Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n
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A32879
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The glorious reward of faithful ministers declared and improved in a sermon upon the occasion of the funeral of that excellent minister of Jesus Christ Henry Newcome ... / by John Chorlton.
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Chorlton, John, 1666-1705.
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1696
(1696)
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Wing C3927; ESTC R39213
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27,703
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44
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furious Efforts and all their Politick Machinations defeated How many Devilish Suggestions must be rejected How many Solicitations from wicked Companions repulsed How many evil Habits that are founded in the very Constitutions of Persons must be extirpated How many plausible Temptations that are interwoven with Mens Callings and Civil Circumstances in the World must be vanquished and trampled under foot Every Soul that is converted is like a Brand pluckt out of the Fire But if we consider the Imbecility of the best and ablest Instruments the Difficulty is yet greater We have this Treasure in earthen Vessels and that ever so frail a Composition should dash in pieces the Strong-holds of Satan doth greatly increase the Wonder Both the Gifts and Graces of the most eminent Ministers are far from being pefect their bodily Strength is limited within narrow bounds and they often meet with Distractions and Avocations which unavoidably interrupt their greatest Assiduity Nay so obstinate is the Difficutly of turning one single Soul to Righteousness that upon a just Computation it will be found vastly to exceed all Humane Power so that the Attempt were vain and hopeless and fit only to be buried in despairing Thoughts were it not for the promised Concurrences of a Divine Power infinitely superiour to all Difficulties whatsoever But as this Divine Power is not less to be magnified because it attains its end by the Ministry so the Difficulties which Ministers conflict with are not therefore to be made light of because this Divine Power interposeth it self Since he that worketh by the Ministry as his Ordinance works by the utmost Industry of Ministers as that Creature-agency by means whereof he will make the Ordinance effectual Thus it appears that turning Souls to Righteousness is a Work highly rewardable through the alone Merit and Intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ Paul though a chosen Vessel and one that had as much to plead in his own behalf as any Man Yet counted all things but dung that he might win Christ And be found in him not having his own Righteousness which was of the Law but that which is through the Faith of Christ the Righteousness which is of God by Faith Phil. 3.8,9 Ministers must not be exalted in way of Derogation to the Merit and Glory of the Redeemer for whatsoever Gifts Graces Authority Success or Honour can be justly attributed to them are primarily his and their Glory is his Glory I shall only add this further Remark to clear the Wisdom and Justice of God in this case That and extraordinary Degree of Heavenly Glory bears but a just Correspondence to the Trust that is reposed in the Ministers of Christ and to the Honour that is put upon them in this World They are stiled 2 Cor. 5.20 1 Cor. 4.1 The Ambassadours of Christ Stewards of the Mysteries of God c. And it is but equal that those should be highly rewarded for discharging this Trust faithfully who must have suffered not only the Vengeance of Eternal Fire but greater degrees of Shame and Torment than others if they had perfidiously betray'd it Having shewed what it is to turn Sinners to Rightousness and how reasonable it is that so excellent so necessary so difficult a Work should be crowned with an extraordinary Recompence I shall next proceed to open the nature of that Recompence as it is here compared to the brightness of the Firmament and the shining of the Stars for ever and ever But if Eye hath not seen nor ear heard neither have entred into the hearts of Man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him If the lowest degree of Glory do so far exceed the Comprehension of the most raised and refined Intellects here below How shall we hope to describe the heights of that excelling Glory which shall be the Portion of those that turn many to Righteousness All therefore that I shall attempt is to declare so much of it as is fairly deducible from this rich Similitude Concerning which I observe first in the general that there is a tow-fold Congruity in this Comparison between the Work of Ministers and their Reward First As the Reward of Faithful Ministers is compared to Light and Secondly as it is compared to the Light which is Celestial First The Comparison of Light in general is apt because it refers clearly to their Office and Work What more suitable than that those who shined in Wisdom and Holiness who bare witness to Jesus Christ the true light which lighteth every Man that cometh into the World John 1.9 In whose hearts God hath shined who commanded the light to shine out of Darkness to give the light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ 2 Cor. 4.6 That these I say should be crowned with Rays of everlasting Light Nor is it less observable in the next place that it is an Heavenly Shining that is made use of to represent the Rewares of Faithful Ministers They are the Heavenly Regions that most abound with Light and in which all the great Springs and Fountains of Light are situate Well then may our Minds be abstracted from this Earthly State and instantly elevated to the Superior Mansions when we are called to contemplate the future State of those that turn many to Righteousness Those that were Stars both for their Light and Influence whilst they only assisted and adorned the Church on Earth shall not fail to emit more and more glorious Beams when fix'd in an higher Orb when moving in a larger Sphere in the Firmament of Glory A more particular account of what is here intended we may gather First From the Opposition between the State here expressed and the Blackness of Darkness for ever in which all the Devils and Damned Souls and especially those Ministers that wretchedly neglected the Duties of their Function shall be eternally inveloped Those Prisons and Chains of Darkness into which they are cast and in which they are fast bound until the universal Appearance at the Great Judgment Day cannot be more Black Confounding and Dismal than the Robes of Light with which Faithful Ministers must Shine will be Radiant and Dazling Secondly From the Difference there is between the State of Ministers of Earth and that which is here spoken of First As the latter entirely excludes the many Infelicities and Imperfection of the former Secondly As it far transcends all the Brightness and Glory it can preten to 1. The State signified by the brightness of the Firmament c. is a State that pefectly excludes all the Imperfections and Disadvantages which cloud the Faithful Ministers of Christ here in this World The Heavenly Light is not only opposite to the thick Darkness of Hell but perfectly banishes all the Shade and Gloominess of this mixed terrene State That which is affirmed of the Righteous in general shall be most eminently verified in those that turn many to Righteousness they shall shine forth as the Sun
in the Kingdom of their Father Matt. 13.43 1. They shall shine forth First out of those Clouds that their Sinful Frailties have cast about them Here they are Frail Sinful Men encompassed with divers Infirmities the very best of them not excepted and this is more visible in them by reason of their Station and more notably obscures them than any other sort of Men. But in the Heavenly State there shall not be the least Scar or Footstep of any such Humane Frailty 2. They shall shine forth from the Penal Consequences of these Sinful Frailties whether more immediately affecting their Persons or attending their Conditions and outward Circumstances There shall be no more Curse Rev. 22.3 no more Sickness and Pain upon the Body no more Doubt nor Discomposure of the Spirit Here Ministers may be exercised in any kind of Affliction as well as others and often do meet with sharp Trials in one kind or another above others There they shall be no more obscured by the Privacy of their Stations nor by the Meanness of their Appearance by which many Ministers of great Worth are either in a manner quite hidden from publick Notice or valued at a lower Rate than otherwise they would or ought to be Calumnies and Persecutions shall blacken them no more They shall shine forth of those Mists which are raised about them by the Scandals committed in their Flocks which are often construed to their great Disadvantage though they have endeavoured never so much the preventing and healing of them They shall likewise shine forth out of those Obscurities wherein their mutual Jealousies their unaccountable Distances and Alienations and their interfering one with another have involved them 2. As this shining like the brightness of the Firmament c. excludeth the Imperfections of the present State so it eminently includes and every way excels all the Glory wherewith they or any other Persons do or possibly can shine in it All the Secular Shining the outward Grandeur that Constantine the Great and all other munificent Princes have either annexed to the Ministerial Function or themselves enjoyed is absolute Darkness to that Brightness where with the poorest Faithful Minister shall one day shine and eclipse it all for ever And for the Spiritual Glory with which they shine in this Life it shall be fully perfected and as much exceed it self as the Flower and Fruit do the Seed and Root or as the Abilites of Manhood do those of the Infant State or as a perfect Master-piece doth the rude Draught and first Lineaments of the Picture Thus having discoursed concerning the Glory here described by way of Opposition to the Darkness and Horrour of the contrary State and likewise in a way of Distinction from this present mortal State I come now to treat of it as it is in it self which we shall find to include all that is perfect and glorious Here we may note first What is the Subject of this Shining Secondly Wherein it consists Thirdly To whom the Ministers of the Gospel shall shine Fourthly How long it shall continue To the first of these 1. The entire Person consisting of Soul and Body shall shine as the brightness of the Firmament and as the Stars for ever and ever Both were here Sanctified both laboured and suffered in the Service of our Redeemer both were the Subjects of that Right and Claim to this Glory which was spoken of before and therefore both shall partake of it The Body without the Soul is not at all capable of Glory as a moral Retribution the Soul without the Body is not capable of compleat and consummate Bliss both together therefore must be the adequate Subject of it 2. As to the second Enquiry wherein it consists it must be confessed the formal nature of the Glory is but very imperfectly understood by us Only this much the Metaphor of Brightness and Shining doth import 1. Life and Vigour Darkness is as the shadow of Death but Light when applied to a rational subject ascribes an Excellency of Life to it 2. Wisdom and Knowledge Nothing that is Corporeal can more fully represent that which is Spiritual than Light doth Knowledge For that which the one is to Bodily Agents and Objects that the other is to Agents and Objects Spiritual and Divine 3. It is a Symbol of Purity Those that shall shine as the Stars according to the vulgar Acceptation shall be Pure and Immaculate 4. Dignity and Honour are implied in it Darkness is a Resemblance of Debasement and Dishonour but Light is an Emblem of Advancement and Glory 5. It signifies Beauty and Amiableness Truly the Light is sweet and a pleasant thing it is for the Eyes to behold the Sun Eccl. 11.7 How pleasant then will it be to see each of these Stars out shine the Sun in its Meridian Lustre 6. It very properly signifies Joy and Felicity as Darkness is used to express Sorrow and Misery Psal 97.11 and frequently accompanies them If we apply these Notions to the glorified Soul and Body we shall perceive what manner of Shining is here ascribed to them 1. The Soul shall shine with all Intellectual Perfection Every Faculty shall be exalted and refined to the highest pitch of which it is capable and shall shine in the Glory and Splendour of its natural Excellency Besides which there is yet an higher Glory wherewith the Soul shall shine and that is Moral Purity or the Moral Rectitude of each Faculty in it self and of the several Faculties as they respect each other whereby they are rightly disposed and regularly exert themselves towards the Objects with which they converse O what a glorious Shining will there be when all the Gifts of Ministers shall resolve themselves into one prefect Intuition and all their Graces such as Repentance Faith Hope c. shall yield all their Vigour to that final Grace of Holy Love and be wholly swallowed up in delightful Fruition 2. The Body shall shine with an admirable Corporeal Splendour What shall be the Brightness and Beauty of the Celestial Body we may partly apprehend from the shining of Moses his Face when he had been with God Exod. 34.33 which was such that a Vail was necessary to fit him to converse with the People from the Glory in which our Saviour appeared upon the Mount with Moses and Elias at his Transfiguration which was too great for the choicest and most eminent of his Disciples to bear and could not be equalled by any Humane Skill or Artificial Glory Somewhat we may gather from the falling of a few Rays of Heavenly Light about Saul when he was going to Damaseus which probably were Emanations from the Glorified Body of our Lord Jesus How did this sudden Effusion of Heavenly Light overcome both the Light of the Sun at Noon-day and the Sight and Spirit too of Persecuting Saul 3. Respectively each to other the Soul and Body shall shine in a Sweet and Harmonious Accord The Glory of the one is fitly