Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	mystical_a	person_n	union_n	3,769	5	10.8414	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A64966	Odos gath operbochēns the more excellent way to edifie the Church of Christ, or, A discourse concerning love : the design of which is to revive that grace (now under such decays) among Protestants of all perswasions / by Nathanael Vincent ...	Vincent, Nathanael, 1639?-1697.	1684 (1684)	Wing V415; ESTC R1364	76,586	160

temperateness of the Climate the fruitfulness of the Soil the variety of Delights where can you find a better Land that might reasonably be wisht to have been the Land of your Nativity Be not I beseech you so unnatural as to fill and load me with sin and to make me desolate a Land not inhabited The Corn I bear the abundance of pleasant Fruit I produce the Beasts I nourish for your food the wholesome Air you breath in for all these it would be an unworthy requital to turn me into an Aceldama a Field of Blood I have been a Land of Light to you as well as fruitful The Sun of Righteousness has shined as clearly and gloriously in Me as in any Nation under Heaven Oh sin not quarrel not away that which is my truest glory that which is your greatest Priviledge Study and mind the things which concern your peace Make your peace with God by faith in his Son and that faith accompanied with Repentance and Reformation and be at peace among your selves and then you need not fear your forreign foes And I should again become a Land of Renown and be both feared and courted all Europe over 4. There is a Love which is Spiritual The grounds and attractives of this are Spiritual And this kind of love the Text speaks of Christians Hearts should be filled with it And the more this is expressed the more the Church must needs be edified The Nature of this Love I shall explain in these Particulars 1. Love is a Grace wrought by the God of all grace 1 John 4. 7. Let us love one another for love is of God and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God That Spirit which brings a man to the knowledge of God and regenerates him and makes him a New Crea●●re works in him this Grace of Love there●●re we read That the fruit of the Spirit is 〈◊〉 Gal. 5. 22. Though Good Nature be an cellent thing and the dispositions of many incline them to be full of loving-kindness yet this natural sweetness of temper does greatly differ from Christian Charity The best Nature is regardless of the Soul neither is it concerned for it self or others beyond the things of sense and of this present World The Apostle thus describes a state of Nature in which he sometimes was as well as others Tit. 3. 3. We our selves were sometimes foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures living in malice and envy hateful and hating one another So that true love to others is of an Heavenly Original 2. Love is in Obedience to the Divine Command Christians love one another because their Lord and Saviour has commanded them Joh. 15. 12. This is my Commandment that ye love one another as I have loved you Both Law and Gospel insist upon this The Summ of the second Table of the Law is this Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self And by the Gospel this Law is established Faith in Christ therefore and Love are joyned 1 Joh. 3. 23. And this is his Commandment that we should believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us Commandment Obedience to the Command sanctifies our love to our Neighbour and renders it not only more profitable to him but acceptable to God himself When we love others that Gods will may be fulfilled and he may be pleased and because of the Image of God and Christ which we see in them then we love truly And this is the meaning of that 1 Joh. 5. 2. By this we know that we love the Children of God when we love God and keep his Commandments When love to God and a care to keep his Laws induce us to love his Children because he bids us and for his sake 3. Love implies a Mortification of contrary Passions The Poet sayes Virtus est vitium fugere Vertue is to fly from Vice So may I say Love is to fly from Anger Wrath Malice Bitterness Envy Revenge which are sins of such a nature that they carry their punishment in their bowels and make an Hell as well as deserve one The darkness of the night is chased away when the day returns and the Sun rises sickness is removed when health is restored and in like manner those sinful and corrupt passions which benight the Soul and are the diseases of it are purged out where this Grace of Love is indeed infused The Apostle plainly shews this Eph. 4. 31. compared with Chap. 5. 2. In the former place he sayes Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour be put away with all kind of malice In the latter he sayes Walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and gave himself for us Compare also Col. 3. 8. with v. 14. and you may perceive that we must put off anger wrath malice when we put on charity which is the bond of perfectness 4. Love implies an Inclination to Vnion The nature of it is to unite and knit things together Thus by the love of Friendship the Soul of Jonathan was knit with the Soul of David 1 Sam. 18. 1. and the Hearts of Christians are knit together by this excellent Grace of Love Col. 2. 2. Union is of God and is indeed the Churches strength The bundle of rods in the Fable while they remain'd bound together could not be broken whereas every single one might be snapt asunder with ease So far as the Church is divided so far 't is certainly and dangerously weakned There is an admirable Union in the Godhead Three distinct Persons are in one incomprehensibly glorious Nature A wonderful Union also in Christ himself two distinct Natures in one Person and Mediator and these two Natures infinitely more differing than Earth and Heaven than the Sun and a Mole-hill and yet behold them inseparably united The Churches Union is Mystical they are Many Members but love makes them one Body for it makes them of one heart and of one Soul Love alters the contentious and cruel nature and inclines to Union and Peace So that to use the Prophets Phrase The Wolf dwells peaceably with the Lamb the Leopard lyes down with the Kid the Calf and the young Lion and the Fatling together and a little Child may lead them the Cow and the Bear feed their young ones lye down together and the Lyon eats straw like the Oxe the sucking Child plays on the hole of the Asp and the weaned Child puts his hand on the Adders den so far as love prevails there is no hurting nor destroying one another in all Gods holy Mountain Isa 11. 6 7 8 9. Christ prayed for this Union as that which would be for the Churches benefit and for the Worids Conviction that he came forth from God John 17. 21. That they all may be one as thou Father art in Me and I in Thee that they also may be one in us that the World may believe that thou hast sent me How needful is

12. He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son hath not life They that by faith receive the Lord Jesus are purified are regenerated and shall live for ever but as many as through unbelief reject him remain dead in sin and doom'd to Hell Union with Christ is a most necessary a most happy union The Churches life from this has its beginning and continuance unto consummation 2. The Head has a mighty influence upon the Body There is a powerful influence from Christ upon his Church and what good it does is done by vertue of this influence He is said to be exalted far above all Heavens that he might fill all things Eph. 4. 10. Whatever grace and strength and comfort is communicated to believers it is really and all from Christ He fills Ordinances with efficacy mercies with sweetness afflictions with light and usefulness and Souls with greater degrees of Grace and Holiness out of that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all-fulness it has pleased the Father should dwell in him Col. 1. 19. Our Lord tells his Disciples they must abide in him for separated from him they can do nothing Joh. 15. 5. No wonder the Apostle professes That Christ is all and in all Col. 3. 11. Though the Body the Church should be never so much increased a deficiency in the Head Christ need not be feared neither is it indeed possible for in him there is all the fulness of the Godhead And consequently his Rightousness and Grace must needs be sufficient for the whole 3. The Body has many Members and these members have different Offices The Church likewise has various members and their different stations relations callings diversify their work and duties and yet the doing of these duties is both comely and advantageous and the more every one does his own work the more all are benefited Rom. 12. 45. the Apostle tells us That as we have many members in one body and all members have not the same office so we being many are one body in Christ And from thence infers that All should use the gifts they have received which are differing according to the grace and good pleasure of God the Giver It would be unreasonable for the Ear to attempt to speak like the Tongue or the Hand to see like the Eye The several members have their uses and work proper to them All are not Apostles all are not Prophets all are not Teachers all are not Governours 1 Cor. 12. 29. There are many indeed most in the Church that have need to be taught and governed and those that think themselves wise enough to instruct and govern themselves and so despise their spiritual Guides usually are the most ignorant and unruly and hugely need the help and conduct of others The members must abide in their place and calling Masters Servants Parents Children Husbands Wives Magistrates Subjects Pastors People doing their duties which the Scripture in their several stations and relations calls for 4. The Body is fitly joyned and thus fitly joyned is the Church of Christ The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies that there is a congruous order among the members of Christ Without Order an Army would be a Rout and not an Army a Kingdom would become a confused self-destroying multitude The Churches God is the God of Order and not of confusion 1 Cor. 14. 33. There is a rule for Order and Government and a subordination in the Church 't is not a body of levellers if there were a perfect parity all would affect to rule none would care to be ruled The reproof of two or three is more than the reproof of one the Churches admonition and censure is still with greater authority The flock is to submit themselves ●o their Pastors who are over them in the Lord. Heb. 13. 17. and both Pastors and people are to submit especially unto Christian Magistrates who are prophetically promised in the Old Testament that they should be Nursing Fathers to the Church under the New A right Order in Churches and Families will have a mighty influence to make believers stedfast against temptations both to Error and Wickedness The Apostle rejoyced in the Colossians chap. 2. 5. when he beheld their order and the stedfastness of of their faith in Christ 5. The Body is compact together so is the Church of Christ the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shews that the Church is firmly knit unto Christ the Head and the members one unto another The hypostatical Vnion between the Natures of Christ shall never be dissolved neither shall the mystical union between him and his members and if so then his true members must needs remain closely knit together There are ligaments joynts bands whereby the Body of Christ is held together The Spirit of Grace and Love unites the body to Christ and members to members The Ministers of Christ are subservient unto this union and ought to be preaching and commending love which is a grace of an uniting nature The Apostle had a concernedness for the Colossians which he expresses by a great conflict and that which he wisht so vehemently for was this that their hearts might be comforted beingknit together in love Col. 2. 1 2. Where is the member of the natural Body that grows weary of its fellowship and is willing to be cut off The Arms the Hands the Leggs the Feet are desirous to keep their places and and nature makes them abhor to be severed True grace makes the members of the Church to dislike separation As they believe so they very well like and are desirous of the communion of Saints A very black mark is set upon them who are of a contrary inclination 1 Joh. 2. 19. They went out from us but they were not of us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest they were not all of us 6. God hath set the Members in the body as it pleased him the different gifts and graces which are in the Church of Christ and the members of it are according to Gods will and pleasure He bestowes larger gifts upon some and less upon others and yet those that have less are not unuseful Some Saints receive greater measures of Grace others smaller but all have that grace which is true and which at last will end in glory Some members of the Church are higher others lower and yet they should not envy or despise one another for God has assigned their place unto both the higher may direct the lower the lower may serve the higher The eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of thee nor the head to the feet I Have no need of you and those members of the body which seem to be more feeble are necessary 1 Cor. 12. 21 22. By the grace of God the members of Christ are what they are They have nothing but what they have received and the more