Selected quad for the lemma: knowledge_n
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A37260
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A sermon preached at the funeral of Mr. John Bigg to which is added another sermon upon the same subject : also a narrative of Mr. Bigg's conversion, &c. / by R. Davis ...
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Davis, Richard, 1658-1714.
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1691
(1691)
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Wing D432; ESTC R8513
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40,311
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39
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that will carry on the Work of Sanctification in the Soul The spiritual Life of a Believer is from Faith and maintained by Faith It is written The Just shall live by Faith Rom. 1.17 Gal. 3.11 Heb. 10.38 Faith is said to purifie the Heart Acts 15.9 to sanctifie viz. the whole Man Acts 26.18 and Faith always respects Christ and his Grace The Blood of Christ i. e. pardoning Grace in the Blood of Christ received into the Conscience by believing is affirmed to purge the Conscience from dead Works to serve the living God Heb. 9.14 The Grace of God that bringeth Salvation and hath appeared to all Men in the Gospel but as revealed unto the Consciences of them that believe teacheth them that denying ungodliness and worldly Lusts they should live soberly righteously and godly in this present World Tit. 2.11 12. And the GOD of all Grace in manifesting his Grace to the Soul that he has called it to eternal Glory by JESUS CHRIST does go on to make perfect establish strengthen and settle the Soul Which Expressions comprehend all the Work of Sanctification in its several parts and degrees till it arrives to the fulness of the stature of a perfect Man in Christ Jesus 'T is apparent from these and several other places of the holy Scriptures that the Grace that is in us proportionably rises and falls to the believing Views we have of the Grace that is in the Heart of Christ towards us and in the Hand of Christ to give us To draw towards a close in this matter This is it I am at that our inherent Righteousness within us is begun and carried on by Faith in the imputed Righteousness of Christ without us These two are every way distinct yet so as the former still flows from the latter The All-wise GOD has so ordered it in the dispensation of his Grace that his free Grace shall be magnified and the Righteousness of his Son highly valued and advanced Were the only use of Christ's Righteousness and indeed that is a great use of it to secure eternal Glory for us we should be tempted to have little recourse to it by Faith for that being once done and our state secured corrupt Nature would be apt to insinuate to us there would be no great need of such frequent viewing that God-like Righteousness without us wherein we stand it being that that is so contrary to Flesh and blood But now our Holiness in every step of it depending upon the Righteousness of Christ being apprehended by the Soul in believing it must or it ought to necessitate us to have constant recourse by continued Acts of believing to this glorious Righteousness all the day long Since it is thus that every dram of true Gospel-Holiness flows into the Soul only this way The Apostle affirms it three times That now the just shall live by Faith which Life 't is evident he means to be a Life spiritual or Life of Holiness here And 't is necessary that the Work of Holiness be carried on continually and constantly and therefore that we believe in Christ and his Righteousness always The reason of all is this The Lord will have the Righteousness which is of Faith the imputed Righteousness of his Son always viewed believed in and admired by us So that hence you may believe the Doctrine of Free-Grace does not tend to Licentiousness as Satan in various Instruments clamours against it but the quite contrary Such undeserved superabounding Grace to pardoned Sinners being the main motive unto Holiness of Heart Lip and Life The Apostle plainly affirms Rom. 6.14 That the Souls being brought under Grace breaks Sin 's Dominion therein i. e. the Soul being brought in believing under the powerful influence of that Grace that Reigns through Righteousness unto eternal Life by Jesus Christ our Lord Rom. 5.21 2. Infer The second and last use is for the encouragement of Sinners yea the chiefest worst and vilest to come to Christ from the glorious Grace that is held forth in the Doctrine The Believers that thus have and can triumph over Death and the Grave were once Sinners as you may be some of them as vile as the vilest of you Come you therefore and tast and see how gracious our Lord the Redeemer is Come you and joyn with us in a perpetual Covenant to serve the Lord. Accept of the peace of the Gospel and make a venture upon an offered Jesus Oh come you the worst of you and live the Life of Faith like the Just and you shall die the Death of the Righteous to triumph over all in Death Whatever your Objections can be this astonishing Free-Grace can answer them all Infinite Wisdom has permitted all along prodigious Mountains of Opposition to rise in the way of Grace on purpose that that Grace of God may declare it self boundless by triumphing over all Thus though it was designed from all Eternity that Free-Grace should have all the Honour in making the Elect happy Yet a Law for Life was set up that through the Breaches thereof Sin might be suffered to enter Sin that odious thing that was such an Affront to the whole Godhead and brought so great an eclipse on his manifestative Glory was suffered I say to enter that electing Grace might be magnified in mounting above it And the Law entered once again on Mount Sinai that so Sin might abound on purpose that Free Grace might super-abound and reign and triumph over all Free-Grace and electing Love does not only like Jordan overflow all its Banks but like the mighty Deluge cover the tops of the highest Mountains of Opposition in the World Therefore what Objections O Sinners can you have against bowing down to the Grace offered in the Gospel O harden not your Hearts but now hear ye his Voice Know assuredly this That objecting against your acceptance of the Grace of Christ be your Objections never so specious is no other but a gain-saying of Christ O do not rebell and gainsay against the wide-opened and stretcht-forth Arms of eternal Mercy and Compassion that now is extended to you Be thou the vilest on the face of the Earth yet as vile as thou has obtained Mercy There are on Record instances of Sovereign Grace greater than any of you can be What think you of Adam I durst almost engage to answer all thine Objections thou vilest Sinner from that single Precedent You say you are the greatest of Sinners you cannot be greater than he who was the Arch-Rebel and Traytor who led his whole Race into an horrid Rebellion against GOD yet he found Mercy Ay but your Sins are great not greater than his who in one Sin was guilty of the highest Ingratitude the most monstrous Unbelief and the most devillish Pride and Discontent c. besides his breaking the whole Moral Law in that one Sin Yet you may say My Sins are many I answer That first Sin of his was a pregnant Monster millions of Legions in it But you
'll reply I sinned against Knowledge So did he against the most perfect Knowledge of God and his Will yes and against the most perfect enjoyment of God too that is more than you can do But you will object I have sinned grievously I reply Adam was reeking hot in his deep-dyed Iniquity when Mercy stepped in True say you but I have shunned Mercy So did he when he fled to hide himself in the Garden But you may again object I have extenuated mine heinous Sins instead of abhorring my self for them Indeed you have done ill yet though thou hast done as evil as thou couldst yet do not let that discourage thee from accepting of offered Mercy which to refuse is the greatest Sin of all So did he and charged God with it too The Woman thou gavest me c. yet he found Mercy and why not you Many other things of this nature might be added but that I am now bound to the greatest brevity What shall I add the case of Paul who was an injurious Person a Persecuter and a Blasphemer yet he obtained Mercy or the case of Mary Magdalene who had seven Devils of the Woman of Canaan and the Woman mentioned Luke 7. c. who were all three notorious Sinners yet Sovereign Grace was extended to them Let me add but one instance more and that is fresh in your Memories the case of Mr. Bigg whose late decease gives the occasion to this Discourse and the present Solemnity His Death-bed attended with the manifestation of such Sovereignty of Grace and Power from above has allarmed the Neighbourhood And you seem all to be in a surprize and at a gaze about the things you have seen and heard relating thereunto I shall therefore give as an exact account of the whole as has come into my Hands that though he be dead he may yet speak to you And though in the Account I shall give it will be necessary to touch upon his former Life yet it shall be done with a favourable hand only so much as may tend to the advancement of that glorious Free-Grace manifested towards him But ere I begin I must antidote my Hearers with this Caution Because it pleased the Lord to magnifie his glorious Grace towards him on his Death-bed that none of you dare to presume from thence to put of your coming to Christ till a Death-bed season The voice of this mighty Providence is Turn now the worst of you and live 'T is not Defer Believing till a dying time I durst almost venture to say That whoever encourage themselves to continue in ways of Impenitency from this example have breaking forth upon them the black Marks and Tokens of final Rejection It was well observed by one One Thief on the Cross in his dying Moments obtained Grace that none might despair and but one that none might presume So but one Mr. Bigg perhaps in an Age that none may think when they have lived all their Life-time to Sin they shall with ease and at pleasure die to Christ Thus having given this Caution I now proceed to my Narrative A NARRATIVE OF Mr. BIGG's CONVERSION c. MR. Bigg when married to worthy Mr. Browning's Daughter was very sober and well enclined and by some thought to be Godly But it appeared in some time after the Work was but outward for being led aside by vain Company and being at first as it was thought and he expressed it to some filled with dreadful Horrors for it he fell into a woful Security and continued hardned in Sin especially that of Company-keeping for several Years At last he was surprized with a lingring Distemper that brought him nigh to the Gates of Death during which time he continued stupid and unconcerned about his Soul but it pleased the Lord that then he recovered and continued well for about two years or above but then fell into a dangerous Relapse and then there appeared pretty early in him some Concernment about his Soul though he kept it very secret as indeed he was by Nature reserved close and of few Words except he was amongst his Company and distempered in his Head The first time he was seen to be apparently concerned was upon this following Occasion It has pleased the allwise God whose ways are in the Deep and whose Judgments are past finding out to lay his heavy Hand upon a Child of his of twelve years of age who is known to be very gracious in that strange and unusual Distemper that hath seized many others which Dispensation of God towards us makes us to be taken up into the Mouths of Talkers and to be gazed and wondred at by many who pass their Censures variously as they are disposed Though we desire humbly to acquiess in the Will of the Lord waiting for his Salvation not in the least questioning but he will eminently glorifie himself in the Issue as he has already in some Measure blessed be his Name and then they that have reproached us shall see and hear and be ashamed The Distemper afflicting the Child with Light-headedness the first Effect of it in that kind as was observed on her she talked of divers things and amongst the rest of what good People there were in the Neighbourhood that she loved and amongst the rest she said her Mother was good and would go to Heaven but being asked concerning her Father whether she thought her Father would go to Heaven she replied she desired he might Hereupon Mr. Bigg being called and she again in his Presence asked what she said of her Father Nothing says the Child very gravely and awfully but that I wish his eternal Good which Words fell upon him with such Power and Weight that it cast him into great Passion of Weeping for some time About that time being very restless in the Night said to his dear Relation he needed to have something It was answered supposing he meant Physick that nothing would do him more good than a little Sleep He replied yes a little Hope would do me more good It was told him True a little good Hope through Grace would do you more good indeed Remember that Place of Scripture Isa 45.22 Look unto me and be saved all the ends of the Earth For I am God and there is none else He presently answered That was not so easily done and then continued These Words have run in my Mind of late to terrifie me Because I have called and you have refused c. And many dreadful Scriptures altogether Then he was told That Christ was able to save to the uttermost Yes said he and able to destroy to the uttermost too Then he ended speaking nothing of Soul Matters but what the Force of Terror one while and Joy another while made him Some time after he was again complaining which whilst he was doing he was acquainted That his Condition was hopeful though painful It being added Time was when you have been under God's Hand and in great Danger and to my