Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	humane_a	person_n	unity_n	3,413	5	9.5095	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A59622	The rising sun, or, The sun of righteousnesse shining upon the sons of unrighteousnesse a theological sun-dyal wherein is to be seen the rising, motion, influence and manifold operations of Christ upon the soul ... as also the description of the true believer ... as also the highest degrees and full growth and grace are here delineated ... / by John Sheffeild [sic]	Sheffield, John, fl. 1643-1647.	1654 (1654)	Wing S3064; ESTC R30141	166,752	332

of the Divine Essence in three Persons I and my Father are one John 10. 30. There are three that beare record in heaven the Father the Word and the Spirit and these three are one 2. So in Christ visible for his humanity invisible for his Divinity Unity is the perfection of his person Only in the former Unity of Essence there is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 alius not aliud here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aliud not alius in this unity of Person As in the Creature Sun there is a conjunction and union of two different qualities light and heat Light such as is in heaven among the Stars none such on earth Heat such as is in living creatures on earth none such in the Stars So in Christ there is an union of an heavenly and earthly nature 1. Of a Deity which the other persons have without humanity 2. Of Humanity which we have without a Deity In this one High Priest alone the Thummim and the Urim the perfections of God and the light of men conjoyn'd 1. Then give unto Christ the glory of this Singular attribute of Unity in a double Unity 1. The Unity of faith 2. Unity of Love 1. By an Unity of faith eye Christ only eye him with a single eye look up to no other Mediator go not to glean in any other field as was said to Ruth one Sun gives light to all the world there needs no more He were a mad man should say set me up another Sun or light me a Candle at noon day to help out the Sun He more irrational who saith give me somewhat besides Christ another Mediator It is looked upon as prodigious in nature to see two or three Suns or Parelii together There is no such thing they are but imaginary Suns in a cloud having a little light no heat or vigorous Influence There is but one Sun which gives light to these so to set up Saints merits the Virgin Maries Intercession or our own duties were prodigious all have what they have from Christ and contribute nothing to him And these Parelii are never seen but when the Sun is low at morning or evening never at noone This flying to the Saints with Papists or imagined Righteousnesse with some carnal Protestants is only a sign of a dim knowledg and of a weak faith never of a sound judgment and a wel-informed mind How unhandsome is a new piece on an old garment or the garment part wollen part linnen Christ will be Solus or nullus Look to me and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else Isa. 45. 22. Each man puts out his candle and opens his window to let in heaven light when the Sun is up do so for your souls tread out your sparks they may burn thee they cannot lighten thee Isa. 50. 11. Behold all ye that kindle a fire that compasse your selves about with sparks walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled this shall ye have of my hand ye shall lye down in sorrow 2. Next look after the other great Unity The Unity of love the Unity of the spirit in the bond of Peace Faith and love are the two great uniting graces faith to the head love to the members As there are two great unions in heaven the first of three in one Trinity in Unity the other of two in one two natures in one person So next to these two most glorious Unions there are two mysterial Unions in earth of faith to Christ where two are one of love to the Church where all are one And as this is Gods perfection so the Churches according to Christs last Prayer John 17. 17. That they may be all one as Thou Father art in me and I in thee That they may be made perfect in one It was the glory and beauty of the Wheels that they were so Artificially joyned one within another that though divers they seemed one wheel and they had all one motion for one Spirit animated them All those innumerable fixed Stars keep their proper and certain station are therefore never eclipsed nor do they eclipse others but move together uniformly one motion is common to all The Planets move in several Orbs no two together and they are all eclipsed one by another Christians should as Stars in the Firmament not thwart cloud censure slight eclipse each other disparaging this mans Ministry question that mans sincerity Oh that the Trumpet might not make an uncertain or different sound but bee all as one as when the Temple was dedicated and when Jericho was besieged all the Priests blew together all the people gave one shout thereby should Babylons walls be finally ruined and Jerusalems fully repaired Then would it be said Who is this that looketh forth as the morning fair as the Moon clear as the Sun terrible as an Army with banners This Unity of the Spirit would become the bond and cement of our Peace our bands and beauty the staff of the Church in her now old age and bring in those Primitive times again when after stormes The Churches regained rest and were edified walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost were multiplied Why should there not bee as one God one Church as one Lord one Baptism as one Spirit one Faith as one Father one Family as one Christ one Hope as one way one Heart as one Bread one Body as one Cup one Lip Cor unum via una Dominus unus Nomen unum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 12. 12. All should be one How delightful is it to see ten thousand beams streaming from the same Center of the Sun in heaven meet and re-center in the same punctulum on earth What a resplendent light and piercing heat do they give So when all the Graces coming from the same head do unite and con-center together what beauty light and heat is there The Beams dispersed are weakned united are more burning as in a Burning glass where all the Sun seems contracted in so narrow compass Where is most of Unity there is most of Christ. And now thou glorious Sun of Righteousness and blessed Peace maker who art all Union and the Fountain of it in whose Person the Father and Holy Ghost was from eternity united in whose Incarnation the Humane Nature was united to the Divine in whose Mediation the Divine was again united to the Humane In the strength of these two great Unions produce a third that union of our Nature with it self that there may be no more Schismes in the body Thou that didst slay the enmity between Jew and Gentile slay that between Christian and Christian and as thou art the foundation stone of our faith be also the corner the coupling stone of our Love and the

said only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 John 1. 14. attentè consideratè spectare contemplari It is but a speculative Theory we have here The Suns essence is a Quintessence or rather a Sextessence a glorious essence indeed or none such being not of a grosse mixt but pure simple heavenly essence The heaven is a Quintessence purer farre then earth or the other elements but the Starrs are purer then those heavens and the Sun as much purer then all the starrs put together There is a Confluence and Treasure of light put together in the Sun So is it with Christ. 1. His Divine Nature is the purest essence heaven not Pure in his sight The Angels far below him they hide their faces in his presence Isa 6. 2. as the lesser stars their heads before the Sunne 2. In his humane nature There dwells the fulnesse of the Godhead bodily Col. 3. 9. All treasures of wisdome and knowledg of grace and glory more in Christ by far then in all the Angels as Saul above all Israel for Stature higher from the shoulders and upwards and Absalom above all Israel to be praised for his beauty from his feet and upwards no blemish in him so is Christ fairer then the children of men from the feet and upwards and higher then the highest Angel from the shoulders and upwards 1. This may check the pride and blasphemy of those proud spirits and selfe anointing Cherubs or new Christs who call themselves not so low as Apostles but are not but Christs and are not Apostles who say God is as much in them as ever he was in Christ because misunderstanding the sense of that 2 Pet. 1. 3. made partakers of the Divine nature There is but one Sun a many Stars which partake of the nature and light of the Sun cannot these Stars partake of the Suns light but they must be so many Suns ceasing to be Stars The divine nature we are said to be Partakers of is the communication of Divine or holy God like qualifications such whereof we are capable excluding the perfections of Christ which are not communicable to the creature Like as Christ is said to partake of our humane nature being in all things like to us excluding only these imperfections of sin whereof his Divine nature was not capable nor were sutable to him The water cold by nature when boyling on the fire is made partaker of the nature of the fire yet is water still the waters coldnesse is not incapable of the fires heat the fires heat expels not the waters moisture there is fire and water both water in nature as fire in quality The cold and rusty Iron in the fire loseth both his coldnesse and colour of cold becoms fire hot of rusty fire-red It partakes of the nature of the fire yet is but Iron still Or as Judas may be said when Satan entred into him to partake of the nature of the divel He was a divel he lived not but Satan lived in him that is he was full of all sin hypocrisie treason impudence malice Impenitence despaire as if he had been a very divel rather then a man yet was Judas Iudas still a man not transformed at least not trasubstantiated into a Divel So when Christ enters into us we are so acted by him that we seem not to live but Christ in us Gal. 2. 20. And so that other place as much mis-understood 1 Joh. 5. 17. As he is so are we in this world is to be taken not as if there were no difference at all between Christ and us but there is 1. a sicut similitudinis as is the father begetting so is the young infant begotten Ora. oculique manusque eadem an As of likenesse And there is a 2d Sicut Aequalitatis As of Equality As is God the Father suc● is the Son Coessentiall coeternal not a● as of equality but of similitude betweene Christ and us we receiving of his fulnesse grace for grace the same grace not the same fulnesse 2. Then give unto Christ the Glory due unto his name sutable to his nature Divine glory Worship this rising Sun it is not idolatry but Purest Religion not base Policie but truest P●ety The Sun was idolatrously worshipped with a forbidden worship among the Persians of old and by some of the Atheistical Jews Ezek 8. 16. But it is commanded that this Sun should be worshipped both by men and Angels Heb. 1. 6. When he bringeth in his first be gotten into the world he saith l●t all the Angels of God worship him Joh. 5. 23. that all men should honour the Son as they honour the Father Fear not then to give the same divine honour religious worship to the Son as to the Father to believe in place hope on and make thy prayer to the Son of God The creature Sun is to be admired for his Brightnesse it is a shadow of the Deity not to be adored The Sun the Creator is to be adored he being the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The brightnesse of his glory and the expresse image of his Person who upholdeth all things by the word of his Power CHAP. III. Christ and the Sun alike in their Attributes Unity the first THe Attributes of the Sun and of Christ wherein they are alike are either 1 Incommunicable 2. Communicable The first incommunicable Attribute of both is their Unity Sol quasi solus Next to the glorious Essence Unity is the highest perfection of God and his first Incommunicable Attribute The Sun among the Creatures is matchlesse in his glory because of his Unity In heaven God hath planted thousands of lesser Lights whom he cals all by their names in earth thousands of other creatures but one Sun for both In heaven thousands of fixed Stars which never fell in earth thousands of lesse lights whom the Father of lights knows and cals every one by his name But as the same Sun gives light to the Stars above and to the creatures below so one Christ is head to Angels and Surety for sinners from him they receive confirming grace we reconciling There is one God one Sun one God and one Mediator one Blood for Reconciliation one name for Salvation one Sacrifice for Universal Redemption one Righteousnesse for Justification There was one Temple High Priest Altar of old one Brazen Serpent one Rock one Bread one Garment of the High Priest for all his successours now one spotlesse seamlesse garment for us all One must die for all and he once for all Travellers beyond the line losing their old find new Stars no new Sun They under the Law had other stars the Prophets we on this side the line other Apostles Ministers and ordinances the same Sun The Saints departed having crossed the line leave all our Stars Ministers private Christians and Ordinances but enjoy the same Sun Unity is the glory of the visible heavens one peerlesse Sun and of the invisible heavens 1. The Unity

or trenches of corruption in our hearts into so much bloud that we may drink no more of them but with amazement look upon former and with fear and horror fly from future sins 11. Lastly to name no more The Sun shining out in his strength disperseth clouds and mists but though it causeth not one yet it discovers a world of m●tes which are never taken away for they hinder not at all the brightness of the Sun So when Christ shineth out most gloriously to the soul it now sees what it could never have seen or imagined before I have heard of thee by the hearing ●f the ear but now mine eye hath seen thee wherefore I abhor my self and repent in dust and ashes Job 41. 5 6. He now saw a world of motes But as it is the imperfection of our condition here not to be free from such continual Motes The Lord knoweth the thoughts of men that they are vaine Psal 94. 11. Yea every man in his best estate is altogether vanity So it is our comfort and happinesse that these no ways lessen the brightness of Christ his Love and Grace for then no flesh could be saved But as these sins do abound .i. appear so doth his Grace abound .i. appear much more CHAP. XVIII The unlikenesse and disagreement between the Sun and Christ. TO make an end of this first point There is in many things an vnlikenesse between these two great Lights between whom hitherto we have noted so many agreements 1. This is a creature therefore ●inite in his essence operation motion influence But Christ every way infinite being the creating not created Sun 2. This lower sun shall suffer many changes his light shall be turned into darknesse the Moon into blood and they shall both cease There shall be no more Sun but this Sun remaineth for ever Thy Throne O God is for ever and ever When the Sun ceaseth to be the light of the world the Lamb shall bee the light of the Church 3. This shines on the good and bad alike but Christ riseth shineth warmeth healeth saveth only those that feare his name 4. The Sun really absents it selfe for a time but Christ from the Godly soul never but in our apprehension 5. This gives only light to the body Christ to the soul. 6. This gives only light to us we must find ●ight our selves Christ gives both eyes to see the light and the light to bee seene The Eye Eye salve and Light all are from him in his light we see light In any good we do we are but Instruments or subordinate Agents hee the prime Efficient and chief Agent without whom nothing We are but the hearth the fire is his we the Lamp the Oyle is his we the mouth the tongue is his w●e the pen the writing his What can the hearth the Lamp the mouth the pen do without the fire the oyle the tongue or hand 7. The Sun moveth naturally and necessarily keepes a constant course goeth and cometh again only to those Climes where he ever formerly did Christ moveth voluntarily and arbitrarily goes to some at last that never were a people and when the Gospel is slighted departeth for ever never to return againe to such as from thenceforth become Lo-Ammi and Lo-Ruhamah 8. The Sun makes those more black that are nearer to his Beames But Christ them of all others most fair and beautiful that are under his Beames 9. The Sun fills the Moon with his light onely in the time of their opposition But Christ the soul with his light only in conjunction 10. The Suns presence is oft-times the Mother of corruption his heat the Efficient cause of Putrefaction as in Summer our meat and drink keep worse But this Suns presence is the only preservative against putrefaction and the only enemy to corruption in the spirit CHAP. XIX Containing the second maine Proposition That Iesus Christ is the Sun of Righteousnesse HAving at large shewed That Jesus Christ is in many respects to his Church what the Sun is to the world We come now to our second Proposition to shew how in a more special manner and by way of Excellency he is the Sun of Righteousnesse The former sets out his Glory this his Grace the former his Person this his Office A singular Elogy this no where in all the Scripture again do we meet with the same expression though divers like it and to the same effect He is called Jesus Christ the Righteous Our Righteousnesse The branch of Righteousness Melchi-zedek the King of Righteousnesse and Jehovah-tzidkennu the Lord our Righteousnesse And to shew that this is Christ his principal Title or proper cognomen or sirname as in our common Mariages the wife doth Exuere Parentis and induere mariti cognomen changes her owne or fathers name into that of her husband the Church is called also Jehovah-tzidkennu Compare Jer. 23. 5 6. Behold the dayes come saith the Lord that I will raise unto David a righteous branch c. And this is the name whereby He shall be called The Lord our Righteousnesse with Jer. 33. 15 16. In those dayes will I cause the branch of Righteousness to grow up unto David In those dayes shall Iudah be saved and Ierusalem shall dwell fafely and this is the name whereby She shall be called The Lord our Righteousnesse They have both one name and this the highest name to both especially to the Church This is the new name spoken of Rev. 2. 17. And that other name God promiseth to call his people by The Lord shall call his people by another name Three things shall here be spoken to 1. How Christ is called the Righteous or Righteousness 2. What Righteousness it is we have by and from Christ 3. Why he is called the Sun of Righteousnesse 1 Christ Jesus may be said to be the Righteous or Righteousnesse in a double respect 1. Of his Person 1 John 2. 2. Jesus Christ the Righteous Who in respect of his Divine Nature is as Righteous as the Father and the Holy Ghost This is not that which is so much to us as our Righteousness extendeth not to God so this personal Righteousness of God extendeth not to us in this sense And in his Humane Nature he is Righteous also who never had spot in his soul guile in his lips sin in all his life but one who perfectly fulfilled all Righteousness 2. Of his Office his Mediatory Office This is the meaning of that before mentioned Scripture This is the name wherewith he shall be called The Lord our Righteousness that is to say this is his Office and Businesse 2. For the second There is a twofold Righteousnesse we have by Christ. 1. A common general original as I may call it or imputed Righteousnesse a Righteousness without us to which we contribute nothing we only accept We put on this Righteousness and it clothes us as a garment made ready to our hands 2 A