Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n
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A57546
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The rich fool set forth in an exposition on that parable : Luke 12, 16-22 ... / by Nehemiah Rogers ...
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Rogers, Nehemiah, 1593-1660.
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1662
(1662)
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Wing R1824; ESTC R5063
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109,384
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135
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God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the Fathers hath in these last dayes spoken unto us by his Son In the old time God revealed his mind to our Fore-Fathers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 uâ— si dicas mulâ—ipartuè Estins Dâ— Jones Comment in loc multis vicibus as Beza renders the words at many or sundry times as our Translation hath it's It was divided into many parts and given them by piece-meal how a part and then a part it was parcelled out unto them as the Capacity of People in sundry times did require One part they had in Adam's time another in Noah's one in Abraham's time another in Moses time one part in David's time another in the Prophets Isay had one part of it revealed concerning Christ's Conception and Birth Jonah another concerning his Resurrection Daniel another of his coming to Judgment But we have the Doctrine of Salvation at one Lump propounded to us in one whole and entire Sum St. Jude speaking of the Christian Faith saith that it was once given to the Saints once for all so perfectly that we need not another Gospel The whole Magazine of God Almighty is now opened unto us which was not unto them the Lord was in the way only of revealing his whole mind to them before Christ came letting forth Light by little and little before the Sun of Righteousness Jesus Christ arose with Healing under his Wings And as he spake to them at sundry times so in divers manners or forms either by Angels as he spake to Abraham 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Multiformiter or by Vision as he made known his mind to Ezekiel or by Dreams as to Samuel or by Urim and Thummim as to the Priest or by Signs from Heaven by Types and shadowing Ceremonies and such like But the Doctrine of Salvation is taught after one sort even by the Preaching of the Gospel which is the Power of Salvation to every one that believeth which one manner of speaking far surpasseth all those manners of speaking whereby God spake to them and worketh more powerfully and pierceth into the heart of Man more deeply than any other manner of Perswasion yea though one should rise from the dead and speak to us Then he spake only to the Fathers Abraham Isaac Jacob and their Posterity to some few and but one Nation He shewed his word unto Jacob his Statutes and his Judgments unto Israel He hath not dealt so with any Nation saith the Psalmist Psal 147.19 20. and as for his Judgments they have not known them But now in these last dayes God by his Son hath spoken to all indefinitely to Jew and Gentile to Male and Female to bond and free all being one in Christ Gal. 3.28 and through Faith hath one entrance unto the Throne of Grace So that as one speaketh upon that Text We need not say Now O Lord remember David and the Covenant made with Abraham but O Lord remember me and the Covenant which thou hast made with my Father's House For unto all both those that are nigh and those that are far off there is but one Covenant in Christ Jesus Ephes 2.13 17. Lastly Then God spake to the Fathers by the Patriarchs and Prophets that is the continual Succession of the Prophets in all Ages not by one alone but by all from the beginning God used the Ministry of the Patriarchs to instruct their Families but that did not satisfy him By the Ministry of Moses he instructed his People under the Law yet that did not content him He used the Ministry of Priests and Prophets yea of one greater than a Prophet John the Baptist to teach and instruct his Church yet he rested not therewith satisfied But last of all he sent his Son that eternall Word which is God whom he hath made Heir of all things by whom also he made the World Rare and singular men were those by whom God instructed and taught his Church in elder times yet not worthy so be named with Christ by whom he speaketh unto us They were men Christ is God and Man they had excellent Gifts of Wisdom and Knowledge yet all their Wisdom and Knowledge was but borrowed Christ was wise of himself the Fountain of all Wisdom and Knowledg and of his fulness we receive Grace for Grace They were mortal and saw Corruption nor was any Prophet when he was taken away by Death able to give Grace to others that should come after or of his fulness to make other learned in the Mysteries of Salvation but Christ abideth for ever he still liveth to appoint us Teachers and of his fulness he giveth all others their continual encrease of Grace By all which you see how wonderfully God hath honoured us above those who lived in the time of the Law Many Prophets and Kings have desired to see those things which we see and have not seen them and to hear those things which we hear and have not heard them Luke 10.24 The Gospel is a Mystery and a great Mystery too which was hidden in the secret Closet of God's own Breast not possible to enter into the heart of Man till Christ brought it out of the Bosom of his Father and discovered it unto Man-kind Nor could Men or Angels do that he only had Power to open the Book who was both God and Man in Union by vertue of which Union those divine Truths and heavenly Mysteries which were Joh. 1 18. Mat. 1â— 27 and could live no where but in the Divine Nature were drawn out of the depth of it into the Humane and in that Nature discovered unto us No spiritual Discovery of those high Mysteries could be or can be but in Christ and by Christ because in him alone is the Divine and Humane Nature united Now the greater Love that God hath shewed us Mat. 21.33 41. the soarer Vengeance in case of Contempt and Disobedience See then that you despise not him that speaks from Heaven saith the Apostle Heb. 12.25 For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on Earth much more shall not we escape if we turn from him that speaks from Heaven to us He that despised Moses Law dyed without Mercy under two or three Witnesses that is being Legally convicted Heb. 10.28 now of how much soarer Punishment shall he be worthy who despiseth the Gospel whereof the Son of God is the Minister Christ is far greater than Moses in despising him they did but despise the Servant in despising Christ you despise the Son 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Look to it therefore saith the Apostle that you do it not for it is as much as your Souls are worth And yet how little is God's Speaking to us by this his Son regarded Many of the Pharisees knew him to be the Son of God This is the Heir say they come let us kill him Mat. 21.38 They were not altogether ignorant that he was the Lord of Life whom
corruption of Nature and from those spiritual evils they find in themselves as did the Apostle Rom. 7.24 Thus God leaves these vain and wandring motions these sinful Lusts in uâ— Aug. de bayt Parn. c. 39. as he left the Canaanites in the Land saith Augustine to teach and exercise his People withall which if they grew careless should be as pricks and goads in their sides and thorns in their Eyes and that they should not think they were come yet to their final rest but should still look for a better If we make this good use of them we need not doubt but although they be evil in themselves yet they are sanctified unto us For as good motions rejected become thereby unsanctified unto us so evil Thoughts repelled and resisted may be sanctified and occasion much good unto us through God's good Grace Let not any godly Soul then be too much perplexed for that they are not wholly rid of them It is humane to have them devilish only not to resist them but to be overcome of them by assent consent and liking It is half the conquest to bear them as a burthen Gregory and that through God's assistance Sathan and our own concupiscence are not able to bring sin farther then to the Thought and not into Act which is that they principally aim at Let me demand of thee and let me have a true answer from thy Conscience First Are not these thy wanderings of thy Spirit grievous unto thee and burthensome dost thou not go under them as under a heavy load which thou wouldst give a world were it in thy power to be rid of Secondly And do they not cause thee to draw near to the Throne of Grace and put up many a suit to God humbly in the Name of Christ that thou mayst be rid of them and they whipped out of the Temple of thy Soul that it may not become a den of Theeves Thirdly Dost thou not in obedience to God's Will still maintain the combate betwixt the Flesh and Spirit and fightest lawfully and albeit thou receivest many a foil yet thou are careful presently to ralley thy scattered forces again and again and wilt not give over thy attendance upon God's Ordinances but puttest on firmer Resolutions to be more watchful Fourthly Doth not this cause thee to cast away all confidence in thy self in respect of the work done confessing ingenuously that when thou hast done all that thou canst do thou art but an unprofitable Servant Luke 17.10 Fifthly And dost not thou learn from hence more and more to live the Life of Faith in the Son of God trusting and relying only on his Obedience for Life and Salvation Bless God that thy Conscience can give a comfortable answer in some measure to these Interrogatories and chear up thy drooping Soul let not thy imperfect Obedience dishearten thee For God will accept of us according to that which we have and not according to that which we have not Object 3 But say our Thoughts be of a higher Nature Alas may some poor and perplexed Spirit say I am buffetted many times with horrid and blasphemous Thoughts Such as call God's Beeing his Truth his Power and Providence into question with Thoughts unnatural and inhumane and can such Thoughts as these ever creep into the heart of a Child of God Resp And why not who can keep Sathan from tempting God permitting to the vilest sins that ever was committed And in that they are so horrid the more likely are they to be Sathans and that he did put them into you and so not your own Indeed it is somewhat hard and difficult to put an exact difference betwixt Sathans suggestions and those that arise from our own corrupt Nature and somewhat curious to enquire That there is a difference I know Bern. Cant. Ser. 32. Capel on Tempt saith one but where the indivisible point of that difference doth stand I know not Indeed we shall find that ordinarily they are so mixed that the same sinful thoughts are ascribed both to Sathan and to Man It is said as was noted before That Sathan moved David to number the People 1 Chron. 21.1 And yet afterwards David confessed it to be his sin that he numbred them ver 8. So Acts 5.3 Peter tells Ananias That Sathan had filled his heart to lye to the Holy Ghost and yet ver 4. he saith Thou hast lyed not to Man but to God Sathan begets but it is the Heart that conceiveth and brings forth Notwithstanding the suggestions of Satan may at some times be distinguished from those of our own Hearts by these apparant Differences First For matter Sathan's suggestions are oftentimes so outragiously wicked that even Nature it self though corrupted doth abhorr them when they are first suggested to the mind No Temptation doth arise from the Flesh but the Devil interposeth himself and speaks his good word for them And though commonly the Flesh to re-gratifie the Devil sets forward his Temptation yet it may sometimes so fall out that the Devil tempts alone and that so grosly saith a godly Divine that the very Flesh is a shamed of them those that come from the Flesh are more sutable to Nature and more delightful and pleasing to it Secondly For the manner of their injection Sathans suggestions are sudden like a flash of Lightening and with such unavoydable violence as that they cannot by any wit or strength of the party be prevented But those that come from our sinful and corrupt Nature are more deliberate it doth rather lead and entise than enforce unto sin Jam. 1.14 His temptations are sometimes so subtil and strange that before the instant that they are suggested we never thought of such a thing nor was it possible that they should be the thoughts of a simple ignorant man but the apparant suggestions of the old Serpent But the Flesh takes occasion of things present and subject to the senses to intise us unto evil Thirdly For the Effect A man's thoughts being natural work no extraordinary perturbation of mind But Satan's suggestions being blasphemous strikes the heart with horror the Understanding is astonished the Heart quaketh c. unless by long custom and continual sinning Dearnad the heart is become Diabolical And these are the chief differences that Divines give between those sinful thoughts that are the immediate suggestions of Satan and those that arise from our own hearts Otherwise they are so like the one to the other that they can hardly be discerned But if in case such horrid thoughts arising in your hearts be such as that not so much as the Affections do incline unto them but on the contrary thou dost wholly abhor them in the very first arising thereof you may conclude them to be rather the suggestions of Sathan then from your own concupiscence And that they shall be put on his Score and not on yours nor shall they ever be imputed unto us for that they leave no guilt upon