Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	father_n	ghost_n	trinity_n	2,501	5	9.7438	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A12551	The bright morning starre: or, The resolution and exposition of the 22. Psalme preached publikely in foure sermons at Lincolne. By John Smith preacher of the citie.	Smyth, John, d. 1612.	1603 (1603)	STC 22874; ESTC S113474	48,228	204

of the psalme which is this concerning the Morning star and aijeleth signifieth Stellam matulinā as well as ascensum aurorae Nowe seeing that this Psalme is a prophecie of Christ and that Christ is expresly called the Bright Morning starre Apoc. 22.16 the day starre by the Apostle 2. Pet. 1.19 and the day spring from an high Luk 1.78 The argument of the Psalme and this translation will very well sort together as we see Of the complaint the first part of the psalme In the complaint comprised in these two verses may be obserued thesed sixe seuerall points to be handled My God my God why hast thou forsaken c. which will cleare vnto vs the true meaning of the words which are darke and darkened more by some 1 How Christ could pray vnto God he beeing himselfe God equall to the father 2 How Christ could pray in faith seeing he could not beleeue in himselfe 3 How it can be said that Christ was not heard by God when he prayed 4 How Christ can be said to be forsaken of God These foure points appertayne to Christ the other two concerne Dauid the godly 5 How god forsooke Dauid and how he may be said to forsake his children 6 Lastly the properties of faith here exprest Vers 2. O my God I cry First how Christ God could pray vnto God For the clearing of this point consider we that Christ was God and so paraduenture could not pray vnto his father for that might seeme to imploy some disparagement to God the sonne being equall to the father open a gap for the heresie of Arrius but furthermore Christ also was man and so made vnder the lawe and so could and might yea and ought to pray as beeing a creature bound to worship the creatour yet besides this Christ beeing the mediatour of the Church according to both his natures he therfore prayed according to both his natures My 〈…〉 Go● 〈…〉 tho● 〈…〉 c. 〈…〉 thus his manhood actiuely powring forth prayer his godhead dignifying his prayer and making it meritorious and purchasing audience Christ prayed to his father therefore as man and as the mediatour Now if it be alledged that seing himselfe was God hee must therfore pray vnto himselfe which may seeme absurd or els if he do exclude himselfe then committ idolatry the answer is that he prayed to his father directly and primarily in respect of order the father being the first person in Trinitie ordine but indirectly inclusiuelie and secondarily he praied to himselfe and the holy Ghost also here the distinction of nature and person must be admitted necessarily againe it may be supposed that no absurditie would followe if we say that the second person in the trinitie did pray vnto the first that is did testifie his will to haue the Church saued but that is abusiuely in very hard Catachresis In summe it is no absurditie to say that a man may pray to himselfe that is perswade himselfe to grant that which is for his owne aduantage for as affectiō or desire sometime obtaineth of a man that which his iudgement disalloweth which is a kinde of praier or intreatie or contrariwise as the iudgement perswadeth the affection that which it disliketh so Christ-man may aske something of Christ-God and no absurdity as it seemeth be admitted Secondly how Christ could pray in faith V. 1 2 My God For the further enlightning of this doubt a distinction of faith must be remembred Faith is legall and euangelicall of the law and of the gospell Faith required in the lawe Adam had in paradise and Christ had when he prayed whereby the creature relieth it selfe vpon the creatour for all manner of good things deliuerance from all euill if Christ had wanted this faith he had not presently obeyed the law which to say were to blaspheme Euangelicall faith or the faith required in the gospell is that whereby the creature relieth it selfe vpon God through Christ and his mediatour beleeuing to obtaine all good things from him by the meanes of Christ now although Christ were made vnder the lawe yet he was not made vnder the gospell for he was not bound to faith and repentance as sinners are himselfe beeing without sinne he is the matter and author of the Gospell wherefore to the Christ to the obedience of the law through and by vertue of the Gospell as we are tied is to suppose him sinfull by making him his owne sauiour Wherefore to answer directly Christ praied a legall prayer as Adam did but Christ praied not an euangelicall prayer except we vnderstand an euangeli-praier in this sense that he made intercessiō for vs which may rather be called a meritorious praier Christ praied in faith of gods infinite mercy but not in faith of the pardon of sinne through a Sauiour which he needed not and which we neede Thirdly Howe was Christ not heard when he praied V. 2 But thou hearest not V. 1. Farre frō the words of my roaring There is no contradictions in holy scriptures although there may sōtime seeme shew of opposition we read in the Heb. 5.7 that Christ was hard from that which be feared here in this place we read that god did not heare Christ but was farre from the wordes of his roaring in shew here is an opposition but in substance things being aright distinguished there is none The art of reason teacheth that one rule of opposition is that the thinges opposed be opposite in the same sence secundum idem as the logicians say now Christ was hard in one sence and he was not heard in another sence and so the prophet the Apostle are not opposite wherefore thus these two places are both verified and may well be reconciled Christ was heard in that he was not swallowed vp of the wrath of god but was deliuered from it and from the power of our spirituall enemies again Christ was not heard in that gods wrath lighted vpon him and possessed his soule a competent season or thus 2. Christ was heard in regard of the conditions of his praier if it be possible and if it be thy will and againe Christ was not heard in regard of the petition absolutely considered without conditions or thus 3. Christ was heard as the children of God are heard to whome sometime the Lord denieth the very particular thing they aske and in liewe thereof giueth them a thing as good or better then it 2. Cor. 12.8 9. So the Lord did not deliuer Christ frō his wrath for he tasted the cuppe of his wrath as he saith Math. 20.22 But the Lord gaue him power and strength and grace to beare it and to vanquish it at the length for euen then did hee ouercome the wrath of God when Gods wrath killed him These things beeing thus distinguished we see the Prophet in this psalme and the Apostle in the Hebrews are not at variance so we perceiue also howe Christ was not heard when he

affection is contrarie to grace but subordinate to it and Christ feared these things naturally and furthermore the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 5.7 signifieth a fearefull and carefull declining and auoiding some imminent danger by reason whereof the minde is possessed with a great anxietie and sollicitude intending it selfe with all the powers thereof to gainstand the impendent mischeife and thus Christ feared the dominion of death and gods wrath and for this purpose praied against it he beeing carefully and reuerently bufied about the recouery of himselfe and the redeeming of vs from the power of death and the sorrowes of hell and because praier is one excellent meanes to furnish a christian captaine against the enemie for obtaining the victorie therefore Christ prayeth with strong crying and teares vnto him that was able to saue him from death eternall and was heard from that which he naturally feared or rather from that for declining whereof he was reuerently accumbred nature working in him feare of it and grace stirring vp praier against it and there is no absurditie to say that Christ praied against that which he certainely and fully knewe should neuer befall his Disciples And as Christ praied against the dominion of death and gods wrath so he praied also that the wrath of God might not stay longer vpon him he beeing now alreadie tormented therewithall so he saith let it passe from me saue me from this houre For further explication whereof consider 3. propositions or axioms following 1 Christ sustaining the ful wrath of God in his soule was wholly busied in his whole soule and all the faculties thereof in apprehending feeling and bearing it so as the soule faculties thereof were distracted from all their obiects wholly applied herevnto as appeareth by the strāge intermitting of the functiōs of the soule in the parts of the body mentioned v. 14.15 2 We must distinguish nature naturall infirmities frō sin and sinful infirmities it is a naturall infirmitie for a man to sleepe and be wearie and so also sustaining Gods wrath to desire to be released frō it but it is no sinne at all 3 We must knowe that Christ as he was man was ignorant of some things as namely of the day of iudgment Mar. 13.32 for some ignorance is no sinne as for a minister to be ignorant of the manuarie trades for a man to be ignorāt where hel is of the orders of angels c. Now for applicatiō of these three axiomes sure it is that when Christ praied he praied without the least spotte of sinne and either of these axiomes rehearsed will iustifie Christ praier from the least suspition of sinne as it is thought The first axiome iustifieth a certaine obliuion or forgetfulnesse in Christ when all the faculties of the soule were interrupted through the sense of Gods wrath and wholly seazed with the intollerable paine thereof this I dare not peremptorily say euery way to be good and sound neither doe I reprooue it onely thus much it may seeme to be a fault for a man to forget when the ought to remember and to say that Christ had nowe a holy forgetfulnesse when he should most of all remember euen when he was to make the vp-shotte that I may so speake of our redemption is not presently without further inquisition to be admitted In regard of the second of these axiomes it may be more probably answered that Christ sustaining the wrath of God and hauing the nature of a man in him which desired releife frō so extreame torment which is a naturall sinlesse worke said to his Father Let this cup passe saue me from this houre c. and in the very selfe same moment of time that nature desireth grace seasoneth and qualifieth nature saying Not my naturall will but thy will be fulfilled therefore came I into this houre So here there is first a difference betwixt nature and grace then a subordinating of nature to grace also it may be a correcting of nature by grace not as if nature were euil simply but a lesse good for it is good tor the creature to preserue it selfe it is better to obey gods wil by suffering according to his wil especially considering the coincidence of nature grace in the same time praier for nature maketh the request grace addeth the conditions Nature saith thus Father let this cuppe passe from me saue me frō this houre Grace saith If it be possible not my wil be done but thine therfore came I into this houre In regard of the third axiom aforesaid it is thus answered that as Christ was ignorāt of the day of iudgmēt so without errour it may seeme we may say he was ignorāt of the time how long or how oft he shuld suffer the wrath of god and so beeing vnder the hand of God not knowing what space of time god in his euerlasting decree had set downe for enduring it or how oft it should make incursion vpon him he praied Let it passe c. that is let it depart from me I hauing now sustained it or let it not seaze vpon me againe I hauing already suffered it sure it is that Christ did vndergoe gods wrath a competent time and diuers times as Ioh. 12. Once Gods wrath like lightning did flash vpon his face also Math. 26. The secōd time gods wrath most furiously assaulted him which wrought in him that strange agonie sweat lastly hanging vpō the crosse when he cried out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me this third assault was the Cōplement of all his woes for whereas before in the Garden an angell comforted and so God had not cleane forsaken him now God vtterly withdrewe from him all comfort and so there was nothing but wrath deuouring him praying vpon him without all mercy and comfort but exquesitely to determine howe oft or how long at any time Gods wrath was vpon Christ seeing the scripture hath not exprest it is meere curiositie and if any man obiect that Christ prayed against Gods will neuerthelesse in praying thus it is answered that he praied against Gods secret will it may be and that is no sinne and his prayer had conditions so it was not against gods wil It is no sinne for the sonne to pray for the life of his father which shall shortly die hee praying cōditionally Wherefore to end all this discourse of Christs prayer it is iustifiable as we see in diuers respects by saying either he forgatt through the interrupting of the soule or that nature corrected with grace made this request or that he prayed through ignorance contrary to Gods secret will conditionally These things beeing thus discoursed the meaning of these wordes in the psalme is very easie as if the prophet should haue said more plainly and without allegory thus all the powers of darkenes now rage against mee the dogge the lyon the vnicorne the sword the Iewes the deuill which is the ramping roaring