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A36185
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The nature of the two testaments, or, The disposition of the will and estate of God to mankind for holiness and happiness by Jesus Christ ... in two volumes : the first volume, of the will of God : the second volume, of the estate of God / by Robert Dixon.
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Dixon, Robert, d. 1688.
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1676
(1676)
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Wing D1748; ESTC R12215
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658,778
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672
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the good of his Church So he is able to save them to the utmost that come to God by him seeing that he ever liveth to make Intercession for them REASONS 1. Because the Sacrifice offered was without all sin and infirmity and Reason 1 therefore fit for Heaven into which no unclean nor weak thing can ever enter Christ's Body therefore being quickned by the Spirit and made immortal was prepared and fit to be offered by the same Spirit in the fittest Place of Heaven unto the fittest Person the God of Heaven for the obtaining of the fittest Blessings of Heaven or the Kingdom of Heaven So the Person that offers is Heavenly The Sacrifice offered is Heavenly The Spirit by which he offers is Heavenly The God to whom he offers is Heavenly The Place where he offered is Heavenly The Blessings he offered for are Heavenly All harmonious and homogeneal the substance and truth of Types and Shadows 2. Because an Earthly Sanctuary may be purged by the blood of Bulls Reason 2 or Goats c. But an Heavenly Sanctuary cannot be purged by any thing but by the blood of Christ Earthly and carnal Blood is sufficient to consecrate an earthly and carnal Sanctuary and to expiate earthly and carnal Sins and Pollutions but heavenly and spiritual Blood only can consecrate an heavenly and spiritual Sanctuary and expiate spiritual and Soul-sins The Blood of Goats and Calves c. did cleanse from outward Filthiness but could not purifie the Conscience nor cause the Remembrance thereof to cease so as there should be no more Conscience nor Punishment of sin It was therefore necessary Heb. 9.23 24. that the bare Patterns and Representations of things which are in the Heavens should be purified with these Sacrifices but the Heavenly things themselves must be purified with better Sacrifices than these For Christ is not entred into the Holy Places made with hands which are the figures of the true but into Heaven it self now to appear in the Presence of God for us Obj. Needs then the Heaven of Heavens to be purged Sol. No for it is most Holy But it needs to be dedicated or consecrated by Christ's blood not for himself to enter in for his habitation it was from everlasting but for us Men that we might have right by him to enter in after him when he shall call for us Therefore he as High-Priest thus solemnly entred by this New and Living way through the Veil that is to say his Flesh to offer the Blood thereof shed on the Cross in the outward-Temple so to consecrate or dedicate that Place for us Thus he is gone before to prepare a place for us that where he is there we might also be He first opened Heaven-door If he had not opened it it had never been opened And now it is opened by him it shall never be shut by him nor by any other against any that seek rightly to enter in for who dare shut when he hath opened or open where he hath shut Who hath the Keys of David that shutteth when no man openeth and openeth when no man shutteth This is the Gate of the Temple into which none but Christ did ever enter nor ever shall but all the Righteous shall enter in at the last day both Souls and Bodies Psal 114.20 This is the Gate of the Lord into which the Righteous shall enter And none but such as have right by Faith can enter for though this place of Rest everlasting be provided for all as the Promises were to all yet all shall not enter because all men have not Faith for without Faith it is impossible to please God And so they cannot enter in because of their Unbelief This is he that comes with full Right and Power of Command saying Open me the Gates of Righteousness Psal 114.19 c. and I will enter into them This is the Lord 's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes This is the Day which the Lord hath made Psal 24.7 c. we will rejoyce and be glad in it Lift up your heads O ye Gates and be ye lift up ye Everlasting Doors and the King of Glory shall come in Who is this King of Glory The LORD strong and mighty in Battel the Lord of Hosts he is the King of Glory Thus Christ is the True Sacrifice the True Light the True Bread the True Way the True Life the True Altar the True Priest and Heaven is the True Temple And all is Truth which Christ came to bear witness of in the Gospel Reason 3 3. Because Christ did never enter into the Earthly Sanctuary for he had no Right as being of Judah not of Levi though otherwise he had all Right nor did he take upon him to Sacrifice or to Rule being born under the Law Who made him a Priest or a Judge till he ascended up into his proper Temple and Throne of Heaven he pertaineth to another Tribe Heb. 7.13 of which no man gave attendance at the Altar for it is evident our Lord sprang of Judah of which Tribe Moses spake nothing concerning Priesthood Christ therefore being a Priest must offer and must have somewhat to offer and some Place to offer in but he had nothing to offer here on Earth for there were other Priests that had nor was he a Priest here nor had he any Altar to offer upon or Temple to offer in as the other Priests had He could therefore offer up nothing but his own Body and Blood and that only in the Most holy Place of Heaven and not elsewhere We have such an High Priest as is set on the Right hand of the Majesty in the Heavens a Minister of the Sanctuary Heb. 8.1 c. and of the True Tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not Man For every High-Priest is ordained to offer Gifts and Sacrifices wherefore it is of Necessity that this Man have somewhat to offer For if he were on Earth he should not be a Priest seeing there are Priests that offer Gifts according to the Law who serve unto the Example and Shadow of Heavenly things as Moses was admonished to make all according to the Pattern delivered to him in the Mount 4. Because a Worldly Service required a Worldly Sanctuary but a Reason 4 Heavenly Service required a Heavenly Sanctuary The Candlestick the Table the Golden Censer Heb. 9.1 the Ark of the Covenant over-laid round about with Gold the Golden pot of Manna Aaron 's Rod that budded the Tables of the Covenant the Cherubims of Glory shadowing the Mercy-Seat besides Washings and Sacrifices of all kinds of which it is too large to speak All these were fitted for that Time and Place But God hath prepared a New and Spiritual Service an Altar Priest and Sacrifice and Temple all Heavenly and in Heaven 5. Because the Way to the Holiest of all was made manifest after the Reason 5 first Tabernacle on Earth was fallen Heb. 9.8 The Thing
evil to good a license and ability to do a mans own Will or rather a better will even the Will and pleasure of God This is a State of Grace an high noble and blessed condition transcending the proper nature and quality of man SECT V. Burden 1. Now the State from which a man is justified is the base condition of Spiritual Bondage and the miseries consequent thereunto This is the Terme of recesse or Terminus à quo from whence Iustification commenceth a great Burden A Burden vulgarly signifies a heavy weight but legally it signifies some Charge Penalty Disability or Service Hence Isaiah calls Gods Iudgments Burdens as the Burden of Babylon Egypt Damascus c. In all kingdomes there are Burdens as Infamy is a Burden of Disgrace restraining a man from all Honours and Offices as Outlary is a Burden restraining a man from the benefit of Law hindring a man from being Plaintiff and having audience in a Court of Iustice to be a Stranger and Alien is a Burden hindring a man from purchasing or possessing Lands of Inheritance In all families there are Burdens as Bastardy is a Burden of Disinheritance laid upon a child unlawfully begotten Slavery is a Burden of Bondage laid upon some servant hindring him from getting possessing or suing for any thing Divorce is a Burden of Expulsion laid upon a Wife disloial hindring her from the Society of bed and board and marrying to another man Thus in Abraham's family Ishmael sustained the Burden of Bastardy and Hagar the Burden of Slavery hence Sarah required of Abraham that he would disinherit Ishmael Gen. 21.10 and be divorced from Hagar Cast out this Bondwoman and her son for the son of the Bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the Freewoman 2. The state to which a man is Justified is the stately condition of spiritual freedome and the miseries consequent thereunto This is the Access or Terminus ad quem to which we are advanced As Bondage was Capitis Diminutio the lessening of the head or Degrading of a man So Freedome is the Capitis Exaltatio or the raising or lifting up the head of a man or advancing of a man Gen. 40.20 2 King 25.27 As the heads of Pharaohs cheif Butler and Baker were lifted up and Jehojakin's head was lifted up out of Prison by Evilmerodach King of Babylon This state of Divine Freedome drawes into it Forgiveness of sins Resurrection from the dead and Life everlasting Thus the Term or bound of Recess from which we are justified is some Burden and the Term or bound of Access to which we are justified is some Right A Right vulgarly is a thing which is true and good and honest but legally it is a thing which is due to have and to hold some benefit and good which the Law owes us and settles upon us This is opposed to some burden Penalty or Charge which signifies to have and to hold some sufferance or grievance which the Law owes us and settles upon us SECT VI. There are in the world many Corporations where diverse persons are united into one body And in these Corporations there are diverse Rights Corporation some of them are Burdens and some Benefits as in a Kingdom there are Rights of Liberty to be a free-man born or to be made free to be a Member of some Corporation to have suffrage or vote in Elections to be heir in a Family to succeed to the Inheritance and Honour to be a Judg to give Judgment and to do Justice The burdens contrary to these are Slavery that deprives a man of Liberty Banishment that deprives of some Corporation Bastardy that deprives a man of his family Infamy that deprives a man of Honour and Preferment For the true rule is though not kept in the world Portae dignitatum non patent infamibus Personis The Gates of Honour are fast shut against scandalous Persons In a Family there are diverse Rights as Matrimony a state of Right whereby the Husband and the Wife have Right to each others bodies The Wife hath not power or Right over her own body but the Husband 1 Cor. 7.4 and the Husband hath not power or Right over his own body but the Wife For each have given to other a power or Right over their bodies respectively Primogeniture is the Right to succeed to the Inheritance of the Father under the Law Cleanness was a State of Right to enter into the Congregation and to partake of the Sacrifice Ministery is a Right to preach the Word and apply the Sacraments The Husband and Wife are no more two but one Flesh more united than the Father and Son For for the cause of a Wife the Son shall leave his Father and Mother and shall cleave to his Wife and they two shall be one Flesh they are partakers of all Rights together The good and evil of the Husband is the good and evil of the Wife and the good and evil of the Wife is the good and evil of the Husband his Honour and Wealth is hers and her Honour and Wealth is his if he suffers she suffers if he prosper she rejoyceth The King and his Subjects are one Body The Honour and Welfare of the King is the Honour and Welfare of the Subjects and the Honour and Welfare of the Subjects is the Honour and Welfare of the King his wrong is theirs and their wrong is his The Church is a Corporation in which Christ and his Subjects or Members are one Body they are Members of his flesh and of his bones Eph. 5. Christ and the Faithful are more united than Man and Wife for Man and Wife are but one Flesh but Christ and the Faithful are one Spirit A man for Christ his sake must forsake Father and Mother Wife and Children and he that doth so shall receive an hundred fold and in the end everlasting life The honour of Christ is the honour of the Faithful and the honour of the Faithful is the honour of Christ and the welfare of one is the welfare of the other and è contra Christ is a Party in all the conditions of his Subjects Saul Saul why persecutest thou me All charity that is done to them is done to Christ In as much as ye have done it to the least of these my Brethren ye have done it unto me and in as much as ye have not done it to one of these little ones ye have not done it to me Thus he whose Right is created that had none before is justified And he whose Right is restored that had Right but lost it is justified unto it again All restitution is justification all in-lawing is justification for thereby the Party outlawed is restored to the Benefit of the Law SECT VII Other Names There are other Names of the same thing or other Words whereby the nature of justification is farther illustrated 1. As by such words which do create or constitute a Right as