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A64995
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The true Christians love of the unseen Christ, or, A discourse chiefly tending to excite and promote the decaying love of Christ in the hearts of Christians with an appendix concerning Christs manifestation of himself to them that love him / by Thomas Vincent.
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Vincent, Thomas, 1634-1678.
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1677
(1677)
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Wing V447; ESTC R235433
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94,936
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230
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Body the Church who is the beginning the First-born from the Dead that in all things he might have the Preeminence For it pleased the Father that in him all fulness should dwell If we read believe and consider this great Description of Christ we must needs see and say that Christ is most Excellent and Amiable and that no beloved is like to the Beloved of true Christians therefore it is that true Christians do love Christ because of his loveliness Rea. 3. True Christians do love Christ because of His love His love which he doth bear to them He loves them with a First love and with a Free love He loves them with a tender and compassionate love with an active or doing love with a passive or suffering love His love is Infinite without Bounds or Limits it is Superlative without comparison Transcendent beyond comprehension Everlasting without change and which will have no end or conclusion He lov'd them when they were polluted in their sins and washt them with his own blood he loved them when they were Naked in their Souls and clothed them with the Robes of his Righteousness He loves them in their sickness and sorrows and is their Comforter He loves them in their wants and Straits and is their Benefactor He loves them in Life and is the Life of their Souls He loves them at Death and is the Stay of their Hearts And he loves them after Death and will be their Portion for ever There is great Reason that true Christians should love Christ because of his loveliness and there is further reason that they should love him because of his love especially when both are incomparable both are incomprehensible I shall further speak God willing unto both these with other reasons under the motives in the Exhortation to excite Christians to the love of Christ. SECT VIII Vse 1. FOR Information hence learn that there are but few true Christians in the world because there are so few that love this unseen Christ. There are many Christians in Name few Christians in deed and in truth The time hath been when openly to profess the Name of a Christian did argue true love unto Jesus Christ I mean in the Primitive times when Christians were Persecuted by the Heathens as in the Ten first dreadful Persecutions under the Heathen Emperours when the world was watered with Christian blood then especially at some times and in some yea most places whoever openly acknowledged themselves to be Christians they exposed themselves unto Imprisonments Racks Tortures Burnings and the most cruel deaths It was the Truth and Strength of Love unto Jesus Christ which carried them thorow such great sufferings as many did in those dayes undergo for the sake of Jesus Christ But now there are Multitudes of bare nominal Christians they call themselves Christians being baptized in Christ's name but they are altogether without love to Christ whose Name they bare Surely there are but few not only in the Christian World but even in England where Christianity is to be found in as great purity as in any place that love Jesus Christ in sincerity No grossely ignorant persons do truly love Christ such as don't know Christ they can't love him ignoti nulla cupido there is no desire after nor love unto an unknown thing An unknown evil cannot be hated and an unknown good cannot be loved No grossely Erroneous persons do truely love Christ such as do not receive Christ's Truths they cannot love Christ's Person Joh. 14. 23. If any man love me he will keep my words The words of Christ do include not only the words of his Precepts but also the words of his Doctrine Such as erre grossely I mean in the Fundamental Truths of Christianity they are no friends to Christ but his Enemies so far are they from true love unto him No grossely wicked persons do truly love Christ such as profane persons who Blaspheme the name of God in their hideous Oaths the love of Christ doth teach an Holy Awe and Reverence of Gods Name such are Persecuters of Gods people for Righteousness sake How can they love the Head that hate the Members Christ accounteth himself to be persecuted in the perseution of his Members Act. 9. 4. Saul Saul why persecut est thou me and v. 5. I am Jesus whom thou persecutest and surely persecutors of Christ do not love Christ. Such are Scoffers at Religion who deride Holiness and mock at the name of a Saint or Godly person whereby they evidently shew their contempt of the Holiness of Christ from whom the Saints derive all theirs and how can they love Christ that do contemne him and his Image No unrighteous persons do truly love Christ whether they be so in regard of distributative justice or in regard of commutative justice whether they be unrighteous in Execution of judgement in distribution of Rewards or Punishments whether they be unrighteous in their Traffick and Dealingâ— Christ strictly requireth justice and Righteousness and how can they love him that do not keep this Commandement No Covetous persons do truly love Christ the Apostle saith 1 Joh. 2. 15. If any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him And I may say that if any man love the world that is with his chief love the love of the Son is not in him the love cannot be chiefly set upon things below here on Earth and upon Christ who is above in Heaven No Licentious persons do truly love Christ no Drunkards Adulterers or any that indulge themselves in unlawful delights the love of Christ doth teach us to deny such Lusts and to Mortifie them No meer civil persons that are unconverted no Hypocrites that have a forme of Godliness but are without the power of it do truly love Christ the former may be loving and courteous unto men but they have no love to Christ the latter may Profess love to Christ and Seem to love him but they do not really love him In a word none who are under the reigning power of any sin do truly love Christ The Reign of sin is in the heart and this is inconsistent with the love of Christ in the Heart Now let us separate all these forementioned persons from the rest Grossely Ignorant persons grossely erroneous persons grossely wicked persons the Profane the Persecutors of Gods people the Scoffers at Religion all Unrighteous persons all Covetous Persons Drunkards Adulterers and all Licentious Persons meer Civil persons Hypocrites and all that are under the reigning power of sin and how few will there be left that do truly love Christ and by Consequence there will appear but very few that are true Christians SECT IX Vse 2. FOR Examination Here you may know whether you are true Christians by the Tryall of your love unto Jesus Christ. Examine your selves therefore whether you love Jesus Christ whom you have never seen the most in the world do love truly those persons and things only
lost and that it was Christ only that could save them they felt the Wounds of Conscience and it was Christ only that could Heal them they feared the Wrath of a Sin-revenging God and it was Christ only that could Deliver them The Remission Reconciliation and Salvation which they had by Christ did lay the first Foundation of a most endeared love unto Christ And stâ—ll they perceive a continual need of Christ to procure daily pardon for them and to convey dayly supplyes of Grace unto them They have Need of Christ when they are Dark to Enlighten them when they are Dead to Quicken them when they are Streightned to Enlarge them when they are Weak to Strengthen them when they are Sad to Comfort them when they are Tempted to Succour them when they are Fallen to Raise them when they are in Doubts to Resolve them when they are under Fears to Encourage them when they Stagger to Establish them when they Wander to Restore them Christ and None but Christ can do all this and more than this for them and therefore because of the need and usefulness of Christ true Christians do love him Rea. 2 True Christians do love an unseen Christ because of the Loveliness of Christ which Loveliness though it be not and cannot here be seen by the Eye of the Body yet it is evident unto the Eye of Faith see the Description which is given of Christ the Beloved by his Spouse the Church Cant. 5. 9. The Daughters of Ierusalem there enquire of the love-sick Spouse What is thy Beloved more than another Beloved O thou fairest amongst Women what is thy Beloved more than another Beloved that thou dost so charge us Hereupon the Spouse giveth a Description ver 10. My Beloved is VVhite and Ruddy the cheifest among ten thousand and after she had set forth his Graces Beauties and Excellent Accomplishments in Metaphors taken from beauties in the several parts of mans body in the 11 12 13 and 14 verses she concludeth in the 15 and 16 verses His Countenance is as Lebanon Excellent as the Cedars His Mouth is most sweet yea he is altogether Lovely This is my Beloved and this is my Friend O Daughters of Ierusalem The Spouse is here acknowledged to be the Fairest amongst Women and not only by the Daughters of Ierusalem but her Beloved who had a more curious eye doth both commend her loveliness and admire it ch 6. 4 5. Thou art beautiful O my Love as Tirzah comely as Ierusalem Turn away thine â—yes from me for they have overcome me and ver 10. VVho is this that looketh forth as the Morning fair as the Moon clear as the Sun and Terrible as an Army with Banners But what beauty is there then in the Beloved if the Church be beautiful beyond all other of the Children of men how beautiful is Jesus Christ from whom the Church doth derive all its comeliness He is said to be White and Ruddy that shews the beauty of his Face and his Countenance is said to be as Lebanon and like the lofty Cedars thereof that shews the Majesty of his Face His Mouth is said to be most Sweet and sweet it is indeed in regard of the Gracious words which proceed from it no Doctrine so sweet as Christ's Doctrine no Precepts so sweet as Christs Precepts no Promises so sweet as Christs Promises But to sum up all Excellencies and Perfections in a word he is said to be altogether Lovely there is no Person or Thing in the World that is most lovely which can properly be called altogether lovely Many defects may be found in the most amiable persons and much insufficiency may be found in the most desirable things but Christ is altogether lovely unlovely in no respect there being no Spot or Blemish no Defect or Imperfection to be found in him and he is lovely in every respect there is an incomparable and Transcendent amiableness in Christs person in every regard In the person of Christ the Humane Nature and the Divine Nature are in Conjunction he is most lovely in regard of both His Humane Nature is compounded of Body and Soul His Body is most Beautiful a most Glorious Beauty and lustre is put upon it whatever it were in his state of humiliation be sure it hath a Glorious Beauty now in his state of Exaltation It is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Glorious Body Phil. 3. 21. If the Face of Moses did shine with resplendent Glory after his conversing Forty dayes with God in Mount Sinai which was Below how doth the Body of Christ shine which hath been above Sixteen hundred years in Mount Sion which is Above I am perswaded that Christs Body is the most Beautifull of all Visible Creatures But the Beauty of Christs Soul doth Excel No creature whatever hath such shining Excellencies as are in the Soul of Christ All the Excellencies that are or ever were in any creature are like a Feather laid in the Ballance with the exceeding weight of his Glorious Excellencies and Perfections Christ Excelled the most Excellent Men that ever lived as to Spiritual Endowments when he was here upon the Earth He Excelled Moses in Meekness Solomon in Wisdom Iob in Patience and how much doth he Excel now he is in Heaven He Excelleth not only the Spirits of just men made Perfect but also the most glorious and Holy Angels that never sinned If any creatures have Wisdom it is but a Beam Christ is the Sun If they have Goodness it is but a drop in Christ is the Ocean If they have Holiness it is but a Spark or dark shaddow Christ is the Brightness of his Fathers Glory If they have the Spirit they have it but In some measure the Spirit is given to Christ without Measure Ioh. 3. 34. Christ is most lovely in his Manhood so nearly united unto his Godhead and how lovely is he in his Godhead as God he is Equall in all Glorious Excellencies with the Father Christs Godhead implyeth Excellency of Being he calleth himself I am Ioh. 8. 28. Excellency of Glory therefore called the Lord of Glory 1 Cor. 2. 8. and King of Glory Psal. 24. 7. Lift up your heads O yee Gates and be ye lift up ye Everlasting Doors and the King of Glory shall come in This is Interpreted by some to be spoken of Christs Ascension and the Angels and Saints making way for his Triumphant Entrance and Possession of his Heavenly Pallace Many Descriptions are given in the new Testament of this lovely Person I shall mention only one Col. 1. 15 16 17 18 19. Who is the Image of the invisible God the First-born of every creature For by him were all things created that are in Heaven and that are in Earth Visible and Invisible whether they be Thrones or Dominions or Principalities or Powers all things were made by him and for him And he is before all things and by him all things consist And he is the Head of the