent Service for us he thereby obligeth us to answerable Regard Affections and Acknowledgment I have said so much in a small Discourse in Mr. Isaack Ambro●e his Book of Communion with Angels at his request who is now with Angels that I will not here Recite very many particular Texts of Scripture about this Subject But if you will but look in your Concordance you may see what abundant mention of Angels there is throughout all the Scripture while we hear so little of them in our Books or Pulpits It 's true that in the Old Testament time they ofter Visibly appeared than they do now But that is no Derogation to our Gospel State As it is more Spiritual than theirs that needed more Visible means so our Spiritual Benefits by them before named are greater than theirs were 1. How Familiar were Angels with Abraham who entertained them as Men till they made themselves better known to him They were the Messengers of the great promise to him of the Numerous and the Holy Seed They Reproved Sarah for her Unbelief that they might comfort her by the promised Seed How Familiar were they with Lot when they came into his House and took him in and blinded his Enemies and told him their Message concerning Sodom and when they carried him while he delayed to depart And when they saved Zoar for his sake How Familiar were they with Iacob in his Travels and his Return when he saw them as by a Ladder ascending and descending And when one of them wrestled with him and Blessed him though he made him halt I know that many excellent Divines do that one of these called Angels was Christ. To which I say 1. If it were so that doth not deny but confirm what I am pleading for If Christ appearing made Angels his Companions it was the more for their Honour 2. But if this be true either Christ had a Body yea many Bodies before his Incarnation by Mary or not If not what were all these Similitudes of Men that did eat and drink and talk and act Were they mere ●hadows and Delusions How then could they speak and act so Potently If yea then was the pure God head Hypostatically united to these many appearing Bodies Or not Who can prove a difference save as to the Matter and Duration between his union with these and with his last assumed Flesh. And yet the Scripture appropriateth Christs Inca●●●tion and coming in the Body to the Fun●●● of Time and to those last days I am ●●th to say without proof that Christ 〈…〉 Bodies lest any should infer that there have been many Christs But if this 〈◊〉 be held it will introduce Peter Sterr● Doctrine as most probable that Christ as the Eternal Word 〈◊〉 God first 〈◊〉 the Noblest re●ted Nature ab●●e 〈◊〉 or as Dr ●●ore calleth it an Eternal 〈◊〉 or as he and Iohn Turner a p●ime Created ●e in the pri●●e Matter and did unite ●●●●lf to this 〈◊〉 ‑ lical Nature and by it cause all the rest And that this second Nature appeared to the Fathers by such Temporary assumed Bodies and at last assumed the Body of a Man being say some it self a Soul to it but as others assuming both

a Human Soul and Body And so that Christ hath three Natures a Divine a Superangelical and a Humane But of this oft elsewhere This opinion is reconciling as to the Artans who have affirmed Christ to be a Creature above Angels And if God made such a Creature methinks it should be easie to perswade them that he that is as the Center and more than a Soul maketh all the World to be One though of unlike parts doth primarily unite himself with the first and Noblest of his productions Objection But Scripture saith that Abraham called one of these Lord. Answer That Name both Adonai and Elohun are oft given to Creatures And if the Name of Iehovah be sometimes used as to Angels it is only meant to God speaking by them whom Abraham knew to be present though Invisible and to know all that was said Yet further it was an Angel that appeared to M●ses in the burning the Bush and so that sent him on his work to deliver the Israelites from Egypt and Fortified him with power of Miracles and made him his great promises of Success And yet no doubt it was God and the Text is true that affirmeth both Therefore it must be God speaking and acting by the Ministry of an Angel Commissioned to use his Name It was Angels that gave M●ses the Law in the Mount Sinai For so saith the Scripture But it was God by them who were his Voice and Finger that made and wrote the Tables and spake all the words these were all Great and Wonderful Ministrations God promised Moses that his Angels should go before the Israelites to conquer their Enemies and bring them into the promised Land And he chargeth them not to provoke him for Gods Name was upon him and he would not forgive their Iniquities What greater things could be said than that an Angel shall bear Gods Name and be their Captain and Conquer their Enemies and be their Governour and not forgive their wilful Sins In Ioshuahs War at Iericho an Angel appeareth and professeth himself the Captain of the Lords Hosts Josh. 5. 14 15. and Joshua fell on his face to the Earth and Worshipped him and prayed to him to tell him his Message If Angels be not the Generals or Captains of our Armies we are unlike to Conquer It was by an Angel that God brought the Israelites out of Egypt Numb 20. 16. It was an Angel that chose a Wife for Isaack Gen. 24. 7. 40. The Angel of Gods Presence saved the Israelites Isa. 63. 9. An Angel delivered the three Men Dan. 3. from the Fire and Daniel from the Lions Dan. 6. Angels Preached Christ to the Shepherds An Angel made the pool in Ierusalem healing Io. 5. 4. An Angel Preacheth to Cornelius An Angel delivereth Peter Act. 12. The Angel of the Lord Encampeth round about them that fear him and delivereth them Ps. 34. 7. God giveth his Angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways They bear us up in their Hands lest we dash our Foot against a Stone Psal. 91. 11 12. Rev. 1. Tells us that God first Revealeth his Will to Christ and Christ to Angels and Angels to Iohn and Iohn to the Churches and the Churches to Posterity Yea Angels Ministred to Christ himself when he was hungry Mat. 4. 11. And appeared in his Agony strengthening him Luke 22. 43. Legions of Angels are at his Service And all the Holy Angels will come with him at Judgment and they will be the Reapers at the end of the World Above 260 times are Angels mentioned in Scripture and yet how little notice do we take of their help But is it only our Bodies that they help Can they reach or help our Souls Answ. If Devils can touch our Souls with their Temptations are Angels farther from us or less able to move us to our Duty But are they ordinarily present or know our Case Answ. They rejoice in our Conversion and therefore know it They are present in our Assemblies as Paul intimareth 1 Cor. 11. 10. Say not before the Angel that it was an Errour Eccl. 5. 6. which intimateth the Angels Presence Every Believer hath his Angel beholding the Face of our Father in Heaven Matth. 13 10 and they are not Strangers to their Charge We feel that the Devil is present with us by his Temptations continually in all our Duties molesting or hindering us And are Angels less intent upon their Work It is Michael and his Angels that fight against the Dragon and his Angels to save the Church While such Texts make the Papists think that Angels are always or ordinarily present if they give them not Divine Worship but such as we would do a Prince though I have said before why I approve not of their Doings I dare not as some late Expositors of the Revelation judge the Catholick Church to have become AntiChristian Idolaters as soon as they gave too much Worship to Angels and to Saints We are come to the New Ierusalem to the Innumerable Angels Heb. 12. and must honour them that fear the Lord Psal. 15. And we know that we are translated from Death to Life becau●e we love the Brethren And is it so damnable Idolatry to love and honour Angels and Saints a little too much while they give them nothing proper to God I blame their Irregularities but I dare not judge so hardly of them and the ancient Church for this as some do nor think them much better that love and honour Angels and Saints as much too little Some now would call a Man an Idolater that should say as Iacob Gen. 48. 16. The Angel which redeemed me from all Evil bless the Lads They say This Angel was Christ. Answ. Scripture saith it was an Angel Hos. 12 4. saith He had power over the Angel I dare not call God an Angel though Angels may be called Gods as Princes be If Christ had then no Nature but the Divine I should suspect it is Arianism to call him an Angel or Messenger of God If he had a Body then was it Ubiquitary Or had he infinite numbers of Bodies Or could he be but with one in the World at once For my part I have had many Deliverances so marvellous as convinceth me of the Ministry of Angels in them not here to be recited But I am satisfied that there is no less of the Presence and Efficacy of the Father Son and Holy Spirit when he useth and honoureth any Instruments Angels or Men than if he used no Means at all As I will not desire so to alter the stated Government and Order of God as to expect here visible Communion with Angels nor will offer them any unrequired Worship so I would not unthankfully forget how much we receive by them from Christ and how much we are beholden to them and to God and our Redeemer for them And I hope they will shortly be a Convoy to the Soul of this poor Lazarus to Abraham's Bosom or to the Paradise