Selected quad for the lemma: book_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	open_v	seal_n	seal_v	1,844	5	9.6479	5	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