Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A44112
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Some remains of John Hogg in two parts, the first being an answer to a letter writ to him by Tho. Markham, the second, a continuation and more full discourse of the matters treated of in the said answer &c / published by a friend of the author's since his death.
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Hogg, John, 17th cent.
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1698
(1698)
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Wing H2368B; ESTC R31114
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32,954
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63
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O'er most as on him in a Creature-way Men look they know not his Eternal Day And whilst Men think he is not to be known As surely now as when to Jew was shown Or that he is not now to us so near As when he did to them i' th' Flesh appear Such know him not as everlasting King Nor yet as in his Death and Suffering Christ is and ever has a Myst'ry been Which Vult'rous Eye as yet hath never seen Whoever finds and sees whom they profess He is their Mystery of Godliness He was and is their undefiled way In which could never walk a Beast of prey Christ in the Flesh was vailed to the Jew To know him but i' th' Flesh's a Vail to you That Christ shall once be seen the Jews presume And you aright believe that he did come But whilst you know him not t' appear within Both are alike concluded under Sin 'T is true in a good Sense what both assert And into one new Man God will convert These two as they breathe after Christ and then Shall know that he puts off the Vail in Men. For all those Acts which heretofore he did He doth in Spirit now tho' they are hid Him still the legal Christian doth despise For in the Flesh he 's still a Cross to th' Wise He in the Flesh a Suff'rer alway was Since his being slain in Man came first to pass Christ is the same he was in every Case Who this believes doth a grand Truth embrace 'T is an authentick Truth that Christ is Lord But who so calls him of their own accord Without the Holy Spirit cannot find The truth of what they utter in their Mind In what they say true Witness is not born Nor th' Vail yet off their Understanding torn Now that the Lord the Spirit is was told Unto the Jew and true to all doth hold In Spirit then we must know Christ his Day Before the Vail in us be put away But we mistake that Christ expect to know As Jesus e'er we understand his Law The Law of God appearing in the Heart Of his great Work in us hath the first part This the Schoolmaster is which us doth bring To witness Christ in us as Lord and King This Holy Law in us must take a place Before we truly know what 's Grace as Grace This is affirm'd by the Apostle Paul And is no doubt acknowledg'd true by all I was said he without the Law alive But when th' Commandment came Sin did revive And then I dy'd was that made Death to me That was ordain'd to Life No verily But that Sin might as Sin be understood Death was in me wrought by that which was good This was the Law i' th' Heart there is no doubt For th' Law in Stone he never was without Nay further still we do in Scripture find He names th' aforesaid Law that of his Mind Which whilst not com'd unto we may believe His Sense of Sin and Death did not perceive An outward Good was to the outward Jew A Figure to the Spiritual that is true The outward Jews with Slavery opprest Before they could it see must be releast That is they could not see the promis'd Land Whilst shackled by imperious Phar'oh's Hand But were till more opprest as to it dead Nor could they cry to be delivered Thus Man in Death doth never Trouble know He 's dead to God and also to his Law The Law 's as dead to him till God revive Or by his Spirit make the same alive But when by God restor'd to Life it hath That Pow'r in us to manifest his Wrath From Heav'n against our Sin and what is Evil Wrought in 's by our malignant Foe the Devil For God Division makes by Judgment sure Betwixt the Soul of Man and Satan's Pow'r And Man in that Division doth partake Of Sorrow truly for the Evil's sake This is the Way the Father doth us draw Unto his Son that we his Love may know No other way the Righteous yet have found That saving Grace might unto them abound And they that know not thus the Work begin Their Knowledge has but superficial been Such then do well themselves to prove and try If they him know on whom they can relie Our Way th' Apostle here doth personate And to the Life sets forth the troubled State Thus he exclaim'd I in my Members find A Law that wars against that of my Mind And takes me Captive sore against my Will By which am forc'd to do that which is ill To what is good I readily consent But finds no pow'r the evil to prevent O wretched Man who shall deliver me From this body of Death and Misery The Law brought Wrath the Trouble Christ did bring Into his Flesh there to condemn the Sin His Soul to save by which he did espy Grace without Works and could it magnifie The Law of God the Creature doth condemn But Christ the Grace condemns the Sin in them God makes his Law alive this breaks Death's reign And Life we do receive by being slain Tho' all God's Dealings with us be in love Yet all his Acts we do not so approve For he doth kill before he giveth Life And in that dying there is found great Strife And yet this killing is to make us live But who in dying can that Truth perceive He makes us live but still we live in pain Because the Death and Evil doth remain We 're sure we live because we do endure The Sense of Grief which makes our living sure Our Trouble now proceedeth from within The Cause of it's the Knowledge of our Sin And Knowledge of our Sin and servile Yoke Is from the Law which we have truly broke And from 't we find cannot relieved be In this springs up the sense of Misery That fits us for the Gospel which is free Now then it is that we a Saviour want And do for him as th' Hart for Water pant Now we prepared are and Christ begins As Jesus now to save us from our Sins Sin he condemns i' th' Flesh and Pow'r doth give To serve him that has made our Souls to live A Type of this God did in Israel shew When the Aegyptian Host he overthrew I' th' Red-Sea and by that stupendious Deed His People from their Fear and Bondage freed Now unto God could Israel sacrifice What Aegypt could not stop tho' might despise Now Israel did rejoice and not before That their Oppressors they should see no more For now was their Deliverance atchiev'd From ev'ry thing that had in Bondage griev'd By this they were set free from all they knew That hindred them God's Worship to pursue Yet still before they could the Land possess Met various Troubles in the Wilderness Too tedious here and numerous to relate Which did concern them in their Servant-State This was to fit them and to lay them low In their own Eyes that they might truly know From God it was that now they did
fit our Souls the Kingdom to possess Yea in the Wilderness he doth us lead Till all is mortifi'd worn out and dead That is not fit t' enjoy that blessed Land Of which Canaan did a Figure stand A Servant-State precedes that of a Son A Sonship must be known e'er th' Work be done The faithful Servant doth his Master fear A Father's Honour doth i' th' Son appear The Fear i' th' first Estate precedes the Love The last excludeth Fear the Scriptures prove A Son abideth in the House alway The Servant is but for his Time and Day And knows not what is by his Master said Or acted whilst the Son is privy made For 't is his Meat to do his Father's Will And chearfully he doth it all fulfill A second Resurrection doth imply A first and second Death doth signifie That a first Death already 's passed by If the first Death we do not really find Until a second seizeth on our Mind Eternal Wrath will come to be our Share And who can that great Misery declare So then we must a first Death truly know E'er second come if we escape its Wo. The first Death on us by Transgression come And o'er our Minds as yet doth Pow'r assume Whilst we unto the World are found alive We 're dead to God and of his Life depriv'd Christ must arise in us before that we Can know this Death or from 't deliver'd be Sin is this Death and whilst its Pow'rs abide Unbroke in us Christ is as crucifi'd To us but if he rise he doth bequeath That Life whereby we apprehend this Death We know it thus and as we do partake Of this first Resurrection and do make Our Part in it assur'd we live thereby That Death to know which is in Christ to die Nor can we know it till we understand The Work is finish'd which he did command A second Death we may this Death express The first to Sin this to our Righteousness This is the Saints Death precious in God's Eyes Accepted as their sweetest Sacrifice And 't is their Gain for now to God they live And more they die more Life they do receive Christ made us live and we did Sin refrain But through this Death he cometh to be slain In us that has the Pow'r of Death the Devil In what he works like Good as well as Evil. This Death is that th' Apostle did profess His Longing for with so great Earnestness For unto all Self-righteousness he dy'd That he might know Christ and him crucify'd He first makes mention of his Resurrection Next of his Fellowship with his Affection And lastly of a true Conformity Unto his Death which he desir'd to see This last he did desire we plainly read T' attain the Resurrection of the Dead Much of these glorious Truths here might we write But if we would obtain a clearer Sight We must our selves in Seeking then delight For when all 's utter'd that can be declar'd Or spoken of that can be read or heard These Truths are Myst'ries still unto that Mind That does not them sincerely seek to find For such another never can them know The use of Words is to direct unto The Truth in us to find out ev'ry State Which unto us the Scripture doth relate They are not distant from us they are near If we could know the Truth of what we hear For God's the Substance of each Mystery And unto ev'ry Soul he 's always nigh He sills all Things and doth in all remain The Heaven of Heavens cannot him contain He 's nearer us than our most secret Thought If this we knew or were it truly taught Our Apprehensions would not be abroad At some far distant Place to seek our God For whilst such Notions prepossess our Mind The Truth of Godliness we cannot find Christ also doth near ev'ry Soul abide Being with the Father in strict Union ty'd The Holy Spirit which doth still proceed From th' Father and the Son as we may read In Scripture testify'd is also near If we look for him where he doth appear That Christ may formed be within our Heart Before he will the Mystery impart But unto whom do these great Truths belong Not to the wise the rich the high or strong In their own Eyes in this they have no Share But with their Skill and Art excluded are But unto such as low and needy be In ev'ry Age the Gospel has been free It was to such Isaiah did proclaim The Gospel-Riches in the Father's Name O every one that hungry is he cries Or thirsty let him come and without Price Buy Milk and Wine Thus God the Poor supplies But he that hath a Price for 't to be told Riches of Grace he never did behold For if 't can purchas'd be in any Case By what 's our own it cannot then be Grace For Grace as it is Free belongs to none But those in misery and Want alone Such then it was that Christ our Saviour sought When on an high Feast-day he thus cry'd out Let him that thirsty is come unto me That he may drink Lifes Water which is free And these his gracious Words may be apply'd To all Mankind that should in him confide The Time approach'd that such should truly know Out of their Bellies living Waters flow And this was said touching the Holy Spirit Which every true Believer should inherit This to reveal he then both came and dy'd But was not known till he was glorify'd None in this holy Path he came to shew Can walk but such as are upright and true All Forms without us are but this within By which he doth destroy the Root of Sin This is the Way which all that do believe In Christ should wait assur'dly to receive This Way he did before his Follow'rs ly It was to wait for Power from on high That perfect Gift that cometh from above From God who in the Heart doth shed his Love This Way he did before all Ways prefer To be enjoin'd on each Particuler For tho' he did that Heavenly Wisdom preach And taught them as no other Man could teach Yet unto them he plainly did declare He'ad much to say which yet they could not bear Nor could they bear 't if he should bodily With them remain Therefore 't was needful he Should in the Flesh depart that they might know The Truth of what he came to say and do I 'll pray said he the Father and he 'll give Another Comforter with you to live And he continually with you shall stay And never more removed be away The Spirâ—t of Truth out of the World is thrust Because they see him not nor in him trust But you him know and shall hereafter find Him that is with you dwelling in your Mind Then unto your Remembrance he will bring What I have told you as to ev'ry thing When he is come I tell you what is true He 'll tâ—ke of mine and shew it unto you All 's nine the Father hath you may believe Therefore I said he 'll take of mine and give To you Yet a short while and th' World no more Shall see me as they have done heretofore Bâ—t you shall see me and you then shall know Because I live that you shall live also That day you 'll know I in the Father be In you also and you shall be in me Go search the Scriptures and you shall not find Another Method to perfect the Mind FINIS