Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A12709
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The mystery of godlinesse a generall discourse of the reason that is in Christian religion. By William Sparke divinity reader at Magd: Coll: in Oxford, and parson of Blechly in B[uck]ingham-shire.
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Sparke, William, 1587-1641.
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1628
(1628)
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STC 23026; ESTC S100099
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133,807
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175
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the covenant of his grace in our Creed where the agreement is first drawne betwixt God the Father Son and Holy Ghost on the one part and the holy Catholicke tholicke Church on the other as he saith * Ier. 31.33 I will be their God and they shall be my people Then the conditions of the Covenant are expressed first for this life present the Communion of Saints on our part with God and with one an other in loue according to his Law and on Gods part the continuall forgiuenesse of our sinnes For so is the Covenant a Ier. 31.33.34 Heb. 10.16.17 I will put my Lawes in their hearts saith GOD and in their mindes will I write them And their sinnes and iniquities will I remember no more And for the life to come God will recouer vs from death by the resurrection of our bodies and we shall euer liue in his sight praising him as hee saith b Ps 50.15 I will deliuer thee and thou shalt glorifie me Who himselfe alone is the only and all-sufficient cause of our saluation and that of his free grace goodnes the author and first mouer the Mediatour procurer the immediate worker dispenser of all in all The vnsearchable loue of God the Father who made all things and c whose desire is to the worke of his hands fore-seeing that man would not abide in honour to glorifie him vnto eternall life according to the course of Nature provided from euerlasting this way of grace to glorifie himselfe in our saluation Which hee hath euer from the beginning promised in time performeth d 2 Tim. 1.9 calling and sauing vs according to his owne purpose and grace which was giuen vs in Christ Iesus before the World began The grace of our Lord Iesus Christ our Mediatour and Redeemer hath abundantly performed the same for vs a 2 Cor. 1.20 in whom all the promises of God are yea in him Amen to the glory of God by vs b 1 Pet. 1.20.21 who verily was fore-ordained before the foundatiō of the World but was manifest in these last times for vs who by him doe beleeue in God that raised him frō the dead gaue him glory that our faith and hope might be in God The Holy Ghost who proceedeth from the Father and the Son doth by an entire fellovvship most comfortably communicate the same grace vnto vs c Rom. 8.16 testifying to our spirits that vve are the children of God in Christ that we are in grace and fauour with him and thereby working d Heb. 12.28 grace in vs againe to serue him vvith reuerence and godly feare e Eph. 1.14 the earnest of our purchased possession vvhereby vve are sealed to the day of redemption Although the severall parts of our saluation bee thus seuerally attributed to the Persons of the Trinity for distinction in respect of their order and the oeconomy amongst themselues according to their personall proprieties yet is our whole saluation as all the outvvorkes are the ioint vvorke of the Trinity But in this whole mystery of grace the eye of our faith is most set vpon our Lord IESVS the f mal 3.1 Angell of the Couenant g Heb. 12.24 the Mediatour of the nevv Testament h Heb. 3.1 the Apostle and High Priest of our calling i 1 Pet. 2.25 the Pastor and Bishop of our soules k Heb. 2.10 the captaine of our saluation the l C. 12.2 author and finisher of our faith Because m Col. 1.19 in him it pleased the Father all fulnesse should dvvell n Ioh. 1.16 And of his fulnesse vve all receiue by his Spirit euen grace for grace The Son of God the Mediatour As he said of Abraham so might he haue saide of Adam before he was I am For he is the †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sybil. apud Lactant. l. 4. de vera sapientia c. 6. eternall Sonne of God o Iohn 1.1 his Word and p Prou. 8. Wisdome q Iohn 1.9 the light r Iam 1.17 of the Father of lights ſ Heb. 1.3 the expresse Image of GOD and brightnes of his glory t Exo. 23.20.21 c. 33.14 Esai 63.9 the Angell of his presence very God of very God begotten not made u Mich. 5.2 whose goings out haue beene from euerlasting and x Es 53.8 who can declare his generation * Christus est homo etsi Deus Adam novissimus etsi sermo primarius Tertul de resur carn Although hee bee called the second Adam in regard of the flesh assumed for the worke of our redemption as it was promised from the beginning y Prov. 8.22 The Lord possessed him his essentiall word and wisedome in the beginning of his way before his workes of olde the a Rationem verò eorum quae Deus ab aeterno in sapientia id est in vnigenito verbo disposuit creans ibi omnia simul quae postmodum consequenter producit in opera secundùm provisum ordinem singula traducens c. Ioan. Sarisber Policrat l. 2. c. 21. mirrour of his minde the b Col. 1.15 Image of the invisible God the first begotten of euery creature By whom hee purposed to make all things to preserue some Angels to recouer c Nulla est personarum acceptio quia sic alius gratis honoratur vt alius debito non fraudetur Et mox Nec vlla est personarum acceptio in duobus debitoribus aequaliter reis fi alteri dimittitur ab altero exigitur quod paritèr ab vtroque debetur August ad 2. ep Pelag. l. 2 c. 7. some men of whom hee made choice in him with a non obstante notwithstanding the generall fall at once in Adam and our continuall failing his grace and fals in sin For the Almighty and onely wise God proceedes not meerely vpon occasion or according to a bare speculatiue d Scientia existentium praescientia futurorum dispositio faciendorum providentia gubernandorum praedestinatio salvandorum est Ioan. Sarisber Polycrat l. 2. c. 21. prevision of what would happen but by provision with Almighty power most wisely and justly ordered by his prouidence to accomplish his owne purpose e Eph. 1.11 who worketh all things after the counsell of his owne will Wherefore it seemes most agreeable to Scripture and to the nature of the mystery of his will therein revealed vnto vs which f Durand in 1. sent dist 41. q. 1. art 9. Thom. Aq. 1. part q. 23. art 4. some haue well observed that election was first ordine naturae in the Sonne of God as being the mirrour and then predestination by him as the Mediatour that being an act of Gods praescience this a g Primitiva disponentis Dei gratia Ioan. Sarisber Policrat l. 2. c. 22. praedisposing of his providence h Rom. 8.29 For whom God did fore-know that is approue and make choice of in
ratione praedita 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quidninominet quispiam eum filium Dei Arrian epise l. 1. c. 9. sons of God y Iames 1.17 who is the Father of lights And againe wee are his sonnes by grace who of his owne will z Iames 1.18 begat vs by the word of truth through faith in his Sonne a Iohn 1.12.13 For to as many as receiue him to them he giues power to become the sonnes of God euen to them that beleeue on his Name which are borne not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God Who for his part failes not to provide for our good both in the course of nature and in the state of grace For if an earthly father knowes how to provide good things for his children how much more doth our Father which is in Heauen b Acts 14.17 vvho neuer left himselfe vvithout vvitnes doing good And if hee make c Mat. 5.45 his sunne to rise on the euill and on the good and send raine on the iust and on the vniust hee will certainely cause the d Mal. 4.2 sunne of righteousnesse to arise and e Es 60.1 shine vpon his gracious children and will f c. 44.3 send downe sweete dewes of his spirit into their hearts And g Rom. 8.32 he that hath giuen vs his Son how shall he not with him giue vs all things also Nay our heauenly Father preuents vs with all good things both of nature and grace and all to this end that we should haue the good nature or the grace to vse all to the praise of his glory Which whilest we principally intend wee may be well assured that in the end wee shall be no loosers both because our true happinesse consists naturally in the h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Deus salutaris est sed bonumipsum salutare Arrian Epict. l. 2. c. 8. Summum amare bonum summa est beatitudo August epist 111. ad Iulian. fruition and admiration of Gods glory according to the covenant of nature i Levit. 18 5. Rom. 10.5 doe this and liue and also because the glory of God is ingaged vpon the saluation of his faithfull people by the covenant of grace k Habak 2.4 Rom. 1.17 The Iust shall liue by his faith In assurance whereof the faithfull children of God haue beene well content The true Zelotes of God's glory not onely to frame their liues to his glory but to lay downe their liues for his sake putting the last adventure of their soules that they could make in well-doing l 1 Pet. 4.19 into the hands of God a faithfull Creatour The Lord Himself m Phil. 2.6 being in glory equall with God the Father that without robbery was willing to be abased in the forme of a seruant to the pit of hell that the will of GOD might be done on earth by man for the redeeming of his Kingdome in vs to the glory of his holy Name For although the flesh was weake which for the time put him in a terrible agony yet he soone resolued being strong in the spirit n Luke 22.42 Not my will but thy will be done * Iohn 12.27.28 Now is my soule troubled and what shall I say Father saue mee from this houre but for this cause came I to this houre Father glorifie thy Name And at this marke of our high calling his zealous Saints resolued by his grace through faith presse hard in hope and loue Abraham was content to submit so farre to the will of GOD as to o Gen. 22. sacrifice his sonne Isaacke whom he loued and with him for ought that appeared his owne and all mens expected happinesse For the promise that in his seed all the Nations of the earth should be blessed was before restrayned to Isaacke p Gen. 21.12 Heb. 11.17.18 In Isaacke shall thy seed be called Only he beleeued that God was able to raise him vp from the dead q V. 19. from whence also he receiued him as in a figure Moses wished to be r Ex. 32.32 rased out of the Booke of life rather then that God should not maintaine his owne glory in the safety and prosperity of his people Israel whereon his glory lay ingaged Iob resolueth in his greatest affliction ſ Iob. 13.15 though the Lord slay me yet will I not forsake him The three children Shadrach Mesach Abednego were resolute not to giue the glory of God to Nebuchadnezzar in his golden image whatsoeuer came of them though they perished t Dan 3.17.18 Our God say they whom we serue is able to deliuer vs out of thine hands O King and hee will deliuer vs but if not bee it knowne vnto thee O King that wee will not serue thy gods nor worship thy golden image which thou hast set vp St Paul was content to be u Rom. 9 3◠Anathema from Christ for his brethrens sake not in mere naturall affection to them though it were great but in a feruent zeale of Gods glory which now might seeme to lye at stake with thē Because x V. 4. to them belonged the adoption the glory the covenant And generally all the new borne which onely are the true borne children of God seeme to bee of the same minde Christianos dicit Plinius Secundus omnia vitia detestari sanctissimè vivere hoc solum in eis posse reprehendi quod nimis faci è pro Deo suo profundant vitam quodque horis antelucanis furgant ad canendas laudes Christi l. 10. ep 97. ad Traian who reioyce not only in hope of the glory of God but euen in their greatest tribulations y Heb. 10.34 suffering ioyfully the spoiling of their goods yea of their z Heb. 11.35.36.37 liues vvith most exquisite torments because the a Rom. 5.5 loue of God is shed abroad in their hearts b 1 Pet. 1.8 vvhom hauing not seene they loue in vvhom though novv they see him not yet beleeuing they reioice vvith ioy vnspeakable and full of glory Nay euery creature doth euen by nature spend it self to set forth the glory of the Creator in some sort or other To glorisie the creatoris the glory of the creature being then most happy when it can serue best and is most vsed to that end for which it was made c Iob. 12.7 Aske now the beastes and they shall teach thee the foules of the aire they shall tell thee Or speake to the earth it shall teach thee and the fishes of the sea shall declare vnto thee If wee were not dull of hearing might we not perceiue an * Cicero in Somn. Scip. harmony of the Spheares the Earth below with a deepe base in consort to the Heauenly quier euery creature of God bearing his part all cōming in with a full Chorus to