Selected quad for the lemma: death_n
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A45586
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A Scriptural and rational account of the Christian religion particularly concerning justification only by the propitiation and redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Harley, Edward, Sir, 1624-1700.
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1695
(1695)
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Wing H778; ESTC R14848
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33,881
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122
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Man concerning his Justification but only a true and lively Faith which nevertheless is the Gift of God and not Man's only Work without God And yet that Faith does not shut out Repentance Hope Love Dread and the Fear of God to be joined with Faith in every Man that is justified but it shutteth them out from the Office of justifying So that altho they be all present together in him that is justified yet they justify not altogether Nor the Faith also doth not shut out the Justice of our good Works necessarily to be done afterwards of Duty towards God for we are most bounden to serve God in doing good Deeds commanded by him in his holy Scripture all the days of our Life but it excludeth them so that we may not do them to this intent to be made good by doing of them For all the good Works that we can do be unperfect and therefore not able to deserve for our Justification But our Justification doth come freely by the meer Mercy of God and of so great and free Mercy that whereas all the World was not able of themselves to pay any part towards their Ransom it pleased our Heavenly Father of his insinite Mercy without any our desert or deserving to prepare for us the most precious Jewels of Christ's Body and Blood whereby our Ransom might be fully paid the Law fulfilled and his Justice fully satisfied So that now Christ is the Righteousness of all them that truly do believe in him He for them paid their Ransom by his Death he for them fulfilled the Law in his Life So that now in and by him every true Christian Man may be called a Fulfiller of the Law forasmuch as that which their Infirmity lacked Christ's Justice hath supplied Now that the most important Truths which have been represented in this small Treatise may appear in right Light let the following Propositions be duly considered according to Reason enlightned and directed by the Word of God God having given to Man an Intellectual Faculty to judg and discern of the Nature Use and Excellency of Things a Conscience of the Laws of things morally good or evil and the certain inseparable Appendixes of Rewards and Punishments are imprinted upon the Mind with inward experimental Assurances as certain as that we know that we are and have a Being The Demonstrations of which Truths are clearly manifested in the Word of God the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament which do not only move and perswade but effectually constrain and inforce an enlightened Soul to yield Obedience to the incomparable and undeniable Divine Authority thereof as to the Fountain of all saying Knowledg and the Standard and Rule of all holy Practice in order to everlasting Blessedness the supreme End and Felicity of Man Now as Mathematical Theorems tho equally demonstrable yet are not alike perceived and apprehended by every Human Mind the Faculty not being rightly disposed to the Object as in species visible it is not sufficient that the Object and Medium be duly disposed unless the Organ be suifficiently enabled and not disturbed For neither a blind Eye nor a Jaundice Sight can judg of Colours Accordingly the holy Scriptures which are the lively Oracles of God full of Lights and Perfections do fully demonstrate the great Mysteries of Godliness concerning the eternal invisible yet certain and necessary Felicities and Duties of Rational Intelligent Beings whose Immortality also is therein undeniably proved Yet notwithstanding all these glorious and excellent Truths of the Spirit of God are not received by Animal Minds to whom they are Foolishness as all sort of Wisdom is to Fools because of the Blindness and Ignorance of the Understanding the Mind it self the governing Power in Man being vitiated with the sussusion of Vanity and the deceitfulness of Sin until the Power of the Spirit come into the Soul with a quickning renewing restoring Demonstration upon the Intellectual Faculty to make it receive in Love the benign Influences of eternal Truth and Goodness Accordingly consider duly 1. That from everlasting to everlasting God is Infinite in his Perfection of all Divine Incomprehensible Attributes whose Essence is eternally in and of himself and gives and preserves all Beings which were made for his Pleasure and Glory according to his own Will not out of any necessity of Nature his Majesty being exalted above all Blessings and Praise so that his infinite Essential Glory cannot be liable to any Addition or Detraction from any Creature 2. That in the beginning of Time God condescended to manifest his immense Wisdom Power and Goodness in the Creation of the World and all Beings therein by the Word of his Power by which all things are upheld and do consist All being made and preserved for the Glory of God according to the Original Law of the Will of God respectively dispensed to every Being 3. That all things were made for distinct final Causes appointed by the Law of God to be the Rule for the Operation of Life conferr'd upon every Being 4. That the Providence of God doth actually effectually continually govern and over-rule all the Actions and Operations of all Beings to his Glory according to his determinate Counsels For known unto God are all his Works from the beginning of the World so that all contingent Effects and Actions of all created Beings are not only futurely turned and disposed but primarily decreed and ordered to be infallibly subservient for the Glory of God's eternal Truth Justice and Goodness 5. That as Activity and Operation is the necessary Expression of Life it is also necessary that there be an universal Law to direct regulate and judg the Affections and Actions of all Intelligent Beings Which Law can only be the holy and righteous Will of God the Creator of all Beings who only can righteously reward and punish all Actions 6. God made Man upright in his Divine Image 〈◊〉 Righteousness Knowledg and Holiness with Freedom of Will but under a Covenant of Life upon Obedience and of Death upon Disobedience which is Sin For Sin is the rebellious Transgression of the Law 7. Man tho made upright being left to the Freedom of his Will rebelled against and renounced God his Creator in his all-sufficient Truth and Goodness and sought out and embraced the Vanity and Iniquity of the Devil's Lie by which Apostacy and Rebellion Mankind fell into a state of the Condemnation and Corruption of Death which is endless Misery according to the righteous Judgment of God 8. The first Parents of Mankind were not only Persons individual but common Representatives of all their Posterity The Evidence whereof necessarily flows form the Consideration of the Covenant of Life which God made with Man when created and placed in Paradise The eating of the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil being threatned with Death which passed upon all Mankind both Infants and Adult according to the righteous Denunciation of God and the Consent of
Manifestation of his infinite incomprehensible Being which Manifestation of the Deity is given in his Word of Truth to be God the Father God the Son God the Holy Ghost one and the same living and true God blessed for ever 21. The Efficacy of the Covenant of Grace consists in Redemption and Regeneration Redemption by the Propitiation to Divine Justice through the Satisfactory Merits of the Sufferings Death and Righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the Will of God for the Justification of a Sinner Regeneration by the Holy Ghost in the Renovation of the Soul quickened and sanctified in all the intellectual Faculties unto Newness of Life by a new spiritual Birth The Condition of the Covenant is Faith fiducially resting on Christ and vitally uniting unto Christ for Justification and Sanctification by effectual Vocation The Obligation and indispensable Duty of the Covenant is the Obedience of Faith working by Love in the fulfilling all the Commandments of God 22. The Covenant of Works being made with the first Adam who was a meer Creature and therefore liable to fall when left to the freedom of his Will the Perseverance in his created Uprightness could not be secure But the Covenant of Grace being made with the second Adam the Lord from Heaven both the Performance of the Duty of Obedience to the Precepts of the Covenant and the final Perseverance in the Conditions of the Covenant are according to the Promise of God by the Spirit of God enabled to preserved in and perfected So that no believing Sinner may presume in himself or despair in the Grace of God by whose Power he is kept through Faith unto Salvation The everlasting Covenant is ordered in all things and sure for this is our Salvation that nothing shall be able to separate us from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 23. That which is stiled Natural Religion is the Rational Conviction upon the Intelligent Mind of Man of indispensable Duty to fear trust obey believe and love God with all his Heart Mind and Strength according to the Commandments of God Therefore there is a necessity of the Revelation of the Will of God by which is made known the compleat Perfection of instituted Religion Instituted Religion is the Rule of true Wisdom to bring Mankind to eternal Happiness by directing all his Affections and Actions in the Fear Faith and Love of God to their proper Objects according to the Will of God and the Glory of God That Religion only is true which is the Practice of Obedience to the Word of God and accordingly brings us to God in Spiritual Worship by Jesus Christ alone who is the only Mediator of Redemption and Intercession That Wisdom which was the Enquiry of Philosophy the Demonstration of Theology is the Possession and Practice of the pure undefiled Christian Religion which removed from all Profaneness Superstition and Will-worship is the commanded and accepted way of Worship to God in Spirit and in Truth of Obedience to all the Commandments of God from Love to God of Righteousness to the Neighbour with Love as to ones self of Holiness and Sobriety in respect of his own Person made and renewed in the Image of God all upon hope of everlasting Blessedness to the Glory of God This Religion is the Characteristick Excellency of Man and is the only true Cement and Security of Mankind in all Conditions and Relations 24. The Felicity to which the Christian Religion gives Title and Possession is both temporary and everlasting In this Life Conversion from Darkness unto Light from the Power of Satan unto God from the Folly and Madness of Vanity and Sin unto the Fear and Love of God which is the beginning of true Wisdom Justification from the Guilt of Sin and thereby Peace with God Sanctification by the renewing of the Image of God in Righteousness Knowledg and true Holiness by the Spirit of God dwelling in the Soul to quicken direct preserve in the Paths of Righteousness from all Apostacy Adoption to be a Child of God an Heir of Heaven and to have Right and Acceptance to cry Abba Father that is to be emboldened to approach the Throne of Grace and to offer continual Sacrifices of Supplication and Thanksgiving upon our only great and glorious Altar the Lord Jesus Christ in him drawing near to God our exceeding Joy This State gives Contentation in every Condition under the assurance that all things shall work together for our good and that all our most difficult Labour to resist Temptation to overcome the World to mortify Corruptions to deny Self shall not be in vain in the Lord but shall receive a full Recompence of Reward in the Kingdom of Heaven Therefore whatsoever is done or suffered is in hope of the Glory of God knowing that the State of this present World is not capable to receive the Blessedness and Glory of Eternity in Heaven The Felicity of Eternity cannot possibly be represented or declared by the Tongues of Men and Angels Unspeakable Words uncapable to be heard or uttered in this Vale of Tears are necessary to set forth what Eye hath not seen nor Ear heard neither have entred into the Heart of Man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him and fear him and wait for him and trust in him before the Sons of Men. This is that immense Felicity when we shall know as we are known and shall be changed into the same Image from Glory to Glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord in the Beatifick Vision of God to all Eternity when the Lord shall bring all his Servants into the Possessions of the Joy and Glory of that Kingdom which God hath prepared for them before the Foundation of the World But most dismal shall be the woful Misery of those who refuse to obey the Gospel commanding to crucify the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts to renounce a vain Conformity to the Pomps and Pleasures of the World to forsake a vain Conversation received by Tradition from our Forefathers to deny self so as to cut off Right-hand and Foot and pluck out right-Eye and to cast them away They that account such Lessons too difficult to be observed must hear and perish under the Sentence Depart from me ye Workers of Iniquity into everlasting Fire where the Worm shall never die and the Fire shall never be quenched The Conclusion and Sum of the whole is this In the beginning i. e. from Eternity was the Essential Word and the Word was with God All things were made by him and without him was not any thing made that was made Who in the fulness of Time was God manifested in the Flesh for of the Seed of Abraham as concerning the Flesh Christ came who is over all God blessed for ever Amen In whom we have Redemption through his Blood even the forgiveness of Sins Who is the Image of the invisible