Selected quad for the lemma: power_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
power_n	king_n	law_n	restrain_v	2,948	5	9.3714	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A86421	A garden inclosed, and Wisdom justified only of her children. Being two exercises, discovering the glory, beauty and perfection of the love of God to saints that are so comprehended, and in such a glorious inclosure: and also the sweet reflections in, and from saints, in iustifying wisdom: which were delivered at New-port Pagnell, about a yeare and a half since: for declaration whereof, the authour was then imprisoned, and since accused, for delivering of blasphemie. by Paul Hobson.	Hobson, Paul.	1647 (1647)	Wing H2274; Thomason E1188_3; ESTC R208251	44,598	118

sufficient ground to admit one into Church fellowship But a bare beleeving of Christ without may be in the men of the world and therefore that is not a sufficient ground to admit one into Church-fellowship The major is clear And for the minor I prove thus That which the Divel may do a man of the world may do in matter of beleeving But the Devils did believe and know a Christ without Jam. 2.19 and yet did not enjoy a Christ within Therefore a wicked man or a man of the world may do the same And therefore that is not a sufficient ground to admit one into Church-fellowship Fifthly As the Apostles owned men Reason 5 so ought we to owne men But the Apostles knew no man after the flesh 2 Cor 5.16 that is as I conceive by flesh he meaneth all external acts of righteousnesse which he calleth flesh in Phil. 3.4 Therefore I conceive the Apostle meaneth they know no man after the flesh that is according to their external actings but according to their internal enjoyments And so ought we Sixthly Reason 6 That which is the onely way to bring distractions into the Church of Christ that ought not to be practised by the Church of Christ but the admitting of members upon so slight a ground as a bare believing of a Christ without when they do not know and enjoy a Christ within is the cause of distractions in the Church of Christ and therefore ought not to be practised If you aske me Quest. What are the distractions it may or doth produce I Answer Ansvv The distractions are such as these First Distract 1. A continued fear that men will or may fall off from them For if men hold themselves in the profession of Truth 1 Ioh. 2.19 and are not held in by the power of Truth then they will at first or last fall off from Truth Secondly Distract 2. This is that which openeth the mouths of some that are not yet in external fellowship not onely to speak against it but it maketh them also afraid to submit to it because they fear that we center and put too much in outward Ordinances and too little in inward enjoyments This maketh them fear that they shall not enjoy that amongst them that professe outward Ordinances which they do enjoy amongst others Thirdly It is a grief and trouble Distract 3. and sadnesse to the spirits of them that are already in fellowship For insteed of being built up with the exchanges of experiences they meeting many times with some who are admitted upon confession and profession of a Christ without when they do not so enjoy Christ within as to see an interest in him and have a sensible communion with him insteed of the exchanges of experiences that may refresh the souls of each other they give out nothing but external declarations about external administrations which is so far from refreshing that it doth exceedingly damp the heart of a soul that liveth with God And it is no better then pouring cold water upon a warmed spirit For though external Ordinances are very good in reference to the will of God yet it is not an outward Ordinance but God in the Ordinance that is the life of a Saint Seventhly Reason 7 That which is held out in the Gospel for men to believe that ought to appear in men when they do professe themselves to believe before they are admitted into Church-fellowship But that which the Gospel holdeth out for men to believe is not a bare believing of Christ presented to them but to believe an interest in Christ Ioh. ● 15.14.6 so as to enjoy life by him Gal. 2.20 1 Ioh. 1.7 And untill men can declare that they see an interest in Christ and sensibly enjoy Christ there is no ground for us to believe that they do so believe as to admit them into Church-fellowship And so much concerning the first consectarie That the Church of Christ are believers in Christ The second consectary is Consect 2. That the Church of Christ are such as are sweetly overcome and fetch'd in to Christ by the commings in of Christ By those expressions my meaning is First That that heart that is truly possessed with Christ is sweetly overcome by the sweet love and lovelynesse of Christ so that he hath nothing to say against him or any thing that is required by him but doth sweetly submit to him Secondly He is fetch'd in by that I mean not onely a fetching into an external Ordinance but to the enjoyment of an internal glory he is not barely fetch'd in from a seeming power of death to live under the shadow of life but he is really fetch'd from the power of death into the glory of life In a word he is fetch'd into the bosome of God to live in him so that he is sweetly wrapt up in the mysterie of that glory which is involved in the bosome of God And so much for that consectarie The third consectarie is Consect 3. That the Church of Christ must worship Christ And that this is their duty is cleer from these Scriptures 2 Kings 17.36 1 Chron. 16.29 Psal 29.2 and 96.9 John 4.23 24. Acts 24.14 Rom. 12.1 Phil. 3.3 And had I time I should speak somthing of the word Worship for Worship in Scripture is taken either for Moral or Instituted Worship but I shall say nothing of that Onely in a word the people of God are to acknowledge God in all things both external and internal that are required of them by God But I shall not at this time speak any more of this consectary The fourth consectary is Consect 4. That the word of Christ is the Rule of the worship of Christ Esai 8.20 Every King must and doth rule by a Law sutable to himself Kings that govern and rule in civill things are to govern and rule by a civil Law but Christ who is a King spiritual ruleth and regulateth his Church by a spiritual Law civil Lawes cannot reach Christs government Neither hath Christ centred any power in the civil authority to regulate mens spirits in the worship of Christ Gen. 49.10 though that was formerly in the Church of the Jewes which was a type of Christ it is now ended by Christ and all power in matter of worship is called home to him Esa 9.6.7 and resides in him Mat. 11.27 and those men that indevour by the power of a civil Law to constrain men to a spiritual worship Ioh. 3.35 they take upon them the authority and prerogative of Jesus Christ Nay in a word they in that act deny Christ come in the flesh and it is not onely sinful but poor and beggarly for they would have all men see with their eyes and all mens spirits in nature and measure sutable to their Law and if they see more they must be fetched back by the power of it and if they see lesse the must be fetched up to

by the strength of natural parts from external declarations and not from internal enjoyments they are not any waies able to give a right description or hold forth a true discovery of Jesus Christ so but that they may and do discover more of self then Christ But those that so understand Christ from an enjoyment of Christ Iohn 5.57 Gal. 2.19 20. that they actually and really live in what they know of Christ Iohn 17.21 22 23 26. they are onely able to discover that love and lovelynesse that is in Christ But I may say of the other sort of men as the Apostle saith in the 1 Tim. 1.7 Some preach the Law but they know not what they say nor whereof they affirme But saith the Apostle Wee know c. From thence you may observe thus much That they and they onely can preach the Law Rom. 3 19. to 31. that understand the Law in Christ or by Christ and if the Law then unquestionably the Gospel The Reasons to prove that they and they onely are fit to declare Christ who understand Christ from enjoyment are these First Reason 1 1 Iohn 5.19 20. They onely are fit to declare Christ who rightly understand Christ But no soul doth truly understand Christ without 1 Iohn 2.20.27 till he enjoyeth Christ within All the external actings of Christ presented to us they are but external declarations of a hidden glory which none knoweth till he doth enjoy And then Rom. 6.3 4 5 6 8. when a soul enjoyeth a crucified Christ within killing and exalting dying and rising Gal. 2.20 5.24 6 14. then do we come to understand that hidden Manna and enjoy that white stone Col. 3. 1 Rev 2 17 with a new name written in it which none knoweth but he that doth enjoy it and none can declare it but he that knoweth it Secondly Reason 2 He and he onely is fit to declare Truth Gal. 2.20 1 Cor 2.1.2 3 4 5 6. 3 Cor. 12.5 whose Spirit is so crucified by the power of Truth that in his acknowledgement of Truth he doth it singly for Truth and not for self Psal 71.16 I vvill go on in the strength of the Lord God I vvill make mention of thy righteousnesse even of thine onely But self in no soule is so laid down by the power of Truth Gal. 5.17 till that soul is actually possessed with Truth for till then it is not Christ but self that reigneth Thirdly Reason 3 1 Cor. 2.1 2 c. Iam. 1.22 23. He and he onely is fit to declare Truth whose Reason doth not master notions of Truth but his Reason is a servant to the power of truth being overcome and made silent by the authority of truth But no soul is so overcome and made silent by the authority of truth but he that enjoyeth truth Therefore he and he onely is fit to declare Truth The first use is of Information Vse 1 and first this may inform us who are and who are not fit to declare truth those men whose spirits dwell with Christ and are alwaies from thence beholding the glorious objects in Christ Gal. 2.20 and while they are thus beholding Acts 18.5 their spirits are swallowed up in what they behold they are those that can discover to you as the displayings of the loves of Christ without so the expostulations of loves within and as they can discover what it is to be owned by Christ without so they can discover also what it is to be owned by a Christ within And as for others that onely know Christ without and are not able to unfold that mysterie of glory 1 Tim. 3.16 which is Christ manifested in the flesh they are not able to declare Christ in a way that is suitable to Christ Secondly This may inform us what the priviledge of the saints is in declaring Christ Their priviledge consisteth in these things First In the easinesse of their declaring Truth that enjoy Truth It is no labour nor burden to a soul that enjoyeth Truth to declare Truth for as he doth not by the labour of natural parts fetch in Truth so he doth not by the strength of natural parts give out Truth But Truth in him is alone the power and life of him to declare Truth by him that so in all his discoveries of Truth he is so far from carrying notions of Truth that Truth doth carry him and he can and may say as Paul saith Gal. 2.20 Not I but Christ liveth in me And I may say in this case as S. Iohn said in another case Revel 14.13 They rest from their labours and their works follow them Secondly Their priviledge appeareth in this that in all the displayings of the love of Christ to others in that and at that time they sweetly enjoy the love of Christ in themselves and so enjoy it that they sweetly live in it and are sweetly refreshed by the influences of it so that it is enough to such a soul to declare Truth for he standeth not in need of external things to draw him but the enjoyment of Truth constraineth him 2 Cor. 5.14 The second Vse is Vse 2 To reprove those men that goe about by power and policy to restraine such soules possessed with Truth Act 5.28 29. from declaring Truth They do what in them lyeth to stop the mouth of the Spirit of Truth and that is the meaning of the Apostle 2 Thes 5.19.20 Quench not the Spirit dispise not Prophesie So that the dispising of Prophesie is a quenching the Spirit not in our selves but in others Now Prophesie is not for men to preach a Sermon from fetching in Notions of Truth from the strength of Naturall parts But it is for a man to speake forth Truth from the edicts of it selfe And that is it which St Iohn meaneth when hee saith The testimony of Iesus is the Spirit of prophesie Rev. 19.10 Therefore let such men who endeavour by power and policy to oppose them take heede what they doe The third Vse is Vse 3 To exhort all those that doe thus enjoy Truth to declare it If you say you are willing Object but you are much opposed not onely by strangers but by dear friends nay even by parents or brethren c. What of that Answ It is no more but that which was declared by Christ himselfe Luke 21.16.17 Mark 13.12 13. And ye shall be betrayed both by parents and brethren and kinsfolks and friends and some of you shall they cause to be put to death And ye shall be hated of all men for my Names sake The like you may see spoken of Cant. 1.6 But if it be objected Object But I am opposed by men of Authoritie and power I answer Ansvv If it be by the watchmen of the City It is no other then the Spouse met withall Cant 5.7 And if it be by the Magistrate and men of Authoritie it is no more then was