Selected quad for the lemma: nature_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
nature_n	person_n	son_n	trinity_n	5,863	5	10.0529	5	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A81852	The evangelical history: or, The life of our Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ comprehensively and plainly related. With practical inferences and discourses thereupon. In four books. I. Of the birth of John the Baptist. Of the conception and birth of Jesus Christ; with an account of what passed to his entrance upon the ministerial function. II. The history of the acts and miracles of our Saviour, in the first two years of his ministry. III. A relation of his acts and miracles, in the third year of his preaching. IV. An account of his acts and preaching, from the triumphant entrance into Jerusalem. Of his Crucifixion, Resurrection, apparitions, and glorious ascension into heaven. With a large practical introduction, by way of preface. Written in French by the learned L.E. du Pin, and Englished by a divine of the Church of England, with additions. Adorn'd with copper cuts.	Du Pin, Louis Ellies, 1657-1719.	1694 (1694)	Wing D2641A; ESTC R229041	170,749	286

by the Reader who will think them rather too few than too many But considering that unless we well understand the design of our Saviours coming into the World we cannot read the History of his Life with any real advantage for since he did spake and suffered nothing but with a tendency to that end we can never have a true notion of them unless we know the true motive and the end which he himself aimed at I judged it necessary to propound a short History of the Fall of Man and the Wounds which Men have received by it before I present them with the Medicine to heal them and teach them in a few words the happiness of that Estate wherein God Created them the lamentable Miseries into which they have faln by Sin and the means which Gods infinite goodness makes use of to save them The Discovery of these Miseries will make them more desirous to know what Christ hath done to deliver them and by how much they perceive themselves more obnoxious to Gods Justice by so much they will the more eagerly lay hold upon Jesus by Faith to save them from it II. Mans Creation and Fall by Sin When God created the Heaven and the Earth in six days he being desirous not only to provide a Governour for all his Corporeal Creatures but to put some other Beings into the places of the faln Angels in Heaven Created a Man and Woman whom he called Adam and Eve which signifies the Mother of all Living God formed them in his own Image i. e. gave them an Immortal Soul endowed them with abilities to know and love him which are two of the most noble Actions of the Rational Creature which make up the whole Life and happiness of God which is to know and love himself from all Eternity Wherefore he filled their Minds with Knowledge and their Will with Love He Created them perfect and upright their Souls in perfect submission to God and their Body to their Soul There was no darkness or trouble in their minds because God was their Light and Peace and nothing in there Bodies which might make them ashamed because there was nothing disorderly for which reason it is that the Holy Scripture saith That they were Naked Gen. 2.25 and were not ashamed In this Holy and Happy Estate they had a sound Judgment and perfect freedom of Will furnished with all Graces necessary to do that good which God required of them and to purchase that Glory which should be the reward of their Virtue which is to have a clear Vision of God They knew so much of God as Creatures are capable of and if they made a good use of this knowledge upon Earth they should be Translated to the full fruition of God in Heaven Their Innocency exempted them from Death and all other Evils which are the effects of Sin And their privileges were not only for themselves but their Posterity to whom they should communicate not only their Nature but Innocency and all the priviledges of it For the continuance of all these Temporal favours and obtaining that eternal happiness which he hath promised them God required nothing but an entire submission to his Will which that he might have tryal of he gave them a Command to abstain from the Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil which was in the midst of Paradise threatning them with Death if they dared to Touch it Nothing was more easy than the observation of this Commandment but they kept it not long for the Devil envying their Happiness came to Eve under the Shape of a Serpent perswading her to Eat the Fruit which was forbidden and telling her that they should be so far from dying that they shall become as Gods By these promises she suffered her self to be seduced eat of the Fruit and gave it to her Husband who thro' a wicked Compliance made himself guilty of the Womans Sin As soon as they had thus broken the Command of their God they were made sensible of their Fault by the fearful Change in themselves for they perceived they were Naked and were filled with confusion because they felt in their Bodies the disorderly Motions of their Concupiscence God shewed himself to them no longer as a Father whose presence was their Joy and Happiness but as an offended Lord who reproved their disobedience and as a severe Judge to punish their Rebellion He Condemned the Man to Toil and Drudgery for his necessary Food the Woman to Pains in Child-bearing and drave them both out of the Terrestrial Paradise in which he had placed them he subjected them to all the miseries of this Life and passed the sentence of Death upon them which he had threatned condemning them not only to a Temporal Death of the Body but to the Second Death which is more terrible than the former the Death of the Soul which is to Live eternally with the Devils in Hell and be banished from the only cause and foundation of all Happiness God A just punishment saith St. Austin for their fault in disobeying so easy a Law of so great a God! All the Race of Adam being corrupted in him as in their Fountain and Root by his Sin was also lyable to the same punishment for as if he had continued in his Innocency all his Posterity had inherited it by their Birth and all the Advantages of it after the same manner since he hath sinned all Men naturally inherit his Crimes and all the Plagues which are consequent upon it This is the Sin which we call Original because we are guilty of it from our Original and Birth and this is the Sin which brings upon us all those Evils which we feel either in our Souls or Bodies for the darkness of the Understanding the corruption of the Heart the proneness of the Will to Evil and Opposition to Good the disorderly Motions of Concupiscence the turbulency of our Passions the excessive Love of our selves forgetfulness and Aversion to God all the Sins which we commit Hunger Thirst Weariness Griefs Death and Lastly Eternal Damnation are the sad Consequences and just punishments of this Sin which we come into the World with and which make us as St. Paul saith the Children of the Wrath of God Eph. 2.3 III. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ Out of the miserable condition into which Man had plunged himself and Posterity by Sin there was no way of Recovery had not God in his infinite Mercy been pleased to find out a way which none else could do He had compassion on his Creatures and contrived this means to save them the Word i. e. the Son of God the Second Person of the Holy Trinity was made Incarnate assuming a Body and Soul like us and united to his Divinity in his own person the Humane Nature which he intended to redeem He became Man still being God and took upon him all the weaknesses and Infirmities of Man Sin and Ignorance only excepted He undertook

hast believed for the Things which have been told thee from the Lord shall be accomplished These Commendations did not at all puff up the Virgin 's Heart with Pride she could not be unsensible of the Favours which God had bestowed on her but being desirous to give him all the Glory and not daring to attribute any thing that the Lord had wrought in her to her Faith she referr'd all to the Mercy of her Creator saying My Soul doth magnify the Lord and my Spirit hath rejoyced in God my Saviour for he hath regarded the lowliness of his Handmaid She adds That God is pleased when he sees fit to do great Things for his mean Creatures That he loves to exalt the Humble and debase the Proud and that lastly He is faithful to his Promises because he made her the Mother of his Son That he might perform the Promises which he had made to Abraham and the other Patriarchs IV. The Nativity of S. John Luke 1. 56-80 Mary continued Three Months with her Cousin and then returned to her own House In the mean while Elizabeth's Time of Delivery came and her Relations and Cousins met together to rejoyce with her concerning the Birth of her Son On the Eighth Day when he was to be circumcised and named they all gave him the Name of Zachary as his Father was called but Elizabeth opposed them desiring he should be named John as God had commanded by the Angel They answered her That there was none of her Family called by that Name and made Signs to his Father that he should shew them his Will about it And he required Writing-Tables and wrote thereon His Name must be called John and immediately his Tongue was loosed and his Speech being restored to him he made use of it to praise God But all that had been Witnesses of these Miracles and all that heard him speak were astonished and said one to another What manner of Child shall this be How great how holy a Man But that which they were ignorant of was revealed to Zacharias who being filled with the Holy Spirit understood the Mystery of the Incarnation and the part his Son was to have in that Mystery whereupon he prophesied and said Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and redeemed his People He adds as the Virgin had done in her Song That God hath raised out of the House of David a Saviour of the World to perform the Promises which he had made to Abraham and renewed often by the Mouth of his Prophets And then he sums up all the Benefits of the Incarnation in a few Words he hath promised us That we being delivered from the Power of our Enemies might serve him by walking before him in Holiness and Righteousness all the Days of our Life Then he speaks these Words to his Son And thou Child shalt be called the Prophet of the most high for thou shalt go before the Face of the Lord to prepare his Ways and to give Knowledge of Salvation to his People for the Remission of their Sins And indeed God did fulfil what Zachary had foretold of his Son and that he might fit this Infant for the great Office he designed him he made him eminent in all Spiritual Gifts and kept him in the Deserts till the Time of his appearing to his People Israel V. God reveals the Conception of Jesus Christ to Joseph While the Fame of those Miracles which happened at the Birth of John Matth. 1 18-25 spread it self over all the Hill-Country of Judea the Holy Virgin being returned to Nazareth meditated in deep Silence upon the Mystery which God had wrought in her She had not told Joseph what had befaln her but her Bigness discovered it and he perceived she was with Child But being an Holy and Pious Man he was not willing to disgrace her publickly whereupon he resolved to put her away privately And in this Purpose he continued till an Angel appearing to him in a Dream said unto him Joseph thou Son of David fear not to take unto thee Mary thy Wife for the Child that is conceived in her is the Work of the Holy Ghost She shall bring forth a Son and thou shalt call his Name Jesus because he is the Person which shall save his People from their Sins Joseph submitted to this Command and remained with his Wife both of them living in perfect Chastity And so that which God had long before foretold by the Prophet Isaiah was fulfilled A Virgin shall conceive and bring forth a Son Isai 7.14 which shall be called Immanuel which being interpreted is God with us VI. The Divine Generation of Jesus Christ The Time being come when the Virgin should be delivered she brought forth Jesus Christ in the manner which we shall hereafter speak of But before we relate the History of this Birth it is necessary to give an account of the Person who was born Men describe the Genealogies of the Grandees of the World that they may make them honourable by the Nobility of their Parentage and great Actions of their Ancestors who have no Worth of their own to render them remarkable Matth. 1 1-17 Luke 3. 23-38 Mary brought forth a Son of whom the Gospel recites Two Pedigrees and Two Births because he had Two Natures Jesus Christ is both God and Man and hath united in one Person the Divine and Human Nature As he is Man he is descended of a numerous Succession of Ancestors As he is God he hath only God for his Father as Man he was born in Time but as God he was born and is from all Eternity What S. John in the beginning of his Gospel teaches us concerning his Divine and Eternal Generation and for what Reasons he became Incarnate is this He says That Jesus Christ as God is the Word John 1 1-14 i. e. the Thought or Speech of God When a Man thinks he forms an Idea or Spiritual Image of the Thing he thinks of and this Image is called the Word i. e. the Speech of the Mind for it is by the Thoughts that the Mind reasons with and speaks to it self God is a pure Spirit who knows himself most perfectly and that from all Eternity He thinks then in knowing himself and forms an exact Image of himself and this Image is his Word But this Word infinitely excels all the Thoughts of Men in this That he is a Thought subsisting by himself and a distinct Person from him that formed it but yet the same God with him The Two Persons love each other infinitely from all Eternity and this Eternal Love is a Third Person called the Holy Spirit who is also the same God and of the same Nature with the Two other Persons from whom he proceeds This is what the Holy Scripture teaches us of the Holy Trinity which is nothing else but the God which we worship One in Three Persons of which the Second is called not

only the Son because he is begotten of the Father to whom the Name of Father is given for that Reason but also the Word because he is the Thought or interior Speech of the First Person which begat him by knowing himself and that from all Eternity because he knoweth himself from all Eternity And upon this Ground it is that S. John says That in the Beginning i. e. when the World began the Word was and the Word was in or with God for the Thought is in the Mind that forms it and that he was God it being the Property of this Word as we have said to be the same thing with the Being that begets it p. 23 The Birth of JESUS CHRIST VII The Human Birth of Jesus Christ. Augustus the Roman Emperor Luke 2. 1-20 being desirous to know the Number of all his Subjects published an Edict commanding every Person to go and be registred in his Native City In Obedience to which Order Joseph went up from Galilee with the Holy Virgin to Bethlehem a City of Judah to have his Name enrolled there because he was of the House and Linage of David For this Prince was born at Bethlehem which is therefore called in the Gospel The City of David While they were there her Time came that the Holy Virgin should be delivered And she brought forth Jesus Christ wrapped him in Swaddling Cloaths and because there was no Room in the Inn laid him in a Manger Not far from thence there were certain Shepherds who kept their Flocks by Night these Men all of a sudden were encompassed with a great Light and saw an Angel which said unto them Fear not for I bring you good News which shall fill all People with great Joy which is that this Day there is born in the City of David a Saviour which is Christ the Lord and by this Sign ye shall know him ye shall find the Infant wrapped in Swaddling Cloaths and lying in a Manger As soon as they had received this Message from God they heard a great number of those blessed Spirits praising God and saying Glory be to God in the height of Heaven and on Earth Peace to the Men of his good-liking i. e. to all truly penitent Sinners and sincere new Creatures As soon as the Angels were departed the Shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem where they found Mary and Joseph with the Babe who was laid in a Manger and they acknowledged the Truth of what the Angel had said unto them Then they returned glorifying God published the Miracles which they had seen and raised an Admiration in all those that heard them But Mary seriously meditated upon all these Things in her Mind and was careful to keep a faithful Remembrance of them VIII The Circumcision of Jesus Christ. Luk. 2.21 Lev. 12.3 Gen. 17.12 By the Law of Moses every Male Child ought to be circumcised within eight Days after the Birth according to the Command which God had given to Abraham for God being about to give this Patriarch a Son of whose Posterity our Redeemer should be born and entring into a Covenant with him to be kept by all his Posterity he instituted Circumcision as a Seal and Sign of that Covenant threatning to cut off that Male Child from his People which shall not be Circumcised Abraham himself and all the Jews his Posterity did exactly observe this Law and Jesus Christ was willing to submit to it himself wherefore the Gospel observes That he was Circumcised the Eighth Day and that he was named JESVS which was the Name that the Angel had ordered to be given him before his Conception IX The Adoration of the Magi. Matth. 2 1-12 The Holy Virgin and Joseph continuing still at Bethlehem the Magi which were certain great Philosophers and Astronomers came from the East to Jerusalem and asked Where the Person was who was lately born King of the Jews saying Numb 24.17 That they had seen a Star in the East signifying his Birth and conducting them thither and were come to worship him This Question much surprized the People of Jerusalem and above all troubled Herod who was then King of the Jews Whereupon he assembled the Chief Priests and the most learned in the Law among the Jews to be informed of them Where the Messiah which they expected should be born for he believed that it was he that the Magi enquired after under the Name of the King of the Jews They answered him At Bethlehem according to the Prophecy of Micah And thou Bethlehem Mic. 5.2 in the Land of Judah art not the least among the principal Cities of that Tribe for out of thee shall come a Governour that shall rule my People Israel Herod as soon as he had received this Information sent for the Magi privately to him and enquired of them At what Time the Star they spoke of was seen by them and sending them to Bethlehem said unto them Go and search diligently for the young Child which ye desire to see and when ye have found him let me know it that I may also pay him the like Adoration Being just got into the Way to Bethlehem they saw the Star again which had appeared to them in the East and the Gospel says they were filled with exceeding great Joy for it went before them to conduct them to him and stood over the Place where Jesus Christ was They immediately entred into the House and falling down before him they worshipped him and offered to him for Gifts Gold and Frankincense and Myrrhe And thus having paid their Homage they returned into their own Country but did not go by Jerusalem because they had been admonished in a Dream not to return again to Herod X. The Presentation of Jesus Christ in the Temple The Holy Virgin and Joseph having so punctually observed the Law of Circumcision were not less exact in the performance of Two other Commandments of the Law the One of which concerned Mothers the other their First-born Children Lev. 12 2-8 The First of these obliges every Woman after her Delivery not to touch any hallowed Thing for a certain Time nor to go into the Temple for Forty Days after the Birth of a Son and Fourscore Days after the Birth of a Daughter and at the End of that Term the Mother shall go to the Temple to be purified for which end she must offer a Lamb for a Burnt-Offering and a Pigeon or a Turtle-Dove fo● the Attonement of her Sins But if she be no● able to offer a Lamb she is allowed to offer ● Pigeon or a Turtle for it which being sacrificed by the Priest she is clean The Second Commandment of the Law which concerns the First-born Children enjoyns the Parents to present them to the Lord and to redeem them with Mony Exod. 13.2 15. Every First-born in Israel both of Man and Beast was consecrated to God b● a Command which God gave them when he slew the First-born