Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n
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A29374
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The sinfulnesse of sinne ; and, The fulnesse of Christ delivered in two sermons / by William Bridge.
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Bridge, William, 1600?-1670.; Bridge, William, 1600?-1670. Fulnesse of Christ.
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1667
(1667)
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Wing B4466A; ESTC R27224
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34,005
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84
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what is the ground of all our returns to evil after all our repentance and reformation but our nature Suppose water be heated after it is warmed and heated it cools again heat it again and it cools again Why Because coldness is its nature And so what 's the reason that men return again and again to their sin after all their repentance and reformation but the sin of their nature 5. Look what that evil is which is the least lamented and that whereby our sin is most excused That is a great and dreadful evil Now of all sins the sin of our Nature is least lamented and thereby mens sins are most excused Bear with me it is my nature I am passionate but it is my nature I am froward but it is my nature Men excuse themselves thereby Now I say look what that evil is which is least lamented and that whereby our sin is most excused that is a dreadful evil Thus it is with the sin of our nature 2. But secondly As for the sin of our hearts and thoughts the evil thereof 1. Look what that sin is that is the most incureable That 's worst A secret hidden wound within the body or a disease within the body is the most incurable Such are the sins of our hearts and thoughts secret sins and sothe most incurable 2. Look what that sin is that is a friend a Parent to other sins That must needs be very evil Now what are the Parents of all our sinful actions but sinful thoughts What puts life into evil actions but sinful thoughts So with the godly and so with the ungodly With the Godly for saith Abraham I thought the fear of God was not in this place Gen. 20. 11. and therefore I said she is my Sister she was indeed his Sister and he lied not in saying so but he dissembled and hid the truth using an unworthy shift for his own preservation and where began this evil but in a sinful thought I thought the fear of God is not in this place So with the Ungodly Psal 50. 21. Thou thoughtest that I was alltogether such an one as thy self The wicked steal and commit Adultery and deceive and slander others and how are they led into all this but by thoughts Thou thoughtest I was such a one as thy self and you know what the Psalmist saith Cleanse thou me from secret faults then shall I be upright and I shall be innocent from the great transgression Psal 19. 12 13. Sins of our hearts and thoughts do principiate and give a being unto sinful actions and therefore are very evil 3. Thereby also by the sins of our hearts and thoughts our former sin committed that was dead is revived again and hath a resurrection by our musing on it contemplating on it with delight As the witch at Endor called up Samuel that was dead so a delightful thought calls up a sinful action that was dead before Thereby our sins that were dead before are revived and have a resurrection 4. Thereby also a man may possibly sin that sin in effect which he never did commit in act and so the Lord may punish him for it As the Lord said to David because it was in thine heart to build me an house I will build thy House So sayes God to a man in a way of punishment because it was in thy heart to do this evil though thou didst it not I will punish thee for it Possibly I say by the sin of our hearts and thoughts a man may sin that sin in effect which he never did commit in act And that is evil 5. Thereby a man may or doth repent of his very repentance A man sins and afterwards is sorrowful and repents thereof and then after his repentance he thinks on his sin with delight What is this but to to repent of his very repentance As by my repentance I am sorrowful for my sin so by musing on my sin with delight I repent of my repentance Now is it not a very great evil for a man to repent of his repentance Lo this may a man do and this men ordinarily do they repent of their repentance by musing on their sin and delighting in it in a way of sinful thoughts 3. But thirdly As for the sin of our lives and practise especially living under the Gospel the evil thereof that is very great for 1. Sin under the Gospel is sinning against the remedy and of all sins sinning against the remedy are the greatest and therefore it is worse for a man to commit adultery that is married than for an unmarried man to commit fornication for he sins against the remedy Now the great remedy against sin is the Gospel therefore for a man to sin under the Gospel he sins against the remedy 2. The greater obligations a man sinneth against the worse and the greater is his sin By the Gospel we are brought under great obligations and by our sinning under the Gospel what do we Weingage the very mercy of God to become our adversary by our sinning under the Gospel we sin against Mercy and Grace and thereby ingage the very mercy of God our greatest friend to become our greatest adversary 3. Peccatum majus ubi specialis repugnantia inter peccantem peccatum The more repugnancy there is betwixt the sin and the sinner the greater is the sin and therefore it is worse for a Judg to be unjust than for another because there is a special repugnancy betwixt the sin and the sinner Now there is a special repugnancy betwixt the Gospel and a man that sins under the Gospel for he professes the contrary and therefore sin there is the greater 4. Peccatum majus ubi majus nocumentum The more hurtful or mischievous any sin is the greater is that sin Sinning under the Gospel is very hurtful to our selves and to others To our selve as poyson taken in Sack or something that is warm is the most venemous so sin under the Gospel is the deadliest poyson Why Because it is warmed with Gospel heat And it is hurtful to others because they are hardened for when men sin under the Gospel others are hardened thereby 5. The more able that any sin is to defend it self by knowledg shifts and distinctions the worse and greater it is Now a man that lives under the Gospel hath knowledg and by his knowledg is able to defend his sin by many distinctions and sins bred under the Gospel are able to defend themselves by knowledg fetched from the Gospel therefore the worse 6. The more deceitful that any sin is and the better ends and pretences it hath the worse it is and holds the longer Now sins bred under the Gospel are most deceitful and have the best ends and pretences and therefore the worse 7. The more that a man doth cast contempt upon the great things of God by his sin the greater and the worse is his sin Sins under the Gospel cast contempt upon the
not behold the Lion of the Tribe of Judah the root of David hath prevailed to open the book so he goes on opening the excellency and the fulness of Christ and John weeps no more So that I say all our want of comfort doth arise from our want of a sight of the fulness and excellency that is in Christ therefore certainly there is enough in Christ to comfort succour and relieve in the worst of times and so you have the first thing 2. Well but then secondly What is that in Christ that may or can comfort succour and relieve in the worst of times and conditions 1. I answer First Look what that good thing is which the world can either give or take away that is in Christ in great abundance and if that be in Christ in great abundance which the world can either give or take away then there is that in Christ that may or can succour comfort and relieve in the worst of times Now what can the world give or take away 1. Can the world take away your Estate Gold or Silver then read what is said in the third of the Proverbs concerning VVisdom where Christ is called wisdom Happy is the man that findeth wisdom v. 13. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver and the gain thereof than fine gold she is more precious than rubies and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her 2. Can the world take away your liberty your Gospel liberty Then you know what Christ sayes Revel 3. 8. Behold I have set before thee an open door and no man can shut it 3. Can the world take away your life You know what Christ saith I am the way the truth and the life Joh. 14. 6. ye will not come unto me that ye might have life Joh. 5. 40. On the other side what can the world give to you 1. Can the world give you peace rest quierness Then you know what Christ saith Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Matth. 11. 28. I create the fruit of the lips peace Isa 57. 19. Peace I leave with you my peace I give unto you not as the world giveth give I unto you Joh. 14. 27. 2. Can the world give you happiness or blessedness I am sure Christ can Blessed sayes he are the poor in spirit blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness blessed are the pure in heart yea blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you for my sake Matth. 5. It was the work of the High Priest to bless the people and Christ being our great High Priest it is his work to bless us He and he alone can make us blessed Would you therefore know what there is in Christ that can succonr comfort and relieve in the worst of times Look I say whatsoever good thing the world can either give or take away that is in Christ in great abundance 2. There is in Jesus Christ the greatest excellency under the best propriety The greatest excellency for 1. If the knowledg of Christ be the most excellent knowledg then surely Christ himself must needs be most excellent the knowledg of Jesus Christ is the most excellent knowledg 1. It is the most certain knowledg you know other things by their shapes and species you know Christ by the spirit you know other things by the testimony of men you know Christ by the testimony of the spirit and as the testimony of the spirit is more certain than the testimony of any man so the knowledg of Christ is the most certain knowledg in the world 2. It is that knowledg that gives you possession of the thing you know By my knowledg of Christ I am possessed of Christ surely therefore it is the most excellent knowledg in the world and therefore Christ himself must needs be most excellent 2. He is called The desire of all Nations in Hag. 2. 7. Some Nations desire one thing and some another but Christ is the desire of all Nations VVhat is most desireable that is not in Christ 1. Is Gold and Silver most desireable Sayes he I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire Rev. 3. 18 2. Is wisdom most desireable He is the wisdom of the father 1 Cor. 1. 24. In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom Col. 2. 3. He is wisdom in the abstract Wisdom hath builded her house Prov. 9. 1. and it is in the plural number wisdoms hath builded her house he is not onely wise but wisdom and wisdoms And 3. He is called that good thing Jer. 33. 14. Behold the day to come saith the Lord of Hosts that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and unto the house of Judah That good thing with an emphasis what is that At that time will I cause the branch of righteousness to grow up unto David and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land Christ is that good thing He is the excellency of Jacob the greatest excellency And this excellency is under the best propriety insomuch as you may challenge it with a double my My God my God sayes David Psal 22. 1. My Lord my God sayes Thomas Joh. 20. 28. There is such propriety in this excellency as you may challenge it with a double my And it is such a propriety as can never be lost None shall take them out of my fathers hand Joh. 10. 28 29. Would you then know what there is in Christ that can comfort succour and relieve in the worst of times I say there is the greatest excellency under the best propriety 3. There is in Jesus Christ the greatest fulness joyned with the most communicativeness Some things are empty and not full some things are full but they are full of wind as the bladders of the Creatures are that the least prick melts them down into nothing full but not communicative and some things are communicative but not full as Springs little water Springs but Christ is both full and communicative He is the Rose of Sharon and the lilly of the vallies Cant. 2. 1. The rose of Sharon not the rose of a Garden that onely some can come and take the sweetness of but the Rose of the field that every one may come and smell on his blood is a fountain opened not a fountain inclosed but opened He is the Tree of Life whose leaves are for the healing of the Nations So that there is not onely Plenitudo abundantia sed reduntantiae a fulness of abundance but a fulness of redundancy flowing over in Jesus Christ Would you therefore know what there is in Christ that can comfort and relieve in the worst of times I say there is the greatest fulness joyned with the most communicativeness 4. There is in Jesus Christ the sweetest love under the greatest ingagement The sweetest love Thy love