Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	apostle_n	law_n	write_v	1,780	5	6.1497	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A58545	The visible glory of the reign of Christ on earth, no ways repugnant to the spirituality of his kingdom. Occasion'd by an epistolary discourse intituled The reign of Christ among his saints, denying any such outward and visible kingdom.	J. S.	1677 (1677)	Wing S103; ESTC R34575	59,327	88

whole Creation doth unto this day Yea we that have the first fruits of the Spirit saith the Apostle even we our selves groan within our selves waiting for the adoption viz. the redemption of our body Sir I trust we are not and shall not be found without our mouths filled with praises for this inward Kingdom of God in the Spirit in Righteousness Peace and Joy in the holy Ghost nor for this glorious freedom and liberty in the inward man but yet we groan and are allowed so to do and it is our duty and the Spirit himself assists us in this groaning and assists us with his sighs and groanes which are deeper then ours for the glorious completion of this Kingdom and the manifestation of it In respect whereof and in comparison with which our present state is but a prison and that in two respects the one respecting the inward the other the outward liberty First in respect of the inward this Spiritual inward liberty of which you treat though in respect of the ground and object of it which is Christ and the work of our Redemption wrought by his Death be full and perfect in its self yet in respect of its Application it is neither fully given forth nor but weakly apprehended by us The times of the full giving forth being reserved till Christs second appearance when the light of the Moon shall be as the light of the Sun and the light of the Sun shall be seven fold as the light of seven days viz. In the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people and healeth the stroak of their wound Esa 30.26 At present though the Object be uncovered in comparison with the times of the Law yet our sight is weak and therefore our weak eyes need a Glass as the Apostle saith 2. In respect of the outward The vision of our peace is as a book that is Sealed The times of this world are the Seales upon it six of them were open'd long since the seventh containing all the Trumpets and Phyalls under it is opened so far that there remains but the last Trumpet and Phyal which sticks but by a little Wax and then the times of this world are ended and the book flies open and then that is written within shall be perfectly manifested Now Sir let me bespeak you in your own words p. 30. Look not awry upon these things neither manifest any manner of dislike or neglect or carelesness Gallio like about them And take not the present in payment for the whole Look into the ancient Types of this Redemption we wait for they were not meerly inward and spiritual but outward also The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt the bringing back of the Babilonish captivity The bringing up of the Christian Church from under the Heathenish persecution These were but in part and shall this glorious Kingdom we expect fall short of these God forbid That measure of outward Liberty we enjoy at this day is by the Prerogative dispensation of this Kingdom of our Lord Jesus which hath set foot in these Nations and will not let go its hold till it hath wrought out a full liberty and deliverance for us I come now to the other part of your third Position that this Kingdom of Christ is of absolute perfection and glory which I readily assent to and the perfection and glory of it to be greater than what you instance or describe but not actual in the present state but only in hope and enjoyed at present only by Faith I say first the perfection and glory of this Kingdom of Christ is greater than what you rest in for the perfection and glory you describe rests in God and in the Person of the Lord Jesus and we are interessed in it only by faith for this is all the evidence you bring or indeed can bring for the absoluteness of this perfection and glory our imperfections manifold testifying against us that we are not actually or manifestly perfect throughout in our whole spirit Soul and Body nor in either part of them and therefore by the convincing evidence of this imperfection you are driven to fly to your Metaphysicks of unum bonum verum vel perfectum p. 44. and to grant that we in our selves and of our selves are still the same only look what we are to God that we are in Him and not in our selves p. 42. and very studiously and industriously you purge your self of placing this perfection in the flesh or in the letter but that it hath its being and foundation wholly and altogether in the life and power and spirit of the Lord Jesus c. p. 47.48 which is so well spoken that I wish those that rejoice in your book as countenancing their dream of perfection may understand it and come to a better understanding by it But is this all the perfection we ever look for in Christs Kingdom an objective perfection shall there be two Men always in us the Old and the New the Flesh and the Spirit shall we be always torn and divided and drawn asunder by two Centers two Laws the Law of our Members rebelling against the Law of our Minds T is most certain our Life our Perfection our Glory shall ever be more objective than subjective even to Eternity that is our happiness our blessedness more properly more truly consists in the Relation we have to God and Christ in the Vnion we have with God and Christ then in any habit qualities or graces that are wrought in us or by infusion imparted or communicated to us and with us else what means the Beatifical Vision But there is a vast difference between the way of apprehending this glorious full and perfect object of all blessedness now in the present infirm state and hereafter We now walk by faith saith the Apostle not by sight but then we shall walk by sight and not by faith while we walk by faith the object is at a distance for faith is the evidence of things not seen the substance of things hoped for now hope that is seen is not hope for what a man seeth why doth he yet hope for therefore faith is not sight properly though the Apostle calls it a seeing in a sort because it makes a kind of supply of the want of sight yet 't is but a dark but a weak sight and therefore says he we now see through a Glass darkly for the weakness of the sight and the remoteness of the object the glass is needful The Lord Jesus his Person his transactions is in this our present state but as a glass through which we see God and this glass is very remote He is in Heaven and we now see him not as the Apostle Peter says 1 Pet. 1.8 and there will abide till the times of the restitution of all things and we only see him by Faith through the revelation of Scriptures the representation of Ordinances and the spiritual form of himself brought forth

interest of that opinion wrought him over to this side which had he lived to see the improvements of it that have been made since might for ought I know have wrought him off from his conformity But besides this also there are unhappy prejudices like false lights or disadvantagious Medium's through which we take an account of some truths There are two which I suspect in your self and many good men 1. An apprehended inconsistency or irreconcileableness between outward and inward in the Kingdom of Christ to which I have applied something in the foregoing discourse The second is the foul mixtures of man you may have seen in some that have been in the general of this judgment and the irregularities it hath transported them unto To this besides what I have applyed already let me add there is a purer and cleaner way of taking up of truth then from men or their Books or the worser comments on them their practices and that is from the pure Fountains themselves the Scriptures of truth defaecated of all impure mixtures of men where this Doctrine and hope stands purg'd from all such irregularities or evil tendencies as well by the Author who sets up this Kingdom the God of Heaven who is the God of order not of confusion as by the Nature of it which is Healing Restoreing Refreshing Seeking the good of all even the whole Creation which groanes for it and all Nations desire it and will only find rest in it and nothing but Antichrist and Hell are disturb'd by it By this touch-stone and standard I desire you to try and examine both what I have written here and in the book I sent you before both for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both what and what manner of time the Scriptures of the Prophets and Pen men of the Holy Ghost do mean that write of this Kingdom of Christ I cannot suspect or immagine you have no concerne for your fellow members or lay not to heart their sufferings throughout the world though you and I and some few others may enjoy a breathing time in which God is to be acknowledged in the first place and his instruments secondarily especially if of good will they promote it but what is this to the generality of Christs interest throughout the Nations what though they have been unkind to us as Josephs brethren were to him yet they are our brethren and when Christ shall come with clouds and they shall look on him whom they have Peirced they will mourn because of him Nor do I envy your strength your fulness your joy in the present state would to God it were more I know you are warned of the Corinthian and the Laodicean riches and fulness not to take up with them it is certain the Lord hath made provision by the Gospel of his Son that our joy should be full 1 Joh. 1.4 There is a fulness in the present state of Faith so that we mistake not this for absolute fulness It is not the fulness of that state that shall be It might be improved to more then it is and is improved by some 〈◊〉 or rather in some through grace more then it is by or in others But all the fulness that ever was is or shall ●e given forth in the present state is not to prevent or make needless Christs second and glorious visible appearance nor are the greatest measures of it that are given forth to any to stop their mouths or discharge them from traveling by faith and prayer and utmost improvement of their interest for this glorious appearance for then their Table would become their snare and therefore when we flagg and are apt to take up in present manifestations and spiritual enlargments the Lord gives us thornes in the Flesh duplicantur lateres as it was in Egypt to quicken our Travel and to set us a crying mightily to God to give him no rest till he make Jerusalem a praise in the Earth even to cry day and night till with our cryes we raise up the Lord to judge and avenge his own elect Thus Sir I have given you a brief and plain account of the hope that is in me after which I trust it will be needless to tell you I have nothing but love and honour for your person for your learning and gifts for your love to Christ and his truth for your sufferings for his sake for your alwaies immerited Love and Friendship to me in a word for every thing but your Argument and that nothing but the interest of truth could have drawn me to have any difference with you for which I assure my selfe I shall be justified with you as I must necessarily have faln in your eyes if any personal respect had been preferr'd before it if in any expression I have seemed to bear too heard upon you I heartily begg your pardon and that you would accept this explanation that it is directed to your argument not to you I so take all your's which are in some places sharp enough Thus veniam petimusque damusque vicissim The useful and spiritual parts of your Book I shall ever desire to lay up with that respect that is due to them It is not your good positions but the ill position they are under viz. their opposition to that they ought to be in Amity in Harmony withall that I with draw from your Epistle Dedicatory and other passages of your Book of a particular nature and great respect to the Lady to whom you direct it were vanity to trouble the world withal but reserve my self to another time to give you an account of the due value that both she and I have for them and for your good caution to us both not to take the shadow for the substance returning you these two auspicious remarks The first the Text the Minister took at her first Marriage many years ago was Rev. 19.7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give honour to him for the Marriage of the Lamb is come and his Wife hath made her self ready And the Text on which God Preach'd to her the day before this her second Marriage was What I do unto thee thou knowest not now but thou shalt know hereafter This is the substance that is to fill up all our shadowy joys and contents The Marriage of the Lamb the near approach of which Marriage is the subject of that little Book I sent you the tydings whereof would not be celebrated with that Festivity as in that forecited Rev. 19. If it made no accession to the Churches joy more then she had before and were the evidence thereof apprehended by you the shadows of the evening are not so far stretched upon you but it would make you revive and blossom again which therefore suggests to me the confidence to recommend the serious and sedate perusal thereof unto you again We read of a small remnant that shall have a Song Esa 30 1● ch 24.14 as